# Follow Us - [email protected] Datacenter Facility Construction Progress



## RyanD (Aug 20, 2013)

Have any of you ever wondered what goes on during construction and buildout in a datacenter? 

Follow us on facebook as we'll be posting frequent updates with the expansion activities here at our 34 Peachtree ATL01 site that includes the build out of a new 500kw power system, deployment of Liebert CRV In-Row cooling and Cold-Isle containment systems in the new area as well as retrofit into our existing deployments. 

For some of you these may be things you rarely get visibility into, feel free to ask questions 

https://www.facebook.com/ColoAt

I have linked individual dates in this main post to the follow-up replies with the updates and pictures for easy 'jumping' 

Of course our lobby sign! Nice cool white backlit LEDs 



08/20/2013

Today we have fuel oil piping going in for our fuel risers from the existing fuel system to the new 500KW generator being installed on our 2nd floor as well as delivery of the first batch of new Liebert 42U secured cabinets.  

08/21/2013 

A ton of materials have arrived, pipe bending equipment to bend the 4" conduit for power runs, fuel-oil piping being installed and just a few pictures of the generator replacement that was previously done as well as 2 pictures of our overhead busway that is used in all our power deployments that allows flexible circuit delivery to cabinets form 10A 120v to 30A 3-Phase.


----------



## MannDude (Aug 20, 2013)

Nice!

You mind cross posting images here via an imgur link or something, for the members who don't have Facebook or any interest in going there? Would be neat to see photos of updates.


----------



## KS_Phillip (Aug 20, 2013)

Will the new in-row and cold aisle changes take effect for existing tenants in 34 Peachtree?


----------



## Jade (Aug 20, 2013)

That is awesome! The datacenter looks very nice! Can't wait to see updates


----------



## RyanD (Aug 20, 2013)

KS_Phillip said:


> Will the new in-row and cold aisle changes take effect for existing tenants in 34 Peachtree?


Phillip,

Yes, when completed we will be placing isolation systems in all the existing areas as well as the new expansion area.

As the existing area uses legacy perimeter based CRAC cooling with overhead ducted delivery the installation of the containment systems take a bit longer for the engineering phase as it requires the coordination of our HVAC & Sheetmetal teams along with the containment vendor. We are working to complete the final engineering on the retro-fit into existing areas. 

As clients that have been on site have seen, we have had fans placed in various points around the hot isles experimenting with air flow patterns and simulating the placement of newer in-row CRV units as part of this study.


----------



## RyanD (Aug 20, 2013)

MannDude said:


> Nice!
> 
> You mind cross posting images here via an imgur link or something, for the members who don't have Facebook or any interest in going there? Would be neat to see photos of updates.


Will certainly try, however the facebook page should be open so you can browse it even if you don't care to use FB


----------



## KS_Phillip (Aug 20, 2013)

RyanD said:


> Phillip,
> 
> Yes, when completed we will be placing isolation systems in all the existing areas as well as the new expansion area.
> 
> ...


Indeed, our on-site tech commented on the fans.  Great to hear that you will be retrofitting for existing customers.


----------



## EricGregory (Aug 20, 2013)

To go over some of our upgrades that are in the works, we have a post on our blog detailing some of what's going on.  As for today though, new cabinets are the order of the day.  

Blog post can be found here:  http://blog.coloat.com/?p=105

On to the pics...

Here are a few pics of the new cabinets as they're arriving and getting lined up in our data center:







In addition to simply adding racks, we are rolling out cold aisle containment across our entire Atlanta facility.  It's a simple concept, servers suck in cold air from a closed off aisle rather than just sucking in ambient temperature air from the rest of the data center.  Cold aisle containment increases efficiency and helps us provide more directed cooling where it's needed.


----------



## BlackoutIsHere (Aug 20, 2013)

RyanD said:


> Have any of you ever wondered what goes on during construction and buildout in a datacenter?
> 
> Follow us on facebook as we'll be posting frequent updates with the expansion activities here at our 34 Peachtree ATL01 site that includes the build out of a new 500kw power system, deployment of Liebert CRV In-Row cooling and Cold-Isle containment systems in the new area as well as retrofit into our existing deployments.
> 
> ...


Do you guys give tours to students who can't afford colo?  Really epic stuff!


----------



## RyanD (Aug 20, 2013)

BlackoutIsHere said:


> Do you guys give tours to students who can't afford colo?  Really epic stuff!



