OBBeC.com

Research Triangle Park, NC (OBBeC) -  IBM has announced plans to build a $360 million state-of-the-art data centre at its facility in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina. According to the company, the new centre will include technologies and services that will enable IBM to deliver Cloud Computing capabilities to clients.

Cloud computing uses advanced technologies and global delivery mechanisms to enable individuals to access information and services from any device with extremely high levels of availability and quality of experience.

IBM intends to renovate an existing building on its RTP campus in North Carolina to create, what it claims will be, one of the most technologically advanced and energy efficient data centres in the world. Moreover, it will be be built with IBM's New Enterprise Data Centre design principles. As per the announcement, clients using this centre will have unparalleled access to massive internet-scale computing capabilities, while gaining the cost and environmental protection advantages of IBM's energy efficiency data centre design.

The new RTP data centre will use many of the technologies from IBM's Project Big Green initiative to sharply reduce data centre energy consumption. Following the first phase of 60,000 square feet of raised floor data centre space, this site can potentially be expanded in standard modular increments. In IBM's new Data Centre Family of services, design is typically performed in advance on an entire project, so the additional capacity can be added as client demand dictates. With a modular approach, it's easier to grow the space and defer significant capital costs.

Along with the recently commissioned Boulder data centre, the new RTP facility will be IBM's first truly adaptive data centre, where facilities equipment is designed to adjust its operation to the needs of IT equipment in the data centre, the report outlines. These data centres will be specially designed for a heterogeneous mix of computer hardware and software.

IBM will also incorporate its High Density Zone solution into the data centre design. This will enable IBM to support the latest water-cooled equipment and energy requirements, as well as to optimize its infrastructure for traditional and new air-cooled equipment.

Some other key design features include:

• IBM goals include reusing 95 percent of the original building's shell, recycling 90 percent of materials from the original building, with 20 percent of newly purchased material to be from recycled products;
• IBM plans to install high density computing systems utilizing virtualization technology, which reduces energy costs by running multiple software applications on the same servers. This technology, along with IBM's Cool Blue portfolio of energy efficient technologies and a modular data centre design, will allow the RTP facility to offer IBM's clients up to three times more computing capacity per square foot than the average data centre;
• The data centre will leverage an industry-leading integrated cooling system allowing it to respond to varying cooling requirements of the IT equipment in real time;
• During colder months, the data centre can switch to free-cooling mode, utilizing a water economizer to dramatically reduce energy consumption;
• The data centre's mechanical system design is 50 percent more efficient than the industry average, equating to a reduction of approximately 31,799 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year;
• The facility is planned to be partially powered by alternative energy sources, resulting in a targeted reduction of approximately one million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year;
• The data centre will provide dual-site backup and recovery offerings from IBM's Business Continuity and Resiliency Services, in conjunction with IBM's recently enhanced Boulder, Colorado data centre;
• The facility will use energy efficient lighting, and all critical systems will be monitored and alarmed to security and maintenance 24x7x365.

These technologies, in conjunction with the energy efficient design and construction, will allow IBM to reduce its overall carbon footprint compared to standard data centres, states the company.