Monday, January 27th, 2014

Time	Event
12:30p	KDDI Uses Oracle SuperCluster to Reduce Footprint KDDI uses an Oracle SuperCluster to dramatically consolidate server infrastructure, Violin Memory flash arrays help NextGear Capital accelerate key services to their customers, and Riverbed advances its Granite converged infrastructure solution with support for more branches, and bigger data sets. KDDI selects Oracle SuperCluster.  Oracle (ORCL) announced that KDDI has selected Oracle SuperCluster to help strengthen the authentication system for its mobile core network. KDDI uses Oracle SuperCluster running Oracle Solaris and Oracle VM Server for SPARC with Oracle TimesTen In-Memory Database. Using the SuperCluster to consolidate 40 enterprise servers, KDDI expects will reduce its data center footprint by 83 percent and power consumption by 70 percent. Four Oracle SuperCluster systems will help significantly improve overall system performance, and enable KDDI to scale to accommodate future growth. The project utilized the Oracle Solution Center, Oracle Japan’s validation center, to jointly conduct performance and functionality validation with ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC). NextGear selects Violin Memory Flash Arrays.  Violin Memory (VMEM) announced it has been chosen by NextGear Capital to accelerate the delivery of key services to the company’s customer base of more than 17,000 auto dealers in North America. Using the Violin 6000 Series Flash Memory Array, NextGear Capital achieved up to 1000 percent improvement in SQL database performance. When two large SQL database servers were slowing down business, NextGear Capital needed a temporary high-performance home for the data. The company turned to Violin Memory and performance immediately improved, even before conducting a problem determination on the database. “We are the leaders in the automotive flooring market because we focus on providing the right services at the right time,” said Chris Brady, chief information officer of NextGear Capital. “Violin’s storage not only accelerated our services to very demanding automotive dealers, but we see it as an insurance policy for maintaining that lead in the future.” Riverbed launches Granite 2.6.  Riverbed (RVBD) announced Riverbed Granite 2.6, with new features that support more branches, bigger data sets, and additional enterprise-class storage solutions, including IBM Storwize V7000. Riverbed Granite is a branch converged infrastructure solution. With Granite, businesses can restore operations in a matter of minutes vs. days, centrally protect and secure data, and significantly lower the TCO of branch and remote offices. New features include a snapshot handoff framework with a script-execution interface used to orchestrate snapshot operations for storage arrays, and new higher capacity Virtual Granite Core (VGC) models that scale up to 30 branches and 35 TB. “We have Riverbed Granite in all of our remote locations,” said Jerry Vigil, director IT operations, Bill Barrett Corporation. “Our users get great local performance and my IT staff is able to manage data centrally with the added plus of having a solid, faster disaster recovery capability. I’m already a happy user. The fact that Granite 2.6 delivers even more ways to simplify management and protect data affirms that we made the right choice for our branch infrastructure.” (Comment on this)
1:00p	Is Your Data Center Ready for the Polar Vortex? Many data centers are used to working in cold weather, including the Facebook data center in Lulea, Sweden. (Photo: Facebook) Is your data center equipped to ride out the Polar Vortex? This month’s unusual weather pattern has brought frigid air to parts of the U.S. that don’t normally see extreme cold snaps. Not to worry. Many data centers operate just fine in brutally cold weather, and your colleagues from these colder climates have tips on how to adapt. There are many considerations to keep in mind when dealing with extended cold snaps. We’re not talking about 60 degrees in Austin; we’re talking Minnesota winters, here. “Cold weather is hard on equipment, can create unique challenges for fuel and cooling and can limit access to a site for customers and staff,” said Matt Spencer, Chief Technology Officer of Cologix, which operates data centers across Canada and in Minnesota. ”Operating in cold markets requires a different level of attention to details. If you don’t have remote capabilities and a contingency plan in every data center, then your time will be spent being reactive in an environment that requires stability and uninterrupted services.” “There are several reasons why it’s necessary and important to prepare a data center for cold conditions,” said Kenneth Cooper, Field Project Manager for Facility Operations at Schneider Electric. “These are mainly personnel and equipment protection.” Attention to Maintenance A key component of operating in the cold is understanding the range of challenges the cold may present. “Severe cold can cause a data center to operate outside of its specific design perimeters, which adds stress to the system,” said Cooper. “In addition, if the temperature gets too cold, it becomes difficult to heat any air taken in from the outside. Beyond this, freeze can set in on outdoor equipment, including drain lines, fuel systems that don’t have the appropriate cold-weather additives, HVAC heating