Where are you located?


----------



## drmike (Aug 20, 2013)

I like the sharing, even if I ventured into Facecrook land to peek.

How much floor space does [email protected] have there in Atlanta?

Love the big gen sets and lifting them sky high.  Crazy work some of those guys do.


----------



## BlackoutIsHere (Aug 20, 2013)

RyanD said:


> Where are you located?


Northeast of ATL. Typically less then an hour from downtown. (But you know traffic around ATL... )


----------



## VPSCorey (Aug 20, 2013)

Cold isle containment also buys you time if the HVAC goes out since the cold air is trapped.  It's also great if you're Google or Facebook since they buy these special servers where you can maintain them from the hot isles.  You get to wear shorts instead of a parka doing maint. They're just basically trays with the MB/CPU onboard.


----------



## KuJoe (Aug 20, 2013)

We opted for hot aisle containment where I work mainly because we use the heat from the servers to heat the office space during the winter.


----------



## WebSearchingPro (Aug 20, 2013)

Awesome! Thanks for posting images here - wouldn't touch Facebook with a 10 foot pole.

@KuJoe - Thanks for being environmentally responsible  That's a really cool idea that many companies should take part in.


----------



## drmike (Aug 20, 2013)

I like this thread and hearing about the various approaches implemented by folks we know in the community.

Anyone know/care to speak about how much overall the aisle containments ads to the overall project costs as a percentage?


----------



## RyanD (Aug 20, 2013)

FRCorey said:


> Cold isle containment also buys you time if the HVAC goes out since the cold air is trapped.  It's also great if you're Google or Facebook since they buy these special servers where you can maintain them from the hot isles.  You get to wear shorts instead of a parka doing maint. They're just basically trays with the MB/CPU onboard.


We are actually working on some designs ala OVH and Facebook / Google for use in our dedicated servers, it makes no sense, operationally, to be wasting large sums of money on what are essentially shelves


----------



## RyanD (Aug 20, 2013)

KuJoe said:


> We opted for hot aisle containment where I work mainly because we use the heat from the servers to heat the office space during the winter.


Each method has it's individual advantages and disadvantages. For us, due to the physical layout of our facility, cold isle containment is optimal from an installation perspective. 

The key concept is you need to maintain the separation of your hot and cold to prevent intermixing of your return and already cooled air. Doing so raises the efficiency of your cooling systems, thereby reducing the amount of electricity required to cool the same heat load.


----------



## drmike (Aug 20, 2013)

RyanD said:


> We are actually working on some designs ala OVH and Facebook / Google for use in our dedicated servers, it makes no sense, operationally, to be wasting large sums of money on what are essentially shelves


Well server cases in general are a pretty big waste of cash.  Treating servers as slabs and modules with minimal casing would save a ton.

Eliminating the PSU per server would where appropriate also save potentially and allow you to move that bulky part to a designated zone.

I think it's wonderful some of the totally different designs that have been implemented.


----------



## RyanD (Aug 20, 2013)

buffalooed said:


> I like this thread and hearing about the various approaches implemented by folks we know in the community.
> 
> Anyone know/care to speak about how much overall the aisle containments ads to the overall project costs as a percentage?


In the grand scheme, containment is a minor cost. We have opted to go with a 'hard' containment solution. There are much more economical solutions based upon 'strip' door style containment. For example, Savvis, uses this heavily in all of their facilities, from the same vendor we are using. It works fine, it just isn't as pleasing to the eye.  Also, in our particular deployment because of all of our overhead delivery and equipment, these hung strip systems would not provide enough of a 'seal' allowing too much mixing of hot/cold.


----------



## Jack (Aug 21, 2013)

Looking good Ryan  B)


----------



## Coastercraze (Aug 21, 2013)

Amazing stuff. Feels great to colo at [email protected]


----------



## RyanD (Aug 21, 2013)

Jack said:


> Looking good Ryan  B)


Thanks, we'll try and post some more "exciting" pictures as things progress


----------



## RyanD (Aug 21, 2013)

Coastercraze said:


> Amazing stuff. Feels great to colo at [email protected]



Thanks, we appreciate the business Matthew


----------



## RyanD (Aug 21, 2013)

08/21/2013

A ton of materials have arrived, pipe bending equipment to bend the 4" conduit for power runs, fuel-oil piping being installed and just a few pictures of the generator replacement that was previously done as well as 2 pictures of our overhead busway that is used in all our power deployments that allows flexible circuit delivery to cabinets form 10A 120v to 30A 3-Phase.











