Our Data Centres
For exceptional redundancy and superior hardware capabilities, 24/7 Hosting proudly leases private racks and DC cabinets in three unparalleled datacenters located in Christchurch, Auckland & Dunedin. All 4 of our datacentres meet the leading industry standards for security, network availability, HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning), fire suppression and power capacity.
Network Infrastructure and Accessibility
The data centre has connectivity to four New Zealand peering exchanges via our own dual-carrier
national network backbone. These exchanges are APE, PNIX, WIX and CHIX. Two connections exist
between the data centre and this backbone for redundancy. One link may fail without reducing the
network performance. We also has two local Telco connections for additional domestic and
international connectivity.
Within the data centre, our core network comprises Juniper Networks & Extreme Networks carrier
routers and switches, which have N+1 redundancy. Any component can fail without disruption to service.
Customers can utilise two connections to different switches for complete redundancy.
All Telecommunications providers who operate in Christchurch are present in the data centre (both
copper and fibre where applicable) and/or available via interconnect at our other network POPs in the
city:
· Telecom New Zealand
· TelstraClear
· Enable Networks / CCNL
· FX Networks
· Citylink
· Kordia
Fully Redundant Power Solutions
Power to the data centre is fed through a fully redundant N+1 array of Uninterruptible Power
Supply (UPS) systems, supplied by General Electric. Any UPS in the array may fail completely without
disruption to hosted equipment, and in fact a complete failure of all UPSs in the array would not cause
disruption. This differs from most Christchurch data centres which have just one UPS, often with no
automatic failure bypass.
The battery life of the UPS system is approximately 60 minutes at full load. In addition to this, the Data Centre
has a standby generator which starts automatically within 30 seconds, and enough fuel to power the
facility at full load for a further 16 hours. A contract is in place for 8-hourly fuel deliveries around the
clock for the entire duration of a power outage, meaning the facility need never go offline.
Power is delivered to equipment cabinets from our main distribution board, a custom manufactured and
type-tested board with arc-fault containment. This means that even in the hypothetical event of a major
component failure (and even explosion), adjacent components in the board would be unharmed, allowing
continued operation. Equipment cabinets in the data centre are connected to multiple supplies on this
board to avoid disruption even in the event of component failure.
Typical data centres have an efficiency ratio of 2:1, which means that it requires two units of power to
supply 1 unit of power to equipment. The data centre has a significantly higher efficiency ratio of
1.45:1, meaning lower costs for the customer, less wasted energy and reduced carbon emissions.
We expect efficiency to improve further as the data centre is filled and reaches its designed load
level.
A complete power failure simulation test is staged every month to ensure the system will work seamlessly
in an emergency. The generator and UPS systems are serviced monthly and quarterly respectively by
external experts, and spare parts for the generator, UPSs and distribution board are held onsite. On-call
electrical and mechanical contractors are also retained. Our distribution board undergoes a twice-annual
thermal imaging test to ensure no parts of the board are malfunctioning.
The data centre is designed to support 10kW of power per equipment cabinet, allowing the latest
blade servers and other high-density equipment to be supported in every cabinet.
24/7 System Administration and Monitoring
24/7 Hosting provides 24/7/365 human network monitoring, performed by our highly qualified system administrators. We also have an 3rd party monitoring service called Pingdom which pings all IP addresses connected to our network at 1 minute intervals from over 20 locations located around the world. We're alerted instantly via multiple channels if any IP addresses are detected as being offline.
Security
The data centre features triple layer physical security, and two layers of logged access control.
Challenge-response RFID technology is used for access cards, which must be used to gain access, and
CCTV cameras monitor access passageways, doorways, and all cabinet aisles, as well as the building’s
exterior and rooftop. Access cards cannot be duplicated, can be revoked at any time, and automatically
expire.
Access to all shared cabinets is escorted by a member of staff at all times.
CCTV cameras are configured to trigger an alarm if movement is detected without authorisation by the
access control system, and a traditional burglar alarm provides a second intrusion alert. Both systems are
externally monitored by staff and security contractors, and video footage is recorded both onsite and
offsite in real-time.
Cooling
The cooling system utilises industry leading design with contained hot and cold aisle technology for
maximum efficiency. Containment barriers are made of a material commonly used in industrial
refrigeration systems. Air is cooled by N+1 redundant chillers, and distributed into the cold aisle where it
is slightly pressurised to ensure even cooling through the entire server cabinet. This avoids problems
suffered in conventional data centres where hotspots develop at the top or bottom of the cabinet due to
short-cycling of the cold air and inadequate airflow volumes.
The cooling system utilises the R410a refrigerant, which is environmentally safe.
Significant energy savings are anticipated as the thermal density increases by utilising ‘free cooling’; the
exchange of exhaust hot air from the racks with filtered fresh air from outside the data centre,
automatically adjusted to suit climatic conditions.
The cooling system is serviced every 2 months by expert contractors, and we retain on-call specialists for
any urgent work.
Combined with our aisle containment system and high efficiency cooling units, this makes the data
centre one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly data centres available today.