coils, cooling towers and humidification units. Frozen HVAC units can begin to leak water, while snow and frost can clog intake vents. If this occurs, it can be difficult for air to circulate and the entire system can shut down.” Attention to maintenance is critical. “We continually verify all block heaters, engine oil heaters, battery warmers etc. are all operating normally and follow a stringent maintenance schedule,” said Cooper. Compass Datacenters also knows about cold weather. The company is building a facility in Minnesota, where temperatures drop to the point where you can throw boiling water in the air and it turns into steam and ice almost instantly. Consider the Environment “In the case of the Minneapolis build, we heat that building all the time,” said Chris Crosby, CEO of Compass Datacenters. “I’ve got $50,000 in budget just for propane during the winter construction period.” Crosby says it’s imperative to take the environment into account with a data center build. “Whenever we go into a market, we take our product and we have adaptations to the design,” he said. “For generators, it means insulation and a heater for generator enclosures. We make adjustments for our air unit. There’s additional installation in how you work those dampers. And the lack of humidity in cold is also a big issue in terms of working with electricity.” “Humidity issues are often associated with cold environments, so having efficient humidifiers in place is a must,” agreed Cooper. The use of anti-static wrist straps or other protection is mandatory to protect customer equipment. “Use ultrasonic humidification when possible to achieve a 97 percent energy savings on humidification energy versus traditional methods,” said Cooper. (Comment on this)
1:30p	Data Center Jobs: Another Source At the Data Center Jobs Board, we have a new job listing from Another Source, which is seeking a Critical Facility Engineer (HVAC and Data Center Controls) in Altoona, Iowa. The Critical Facility Engineer (HVAC and Data Center Controls) is responsible for performing routine maintenance tasks in accordance with McKinstry Safety Policy and Procedures, inspecting buildings, grounds and equipment for unsafe or malfunctioning conditions, troubleshooting, evaluating and recommending system upgrades, ordering parts and supplies for maintenance and repairs, soliciting proposals for outsourced work, working with vendors and contractors to ensure their work meets McKinstry and Client standards, and performing all maintenance to ensure the highest level of efficiency without disruption to the business. To view full details and apply, see job listing details. Are you hiring for your data center? You can list your company’s job openings on the Data Center Jobs Board, and also track new openings via our jobs RSS feed. (Comment on this)
1:30p	The Future is Bright: Rich Opportunities for Data Centers Sarah Rambacher is Associate Project Manager, Energy Efficiency Services, for New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). SARAH RAMBACHER NYSERDA Ask any data center operator what his or her top priority is and you’ll likely hear the same answer: “uptime.” In other words, their primary focus is to keep IT infrastructure up and running for end users at all times – often resulting in an inefficient use of financial resources. However, I believe that by expanding their focus on uptime to include energy efficiency, data center operators can actually maximize uptime and save money at the same time. Data centers are more energy intensive per square foot than any other commercial space. For every watt of electricity used in data centers to power servers and storage devices, more energy is consumed by cooling equipment to prevent overheating and maintain uptime. As mission-critical facilities with 24x7x365 operating schedules, data centers need efficient equipment that will not be a financial liability or compromise uptime. Let’s look at New York State, home to the second highest concentration of data centers in the country. New York data centers consume 4.5 billion kilowatt hours of power per year at an annual cost of nearly $600 million. The conditions in NY state represents a significant opportunity to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions—and, ultimately, unlock savings. There are numerous opportunities for data centers to optimize mission-critical assets to save energy while maximizing uptime. IT infrastructure upgrades, facility improvements and adjustments to operations and maintenance can all improve efficiency, reduce operating costs and increase reliability. Although installing efficient equipment may be the path most data center owners and operators would prefer to take, the premium for energy-efficient equipment can be cost prohibitive. In the face of these barriers, it makes sense for data center owners and operators to not only consider how to improve energy efficiency, but to seek partners to help. Where to Start In New York State, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Industrial and Process Efficiency Program helps data center owners and operators identify opportunities for improvements to their data centers’ energy efficiency and offset costs through financial incentives. Through NYSERDA’s program, customers can take advantage of cost-sharing for energy-related technical assistance studies, funding for energy and process