Our crash carts are all wide screen! 21" or better, lol


----------



## Jade (Aug 21, 2013)

RyanD said:


> 08/21/2013
> 
> A ton of materials have arrived, pipe bending equipment to bend the 4" conduit for power runs, fuel-oil piping being installed and just a few pictures of the generator replacement that was previously done as well as 2 pictures of our overhead busway that is used in all our power deployments that allows flexible circuit delivery to cabinets form 10A 120v to 30A 3-Phase.
> 
> ...


That's awesome  Brand new generator, good to go!


----------



## Francisco (Aug 21, 2013)

Looking awesome boss!


----------



## EricGregory (Aug 22, 2013)

You saw the cold aisle containment setup for the new rows, but here's what our existing rows are going to look like when the expansion is completed.


----------



## drmike (Aug 22, 2013)

Pretty rendering 

How many square feet of space is this upgrade/build?


----------



## RyanD (Aug 22, 2013)

buffalooed said:


> Pretty rendering
> 
> How many square feet of space is this upgrade/build?


It's an 80 cabinet expansion within the existing space on our 4th floor of 34 Peachtree, just a build out of more cooling a power capacity.  This includes the addition of another 500kw power system and N+1 heat rejection units into a 2nd floor space that is ambient, which adjoins our 2nd floor offices.


----------



## CraigA (Aug 22, 2013)

Jade said:


> That is awesome! The datacenter looks very nice! Can't wait to see updates


Agreed, this is pretty awesome


----------



## RyanD (Aug 22, 2013)

CraigA said:


> Agreed, this is pretty awesome



Thanks guys, just trying to give a bit of a look into what goes on "behind the scenes" the next level up in the business


----------



## Slownode (Aug 22, 2013)

Going to use 230v instead of 120 for higher efficiency?


----------



## MannDude (Aug 22, 2013)

Hey Ryan, do you have any objection to me editing the title to include, '[email protected]'? Only ask because this is a great thread and would be easier for Google to pick it up


----------



## drmike (Aug 22, 2013)

Obligation = objection   MannDude likes sleep ,that rare treat.

The post needs keyword tagging too.


----------



## MannDude (Aug 23, 2013)

buffalooed said:


> Obligation = objection   MannDude likes sleep ,that rare treat.
> 
> The post needs keyword tagging too.


Yes. Three hours didn't cut it. Fixed my wrong choice of wording.


----------



## RyanD (Aug 23, 2013)

It's fine by me, it's not as if our logo isn't plastered all over the place already


----------



## VPSCorey (Aug 23, 2013)

Datacenter Porn


----------



## MartinD (Aug 23, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> You saw the cold aisle containment setup for the new rows, but here's what our existing rows are going to look like when the expansion is completed.


Just out of interest, is there a reason you're going top down instead of bottom up?


----------



## RyanD (Aug 23, 2013)

MartinD said:


> Just out of interest, is there a reason you're going top down instead of bottom up?


Existing overhead delivery. Additionally raised flooring and trying to use pressure to "push" cold air up, is inefficient. Why fight the natural flow of air?


----------



## MartinD (Aug 23, 2013)

Makes sense


----------



## drmike (Aug 23, 2013)

RyanD said:


> Existing overhead delivery. Additionally raised flooring and trying to use pressure to "push" cold air up, is inefficient. Why fight the natural flow of air?


Totally makes sense. 

So the overhead and end of row containment is all AC - temperature lowered air.   Cold air drops, so put it up high and let it rain down.  Less mechanical blowers, fans, etc.

Aside from the AC feed, is anything done about heat removal in this design? Or do you overcome that with the AC injection in the aisle purely?


----------



## RyanD (Aug 23, 2013)

buffalooed said:


> Totally makes sense.
> 
> So the overhead and end of row containment is all AC - temperature lowered air.   Cold air drops, so put it up high and let it rain down.  Less mechanical blowers, fans, etc.
> 
> Aside from the AC feed, is anything done about heat removal in this design? Or do you overcome that with the AC injection in the aisle purely?


The entire room basically becomes a hot aisle.  You can expect to walk into the datacenter and feel the room temperature to be in the 78-82deg range.  

