NTT Communications to double UK server room area

Located at a 38,500m2 site near the two Gyron data centers already operating in Hemel Hempstead, northwest of London, the new facility will start providing approximately 10,000m2 of server room from spring 2015, more than doubling the total server room area in the UK.

By using advanced green technology for cooling such as end wall injection air conditioning, water-side economization and chimney racks to expel heat, the facility achieves a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of under 1.2, putting it among the most energy efficient data centers in the UK. It will also be the first data center in the UK to offer the option of a chillerless cooling system, which opens up approximately 30% more energy capacity for ICT systems without expanding its power system. The facility further reduces NTT Com’s environmental load by using rain water in the air conditioning, generating electricity from solar panels, and using heat from the server equipment to warm office areas in the winter. See attachment for more information about the green technology.

By incorporating a modular design concept, electric power, air conditioning and communication equipment are scalable in each server room, and redundancy systems can be freely set. Tier IV upgrades are also available as customers require. Moreover, the facility will incorporate security measures beyond the industry standard, including a four-meter-high peripheral fence, barriers against vehicle attacks and fire-prevention equipment installed in each module.

The high-speed, high-quality networks connecting the new facility with other NTT Com data centers will enable the low-cost, low-latency access necessary to effectively provide a hybrid cloud environment that combines on-premise systems, colocation and NTT Com’s Enterprise Cloud to better meet varied customer demand and optimize ICT systems. In addition, the high-speed connections between Gyron’s three Hemel Hempstead data centers will allow them to operate essentially as one data center, making it fast and easy to provide more server equipment and virtual servers for customers expanding their business.

In the UK, the data center market grew by more than 20% in 2012 compared to the previous year due to strong demand from the technology, media and telecom industries. The demand for hybrid cloud services has likewise been growing and global service providers such as Salesforce.com have increasingly chosen NTT Com’s UK data centers. The new facility at Hemel Hempstead will enable NTT Com to meet the demand of this active market.