We have started to fit out the next hall in DC3, our data centre in Leeds / Wakefield. I'll be posting some images and updates on here as we head towards our Sept 1st launch date.

The new hall will hold 4 cold aisle pods of 32 racks each (128 racks total), based on an average power draw of about 3.75KW per rack

We are adding extra power capacity to the Generators and UPS system and installing new chillers and CRAC units for cooling the data hall. In addition, fire suppression systems, security systems, raised access floor all add up to a major investment for Node4. All the equipment being installed is state of the art and is designed to be highly redundant, maintainable and efficient.

At the moment we have the raised access floor complete and are installing the electrical cabling for the data hall and chillers.

Work on the aircon water pipe work will start in a couple of weeks

The chillers and CRAC units will arrive in July and will be connected up during August.

We than have to install some fire suppression, security systems and, of course, some server racks.

For those of you familiar with the existing kit in DC3, we have made the following changes to the equipment specification

• Chillers and CRAC units are the latest, most efficient Airedale free cooling models and are a slightly larger capacity than before. This lets us run them more efficiently under normal conditions and give us more overhead in maintenance / failure mode
• Gas suppression will be IG55 (Argon Nitrogen Mix) as used in DC4 Northampton. This is more environmentally friendly than FM200 and helps us keep costs down.
• Our Rittal TS8 racks are now 1200mm deep (again, like in DC4) to give extra room at the back for power strips and cable management
• We have extra power busbars available for higher density racks if required
• We've spaced the cold aisle pods out so that we can accommodate caged areas more easily.

I'll post some more updates in the next few weeks. If you have any questions, please feel free to mail me or contact your Node4 Account manager

Rik Williams

Head of DC Operations

Node4