Contrary to popular (mis)belief, the worst thing you can do is try and operate your datacenter like it's a walk in refrigerator.  Mixing and recycling of conditioned air with hot air and cycling back into AC units dramatically drops efficiency, driving up operating costs, and reducing delivery of the cold air to where it's needed. 

This isn't some crazy concept, it's the same principals that all new modern facilities are designed upon, example google, facebook, etc.  Granted we have limitations with budget compared to those guys, but it's the same engineering


----------



## BlackoutIsHere (Aug 23, 2013)

I wonder how much power you save from all the servers running cooler and not blasting their own fans to keep cool. That looks like a very slick and simple cold aisle containment system!


----------



## wlanboy (Aug 24, 2013)

FRCorey said:


> Datacenter Porn


Yup - but one of the good ones. opcorn:


----------



## VPSCorey (Aug 24, 2013)

Fans are not really the power hogs of servers the CPU and Standard Drives are.  I used to build powerful gaming computers and had them on killawatts and the fan speed would barely register.

208v gets a good boost in savings as well I believe a few percentage points. But when your power bill is in the millions a few percentage points can be a good bit of savings.


----------



## drmike (Aug 24, 2013)

RyanD said:


> the room temperature to be in the 78-82deg range.


Makes sense how this works.  This is in addition to room air conditioning too, correct?  So reduces the HVAC cooling load some, yes.  Certainly more comfortable.  I use to often pack and use fingerless gloves and a fleece hat in some of my datacenter overnight work sessions.  That's when sitting on my hind mainly and not hoisting gear 

Now to use similar concepts to deal with the mass noise pollution in such an environment


----------



## VPSCorey (Aug 24, 2013)

buffalooed said:


> Makes sense how this works.  This is in addition to room air conditioning too, correct?  So reduces the HVAC cooling load some, yes.  Certainly more comfortable.  I use to often pack and use fingerless gloves and a fleece hat in some of my datacenter overnight work sessions.  That's when sitting on my hind mainly and not hoisting gear
> 
> Now to use similar concepts to deal with the mass noise pollution in such an environment


Our HVAC ones we tried here in Colorado was a 4 story monster basically by itself you could feel the flow of air to the supply side by itself man it made a huge mess in the noise department.  Added a 2nd one before they decided 30 direct drive CRAC's would be better and we went from hearing fans to hearing servers.  One group freaked out thought the AC died lol.

The only disadvantage in the cold isle with top down is if you happen to have to work in the cabinet underneath the air feed.  Bring a jacket!


----------



## EricGregory (Aug 26, 2013)

We're getting in some of our Liebert CRV units.  They're in-row air conditioning systems.  They're really pretty slick.  Check out the following video on 'em if you'd like to know why they're cool (yeah, lame pun).  






Anyway, here's one of our new units from shipping to placement within a row.


----------



## EricGregory (Aug 26, 2013)

buffalooed said:


> Now to use similar concepts to deal with the mass noise pollution in such an environment


Ear plugs or noise canceling headphones make quite a difference when working in a DC.  Noise canceling stuff generally works nicely b/c of the constant tone of the chillers & servers.  That constant drone gets kinda rough after a while.


----------



## drmike (Aug 26, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> Ear plugs or noise canceling headphones make quite a difference when working in a DC.  Noise canceling stuff generally works nicely b/c of the constant tone of the chillers & servers.  That constant drone gets kinda rough after a while.


Sure does.  These days I actually get physically ill from the noise and quickly.  It is nearly identical to motion sickness.

I tend to run everything fanless in my work environments for this reason (non datacenter).

If you are not as severely impacted, the noise still creates fatigue and hearing loss.


----------



## Jade (Aug 26, 2013)

Those new racks look awesome  Probably the best way to cool them.


----------



## VPSCorey (Aug 27, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> Ear plugs or noise canceling headphones make quite a difference when working in a DC.  Noise canceling stuff generally works nicely b/c of the constant tone of the chillers & servers.  That constant drone gets kinda rough after a while.



Or having worked around them so long you're tone deaf to it lol.. or is that my wife..


----------



## ultimatehostings (Sep 1, 2013)

Impressive stuff.


