Hosting News
The Planet Expands Colocation Services with New Texas Facility
2008-12-17
Features Green Chilled Water Energy System with 11MW Power
HOUSTON, Dec. 15, 2008 The Planet.com Internet Services, the global
leader in IT hosting, today announced plans for a new environmentally friendly
86,000 square foot data center in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas. This
facility, which will use the latest modular cooling technology from Turbine Air
Systems, will accommodate expansion of the companys highly regarded colocation
services, along with its popular private racks and Planet Northstar Managed
Hosting services. The new operation the companys seventh data center will
bring its total data center raised floor footprint to 214,500 square feet.
The company plans to immediately begin colocation pre-leasing on the first
12,000 square feet, which will accommodate approximately 8,000 servers. The new
data center will open in May 2009 and meet the same SAS 70 Type II
qualifications of the companys existing six facilities.
We have a long and successful track record in providing colocation services,
and continue to receive significant interest from customers looking either to
expand their core IT infrastructure or to supplement their operations, said The
Planets Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Douglas J. Erwin. Dallas ranks as
one of the nations top five colocation markets based on its connectivity,
central location and the availability of its skilled workforce. With the current
shortage of colocation space that offers robust power density, we expect
substantial interest in our new highly efficient facilities.
Despite todays difficult economic environment, which provides its own set of
challenges, we believe there is an extraordinary market opportunity, Erwin
continued. Over the past two years we have aggressively expanded our footprint,
with considerable strategic investments in our core infrastructure and product
portfolio. Our broad spectrum of services offers customers the power to choose
precisely what they need, combined with our world-class network and data
centers. With the downturn, companies are looking to reduce IT costs, and The
Planets hosted model offers a 75 percent cost savings compared with the
do-it-yourself alternative. Finally, we continue to have a very strong balance
sheet. Our recent $45 million credit facility underscores the stability of our
business and augments our ability to execute on our growth plans.
New Data Center Features
The mixed-use facility will feature N+1 cooling and power architectures, with
state-of-the-art, high-efficiency water-cooled chillers from Turbine Air Systems
(TAS). This green architectural design, which costs an additional $2 million
to build, provides a planned return on investment in just 30 months. An
equipment galley, located outside of the data center floor, will hold six large
air-handling units and all chilled water piping. Because all water is located
outside of the actual data center floor, the design eliminates the possibility
of an interior water leak.
The new TAS cooling system provides a modular mechanical installation. Rather
than securing multiple components from a broad array of vendors, TAS
manufactures an all-in-one system with a single point of contact for maintenance
and service. In addition, TAS guarantees the energy efficiency specifics of its
systems.
The new data centers cooling system will provide twice the efficiency and use
half the energy of The Planets existing data centers. The company expects to
achieve a 1.3 co-efficiency of efficiency ranking, which is well below the 1.6
ideal rating. This score, recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and The Uptime Institute, measures the total power necessary to operate a
data center, divided by critical power, which represents the energy required to
operate its servers.
Colocation Capabilities
The Planet provides a broad range of colocation options, from dedicated locking
cabinets to private-cage rentals. The companys colocation configurations and
service options offer customers the optimum solutions for their business, as
well as the flexibility to expand and scale as required. Among the options
customers can select from are the following:
Locking Cabinets In the highly secure storage environment, servers
receive proper cooling and power. The colocation cabinet provides the ideal
solution for small and growing server installations.
Private Cages Customers are offered the option of private cages that
can be built to their exact specifications, with maximum flexibility and the
proper secure environment. Private cages are ideal for customers who require
multiple cabinets and guaranteed floor space for future expansion.
High-Speed Network Options: The Planet provides ultra high-speed
network connections through either direct network feeds or blended feeds using
the companys world-class network. This enables customers to bypass the local
loop and tie directly into the Internet.
Redundant Power: Customers can select redundant circuits as
optional services in The Planets current and new colocation facilities.
Redundant circuits provide a second circuit path that can mitigate the potential
for power outages within the cabinet or cage area.
24x7x365 Access and Security: Backed by state-of-the-art physical
on-site and online security, customers can take advantage of both online and
in-person access with a wide range of self-service tools for reboots, monitoring
and bandwidth graphs.
Remote Hands and Eyes: Every customer is provided with remote
hands and eyes services. Certified colocation engineers can access equipment
immediately to rapidly address emergency hands-on needs when speed is critical,
which minimizes technician visit costs.
Advanced Services: The Planet offers customers the flexibility to
add special Advanced Services as required. Colocation Advanced Services modules
-- monitoring, security and server administration -- conveniently supplement the
administration and maintenance of colocated equipment. Customers can create the
optimal management plan for their business to lower operational costs, and
improve the security and availability of their colocated environment.
Professional Services: An experienced staff of certified engineers
is available to help with specific projects or tasks to troubleshoot or manage
issues in the colocated infrastructure. Services are billed on an hourly basis
through a service contract customized to each customers specific requirements.
Representation
The new building, owned and leased by Northwestern Mutual Life, is located on
Plano Parkway in the 190 Business Center. Susan Singer of The Bradford Companies
represented the owner. Andy Iversen and Chris Mason with Jackson-Cooksey
represented The Planet.
About The Planet
The Planet is the leading provider of On Demand IT Infrastructure solutions,
hosting more than 25,000 small- and medium-size businesses and 13.3 million Web
sites worldwide. The Planet Alpha division provides the widest array of
self-managed dedicated servers and advanced services backed by 24x7x365 support.
The Planet Northstar Managed Hosting division combines a proactive methodology
and seasoned IT experts to deliver a fully managed hosting solution. With the
best choice of servers, software tools and world-class support, backed by
state-of-the-art facilities and an enterprise-class network, The Planet turns IT
into a powerful competitive advantage that enables customers to grow their
businesses. For additional information, visit
http://www.theplanet.com.
For information contact:
Yvonne Donaldson, The Planet
Director, Public Relations
Phone: (281) 714-3602
ydonaldson@theplanet.com
Catherine Leahy
Global Fluency
Phone: (650) 433-4150
cleahy@globalfluency.com
Click here for more information
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