improvements, and installation support to address energy-related issues critical to operation. For instance, when Time-Warner Cable embarked upon building out a new data center space, it worked closely with NYSERDA and its data center outreach consultant, Willdan Energy Solutions, in the early stages of design. Through a mix of energy-efficient power, cooling and lighting strategies, NYSERDA estimates that Time Warner Cable will save 970,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year over a comparable baseline case. According to Sal Azzaro, Senior Facilities Director at Time-Warner Cable, “It’s been a real team effort. We sat around the table with NYSERDA, Willdan and our business partners and asked, “What if we do this? How about this?” Working with NYSERDA isn’t just about capturing the money for incentives – it’s not a driving factor compared to what we spend – but what they help us recoup in efficiency and redundancy is really primary to the process.” In the field of data center energy efficiency, one size does not fit all, especially at the rapid pace at which today’s technology grows and evolves. That’s why it’s critical to have an experienced partner to help navigate through the options and maximize investments in energy-efficiency measures. A good partner will focus on overall project ROI and help customers identify and implement IT and infrastructure improvement projects that reduce operating costs, increase efficiency and ultimately help grow their business. Industry Perspectives is a content channel at Data Center Knowledge highlighting thought leadership in the data center arena. See our guidelines and submission process for information on participating. View previously published Industry Perspectives in our Knowledge Library. (Comment on this)
2:00p	Report: Apple Considering Netherlands for European Data Center An aerial view of Apple’s data center campus in Maiden, North Carolina. Apple is reportedly considering a new data center in the Netherlands. (Photo: Apple) A small town in the Netherlands may be the future site of a European data center for Apple (AAPL), according to media reports. Apple’s project, codenamed “Saturn” could bring 150 to 200 jobs to Eemshaven, in the Groningen province, a popular European destination for data centers. According to media reports, a 40 hectare (98.8 acre) plot has been reserved for Apple. The region boasts numerous power generating stations, and a 156 megawatt wind farm. It is also home to the end of a high-capacity transatlantic fiber cable. With Apple striving for 100 percent renewable energy use in its data centers, the proximity to a 156 megawatt wind farm makes sense. With around 1,000 megawatts installed or under development currently, the Netherlands has plans for an additional 4,450 megawatts in wind farms at sea by 2023. A Growing Data Center Hub The Netherlands is a prominent European location for data centers, with Amsterdam providing a wealth of connectivity options, one of the fastest Internet Exchange points in Europe (AMS-IX), and available space to build. Google has operated its data center in Eemshaven for over six years now. Listing the Netherlands as a strategically important market, Digital Realty partnered with Dutch Telecom KPN last summer to build a data center in Groningen. Colt operates a data center a few hours south of Groningen, and recently expanded with 1.65 megawatts of power and 10,000 square meters (107,639 square feet)  of space. It has also been reported that Microsoft is building a 17.5 megawatt data center in Noord-Holland, just south of Groningen, and north of Amsterdam. Apple has been rapidly expanding the infrastructure to support its iTune and iCloud services since 2010, when it developed a 500,000 square foot data center in Maiden, North Carolina. The company is also building new server farms in Prineville, Oregon and Reno, Nevada and rumored to be planning another inHong Kong. (Comment on this)
3:15p	How Secure is Your Data? 5 Key Considerations around Data Center Compliance As cloud computing continues to grow and evolve – one of the key consideration points remains security. However, these concerns have evolved to encompass users, data, application, workload and even data center security considerations. As more organizations push their infrastructure into the cloud, they’ll need to understand how security, compliance, and regulation all impact their data center model. From an IT perspective, the most common data center compliance standards include SOX, PCI-DSS, FISMA/FedRamp, HIPAA/HITECH, SAE 16, SOC 2 & 3, OCC which serve a very wide number of common industries. To truly understand compliance and regulation – it’s important to look at each standard and apply it to your business, technological model, and how this will impact you in the future. This webinar from Iron Mountain examines the five key things to consider when it comes to data center compliance. This includes: What are your compliance requirements? The cost of compliance: In-House vs Outsourced Difficulty in achieving compliance Maintaining Compliance Cost of Non-compliance Furthermore, this webinar outlines the key questions which are being asked as it relates to security, cloud computing and the compliance dilemma. Download this on-demand webinar today to find out: What are the specific compliance regulations governing my industry? What are the day-to-day tasks that I