----------



## VPSCorey (Sep 3, 2013)

Kudos to the watermarking person for actually putting effort into it.  You would almost think they were really there.  Or are they? lol


----------



## ramnet (Sep 3, 2013)

Thanks for the pictures guys. Makes me proud to be a long term customer of [email protected]

Can't wait to see it for myself when it's all completed.


----------



## EricGregory (Sep 5, 2013)

FRCorey said:


> Kudos to the watermarking person for actually putting effort into it.  You would almost think they were really there.  Or are they? lol


lol...  Thanks   I was getting sick of the same old boring watermarks so it was time to change it up a little bit.  Nice to see someone noticed.

We'll post more pics as the project progresses so I'll have even more opportunity to hone my logo-fu skills.


----------



## Mr. Obvious (Sep 5, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> lol...  Thanks   I was getting sick of the same old boring watermarks so it was time to change it up a little bit.  Nice to see someone noticed.
> 
> We'll post more pics as the project progresses so I'll have even more opportunity to hone my logo-fu skills.


Clearly you just need to put your logo everywhere like in the pictures, it looks rather sweet


----------



## Tux (Sep 5, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> lol...  Thanks   I was getting sick of the same old boring watermarks so it was time to change it up a little bit.  Nice to see someone noticed.
> 
> We'll post more pics as the project progresses so I'll have even more opportunity to hone my logo-fu skills.


I noticed that too. Nice work.


----------



## EricGregory (Sep 13, 2013)

We've got another big operation coming tomorrow.  We're adding our second 500kW generator unit.  This involves removing part of the side of the building, a crane, and a bunch of sweat.  Preparations are currently underway to get the building ready to receive the new equipment.


----------



## EricGregory (Sep 13, 2013)

One more photo of the interior of the generator room.  It's currently getting prepped to handle the new unit so yeah, it's a bit cluttered at the moment.


----------



## drmike (Sep 13, 2013)

^--- That's the generator room?   Lots of windows in there.  I am accustomed to the gen sets being hidden.


----------



## RyanD (Sep 13, 2013)

buffalooed said:


> ^--- That's the generator room?   Lots of windows in there.  I am accustomed to the gen sets being hidden.


Once completed the windows are gone, that will be a wall of louvers for air flow to service the heat rejection units and the generator.


----------



## drmike (Sep 13, 2013)

Thanks @RyanD.   You folks are doing  tons of work and investment in your space. 

This isn't some run of mill stash and go expansion.


----------



## EricGregory (Sep 13, 2013)

Heh, yeah, it's a pretty substantial bit of construction   As always, if you've got any questions feel free to throw 'em at us


----------



## zim (Sep 14, 2013)

very cool thread... +1 for ericgregory and [email protected]

Curious, biometrics or rfid?


----------



## RyanD (Sep 14, 2013)

zim said:


> very cool thread... +1 for ericgregory and [email protected]
> 
> Curious, biometrics or rfid?


We use 2-factor and 2 independent systems

Elevators to access the 4th floor datacenter, the entire floor is access card controlled from the elevator

  - Independent system managed by building management, same access card but requires building security sign-off on card entry

Once you are on the floor with our datacenter all doors are additionally secured with another access card point as well as biometrics (fingerprint) which is of course matched to your access card so it is impossible to share cards 

We are looking to add a man trap style entry to the primary access point to the DC floor as well. Currently working on designs for that as it requires some modifications to walls, doors, and entry points


----------



## RyanD (Sep 14, 2013)

Generator load in


----------



## HostingAbove (Sep 14, 2013)

That's a beautiful facility, please keep us posted with images.


----------



## EricGregory (Sep 16, 2013)

I'm sorting through some photos from Saturday's lift.  You'll have some more data center eye candy this morning


----------



## MannDude (Sep 16, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> I'm sorting through some photos from Saturday's lift.  You'll have some more data center eye candy this morning


Can't wait!


----------



## Tyler.S (Sep 16, 2013)

PrintShops Of The Future below you might not like that genny running, unless you plan to share power when it goes out? lol


----------



## RyanD (Sep 16, 2013)

Tyler.S said:


> PrintShops Of The Future below you might not like that genny running, unless you plan to share power when it goes out? lol


The generator is in a sound attenuation enclosure as well as everything is mounted on vibration dampers, our other generator is located on the 4th floor directly above this one.

I would be more worried about the poor guy who's office is in between our 4th and 2nd floor generators


----------



## Tyler.S (Sep 16, 2013)

RyanD said:


> The generator is in a sound attenuation enclosure as well as everything is mounted on vibration dampers, our other generator is located on the 4th floor directly above this one.
> 
> I would be more worried about the poor guy who's office is in between our 4th and 2nd floor generators


Wow, no kidding eh? Poor guy won't know what hit him. lol


----------



## RyanD (Sep 16, 2013)

Tyler.S said:


> Wow, no kidding eh? Poor guy won't know what hit him. lol


If they are running, he won't be at his desk. 3rd floor is a local county government office, they don't have a generator


----------



## Tyler.S (Sep 16, 2013)

RyanD said:


> If they are running, he won't be at his desk. 3rd floor is a local county government office, they don't have a generator


Aww, not going to share your genny's and make the poor guys work when they could go home? lol


----------



## Francisco (Sep 16, 2013)

How can you tell they're in Georgia?

Everything is named peachtree -_-

Francisco


----------



## RyanD (Sep 16, 2013)

Francisco said:


> How can you tell they're in Georgia?
> 
> 
> Everything is named peachtree -_-
> ...


At least you know the pictures are legit! lol


----------



## EricGregory (Sep 16, 2013)

Here are a couple more pics from the lift this weekend.  This is our _second_ 500kW generator.  This brings our _total generator capacity_ up to 1MW.


----------



## Tux (Sep 16, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> Here are a couple more pics from the lift this weekend.  This is our _second_ 500kW generator.  This brings our _total generator capacity_ up to 1MW.


That [email protected] watermark is getting pretty creepy now...


----------



## MannDude (Sep 16, 2013)

I bet those shops and storefronts beneath you just _love_ you guys. Blocking their sidewalk and making all sorts of noise


----------



## EricGregory (Sep 19, 2013)

A couple more shots showing the generator in its new home.


----------



## VPSCorey (Sep 21, 2013)

I've seen a lot of gen installs but that genny enclosure has to be one of the better one's I have seen.  That's a good one for client tours 

Some places give a rats ass what their generator rooms look like as long as it meets fire code, but it's terrible for showing to potential clients when they look ugly.

Typical header though  paint never sticks to them or turns the colors weird.

Course I'm typing this from a Carinval Ship hope theirs is in tip top shape for the next 11 hours until we dock back in Texas.


----------



## EricGregory (Sep 25, 2013)

We're still making progress on the expansion.  

An additional UPS has been put in place and is nearly ready to get wired in.



More wiring, this comes off the ATS feeding the generator...  Before...



And After...


----------



## Ruchirablog (Sep 25, 2013)

KOHLER nice!


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 2, 2013)

We got some more of our ducting for the generator hammered out today...


----------



## Jade (Oct 2, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> We got some more of our ducting for the generator hammered out today...


It's looking good! I love the [email protected] you put on the pictures


----------



## Francisco (Oct 2, 2013)

I dunno what is more fun.

Looking at all these cool images or playing Where's Waldo with the logo 

Francisco


----------



## Jon.Fatino (Oct 3, 2013)

I can't wait till the expansion is done. I wonder what this will sound like with the sound-attenuated enclosure.


----------



## VPSCorey (Oct 5, 2013)

Jon they're pretty good at dealing with the noise I think the loudest it gets is when it first starts up from the starter motor, but otherwise fairly quiet.


----------



## VPSCorey (Oct 5, 2013)

Without it, we'll your ears would bleed.  We had some out in Korea behind a CO I worked at and we kept the yard tools in there and as murphy would have it, I walk in there to get a broom and the power goes out.  These suckers were just straight pipe out the back.


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 7, 2013)

We're getting a PDD moved into place and plumbed in.  More pics will be coming soon


----------



## Jack (Oct 7, 2013)

So this is all in Atlanta?


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 7, 2013)

Jack said:


> So this is all in Atlanta?


Yep it is.  This thread is a goal to provide a bit of insight on what's going into upgrading and expanding our Atlanta facility at 34 Peachtree St.


----------



## nunim (Oct 7, 2013)

I'm extremely interested in seeing the cold aisle containment when complete.


----------



## MannDude (Oct 7, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> Yep it is.  This thread is a goal to provide a bit of insight on what's going into upgrading and expanding our Atlanta facility at 34 Peachtree St.


Looking great so far!

Love watching the progress here. Do you have any sort of planned timeline of completion or anything you can share with us?