need performed in the data center? Who will do them? How important is physical security? How dynamic is my information technology environment? Does this impact compliance? What services and support will I need to make my environment compliant? There are more demands being placed around the modern data centers are organizations now create their business model directly around technology. Already we are seeing changes in regulation and compliance to allow for more data to reside in secure cloud environments. For example, the recent Omnibus Rule (an update to HIPAA) allows for the transient access of protected healthcare information (PHI) to move through a business associate which has signed a business associate agreement (BAA). These changes are giving organizations more options around their cloud and what they can do with their enterprise. Through it all, security and data integrity will always be critical considerations. (Comment on this)
3:15p	Tata Selects Ciena GeoMesh to Enable 100G across Submarine Cable Ciena GeoMesh helps Tata Communications push 100 gigabits per second from the U.S. to Japan, Alcatel-Lucent and BT set a world record for 1.4 terabits per second, and AMS-IX New York selects Zayo as a fiber provider to connect multiple data centers. Ciena helps Tata launch 100G connectivity. Ciena (CIEN) and Tata Communications announced the launch of 100 gigabits per second upgrade along the TGN-Pacific (TGN-P) submarine cable system that connects the U.S. to Japan and  three routes in the TGN-Intra-Asia (TGN-IA) market across Asia. With this latest in a series of investments, Tata  becomes the only private subsea cable owner that has 100G deployed across major routes around the world on its own infrastructure. Tata’s 22,300 kilometer submarine cable system between the U.S. and Japan is using Ciena’s 6500 Converged Packet Optical platform and GeoMesh solution. Ciena products also help Tata support a 6,700 kilometer Intra-Asia network. “We continue to make significant investments to our global network as we understand that connectivity is one of the most critical backbones in a world where hyper-connectivity has become a part of the everyday fabric of life and business,” said Genius Wong, Senior Vice President, Global Network Services at Tata Communications. ”Investments such as the 100G upgrade to our TGN-Pacific submarine cable and Intra-Asia routes enable us to meet customer demand for high-bandwidth services and applications, whilst ensuring end-to-end network performance for our enterprise and carrier customers across the US and Asia.” Alcatel-Lucent and BT achieve world record 1.4 Terabits per second.  Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) and BT announced trial speeds of up to 1.4Tb/s with a record spectral efficiency of 5.7 bits per second per Hertz (b/s/Hz) on an existing core fiber connection. This is believed to be the fastest speed ever achieved in commercial grade hardware in a real-world environment and is equivalent to transmitting 44 HD films in a single second. Conducted between BT properties in London and Suffolk the field trial used a new ‘flexible grid’ infrastructure (flexgrid) to vary the gaps between transmission channels. By increasing the density of channels on the fiber, this approach achieved up to 42.5 percent greater data transmission efficiency compared to today’s standard networks. Alcatel-Lucent also announced that the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the UK has selected Alcatel-Lucent to carry out a major upgrade to its IT infrastructure. The network will handle the ever-increasing volume of scientific data now and into the future for the bandwidth-intensive, scientific modeling used by NPL scientists as they perform ground-breaking research. “This new network is setting up the National Physical Laboratory for the future, by providing capacity for the large amounts of data produced in the research we undertake,” said Claire Moore, Head of IT at the National Physical Laboratory. “We now have a more reliable network which includes over 3,000 end points for use by 700 staff. We will see even more benefits as time goes on, as this is a project completed with the needs of future research in mind.” AMS-IX New York Selects Zayo.  Zayo Group announced that it has been selected by the AMS-IX USA to supply fiber connectivity between the multiple data centers in the United States where AMS-IX New York operates its Internet peering platform. Zayo will provide dark fiber and Layer 2 connectivity for Internet Exchange customers using the Digital Realty data center in New York (111 8th St., Manhattan), DuPont Fabros Technology’s NJ1 data center in New Jersey (101 Possumtown Rd., Piscataway), Sabey Data Centers (375 Pearl St., Manhattan), and the 325 Hudson interconnection facility. Zayo’s fiber network will allow AMS-IX New York to have a direct flow of traffic between its major peering points of presence, with the fewer network hops supporting faster transportation of data. “Zayo’s extensive network reach, especially into major data centers, made the provider our first choice to deliver interconnectivity between AMS-IX New York’s points of presence,” says Henk Steenman, Chief Technical Officer at AMS-IX. “The scalability of the dark fiber product enables Zayo to meet our needs as the exchange develops.” (Comment on this)

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