----------



## VPSCorey (Oct 8, 2013)

You have must locate your tool bag and assemble your flange assembly!

That's one mean reducer from the iron to copper pipe.


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 8, 2013)

We loaded up the new UPS with fresh batteries...  The plan is coming together...


----------



## Magiobiwan (Oct 8, 2013)

Your plan for WORLD DOMINATION _MUHAHAHAHA_?


----------



## Jon.Fatino (Oct 9, 2013)

I sense more POWER!!!


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 9, 2013)

Moarrrrr Powaarrrrrr!


----------



## fixidixi (Oct 9, 2013)

Hey this looks aweome. I only see stuff like this in small @ my university


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 10, 2013)

It's a behind the scenes look at what goes into keeping the internet up and running.  It's something that happens a lot, but isn't really seen very often.  Personally, I think what goes on back stage is usually just as interesting as the main performance, so our team is snapping pics and I'm posting 'em up here now and then to show what goes into a data center upgrade.

As always, if anyone has any questions or would like to know more about what's what, fire away.  If I don't have the answers I'll bug my colleagues until I do


----------



## Francisco (Oct 10, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> We loaded up the new UPS with fresh batteries...  The plan is coming together...


So are the UPS batteries actual car batteries? Or do they just look really similar?

Francisco


----------



## wlanboy (Oct 10, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> As always, if anyone has any questions or would like to know more about what's what, fire away.  If I don't have the answers I'll bug my colleagues until I do


Maybe you can add some pics of your uplinks.


----------



## RyanD (Oct 10, 2013)

Francisco said:


> So are the UPS batteries actual car batteries? Or do they just look really similar?
> 
> 
> Francisco


The form factor is similar but there are major differences in batteries based upon their use pattern. Different construction, fluids/gels/acids, pole types, connection methods, etc, etc.


----------



## RyanD (Oct 10, 2013)

wlanboy said:


> Maybe you can add some pics of your uplinks.


Is fiber really that exciting? I could show you a 40CH DWDM mux?


----------



## Francisco (Oct 10, 2013)

RyanD said:


> The form factor is similar but there are major differences in batteries based upon their use pattern. Different construction, fluids/gels/acids, pole types, connection methods, etc, etc.


That's pretty cool 

Francisco


----------



## Coastercraze (Oct 12, 2013)

RyanD said:


> Is fiber really that exciting? I could show you a 40CH DWDM mux?


Put a color wheel at one end of it, I'm sure you'll get some oohs and aaahs.


----------



## nunim (Oct 12, 2013)

Francisco said:


> So are the UPS batteries actual car batteries? Or do they just look really similar?
> 
> 
> Francisco


Most UPS batteries that I have seen, large and small, are Lead-acid based so they're similar to car batteries but they're actually more like boat batteries.  I know they're making some UPS units with Li-ion batteries now but I'm not sure it's cost effective for large scale deployments.


----------



## wlanboy (Oct 12, 2013)

RyanD said:


> Is fiber really that exciting? I could show you a 40CH DWDM mux?


It is more about your core routers.

How the dc internal network is managed.


----------



## VPSCorey (Oct 13, 2013)

wlanboy said:


> It is more about your core routers.
> 
> How the dc internal network is managed.


Probably via SSH B)


----------



## Increhost (Oct 14, 2013)

Any *really* special offer you're thinking in launching for this location ?


----------



## Coastercraze (Oct 15, 2013)

Increhost said:


> Any *really* special offer you're thinking in launching for this location ?


Don't really need an "offer", they're damn good at what they have already. I lost count how many servers I have with them already


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 16, 2013)

Our new generator installation is nearing completion.  Yeah, it's a little messy in there, but it's a work in progress   Commissioning (which involves start up and load testing) will be happening soon.


----------



## SkylarM (Oct 16, 2013)

Not gonna lie, I keep opening the thread to play where's waldo. Love the watermarks


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 17, 2013)

Today's festivities involve load testing of the generator.  The small boxes you see are load banks.  Each one is capable of about a 100kW load.  So far, the generator is handling everything just fine


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 17, 2013)

Here's one more pic of the generator with the full insulation around the exhaust.  This thing really is a beast.


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 18, 2013)

The louvers for our new generator room are, at last, fully installed.


----------



## splitice (Oct 19, 2013)

Very nice. Power actually just went out here actually, running on UPS. Would love to have that Genny right now 

Please keep posting its very good reading.


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 24, 2013)

Our new UPS got powered up yesterday.  The power portion of this expansion is rolling along nicely.


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 24, 2013)

I put up a lot of pics from the expansion project into an album over on our FB page.  Feel free to have a peek to see all the shots in one place.

Check it out.


----------



## EricGregory (Oct 29, 2013)

In other news, we've redesigned the website of our parent brand Total Server Solutions.  Please feel free to check it out and let fly any feedback you've got


----------



## MannDude (Oct 31, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> In other news, we've redesigned the website of our parent brand Total Server Solutions.  Please feel free to check it out and let fly any feedback you've got


Looks good to me!


----------



## ComputerTrophy (Nov 1, 2013)

Will you have Internap FCP at your new D/C as well?


----------



## RyanD (Nov 3, 2013)

InvokeVM-Kelvin said:


> Will you have Internap FCP at your new D/C as well?


Kevin,

Yes, it will still be FCP Optimized, this is not a new facility but rather an expansion of our existing 34 Peachtree location.


----------



## Jon.Fatino (Nov 7, 2013)

The facebook has a good amount of pictures if you all like looking at datacenter eye candy!

FaceBook Link


----------



## EricGregory (Nov 7, 2013)

Earlier in the week we had some engineers on site to do some HVAC studies to check that our plans for cold aisle containment were sound and that our equipment can easily handle everything.  The test went perfectly.  

Getting our cold aisle containment in place will boost efficiency and have the added bonus of making the place look like something out of a James Bond movie


----------



## Coastercraze (Nov 12, 2013)

Looks cool to me.


----------



## EricGregory (Nov 18, 2013)

We got our CRVs & PDD units switched on.  In other news, the bulk of the construction materials for our cold aisle containment installation arrived today.  That will be getting built this week...  We'll have some more pics as we go...


----------



## nunim (Nov 19, 2013)

EricGregory said:


> We got our CRVs & PDD units switched on.  In other news, the bulk of the construction materials for our cold aisle containment installation arrived today.  That will be getting built this week...  We'll have some more pics as we go...


Sweet!  I'm really looking forward to seeing the Cold Aisle Containment when fully setup.  It seems like it will look pretty cool, and if it's functional that's even better!


----------



## EricGregory (Nov 19, 2013)

It should indeed look pretty slick.  It will be very functional, that's the only reason we're doing it.  Aesthetics, while important, take a back seat to function.


----------



## EricGregory (Nov 19, 2013)

Speaking of containment...  Assembly has begun.  FYI, the opaque part of the sliding door is just a protective film over the lexan/polycarbonate windows.


----------



## VPSCorey (Nov 21, 2013)

Plus more 10G connectivity


----------



## EricGregory (Nov 22, 2013)

The containment project is moving along rather nicely.  These doors (as well as some additional baffles and other hardware) will block off the cold aisles from the hot exhaust air at the back of each rack.  This will substantially increase cooling system efficiency.


----------



## EricGregory (Dec 5, 2013)

Here are a few more shots of the inside of our Atlanta data center.  

This is some of the cooling piping that feeds one of our Liebert CRV in-row cooling devices.  These things provide a massing cooling boost to our existing setup.  



This is a stack of roof pieces of our cold aisle containment system awaiting installation. The plastic not only keeps hot air out and cold air in, it is pretty unique stuff in its own right. In the rare event of a cooling failure, or worse, a fire, the clear plastic portion of the roof shrinks and falls out of its frame to allow hot air to escape or to allow our fire suppression system to properly extinguish any fire. It's pretty cool stuff.  I think the temperature at which it shrinks is 157 degrees F.  If you're curious I could find out more about it.


----------



## MannDude (Dec 18, 2013)

Looking great! Any new updates?


----------



## johnlth93 (Dec 19, 2013)

The name is too catchy. But the data center is awesome though


----------



## EricGregory (Dec 19, 2013)

Not a lot of updates at the moment.  Everything has been running very smoothly, so no news is good news.  We're still working on finishing out the cold aisle containment end of things.  Like most projects, it's taking a bit longer than anticipated.

In the meantime...


----------



## EricGregory (Feb 17, 2014)

It's been a while since I posted anything here.  That said, here's a quick panorama shot I snapped today in our facility.


----------

