(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Canadian data center services provider RackForce Networks (www.rackforce.com) has officially opened the first phase of its new, state-of-the-art “GigaCenter,” built to be among the greenest and most advanced data centers in the world, and the first large-scale green data center in the country according to the company.
Located in Kelowna, a small city in British Columbia, the GigaCenter features a scalable and highly efficient modular design, that will support the IT demands of a worldwide customer base, while producing 2 percent of the carbon footprint of a conventional North American data center. The first phase of the GigaCenter encompasses 30,000 square feet, offering space in increments as small as a single cabinet, up to dedicated rooms.
Unlike data centers powered by coal-fired or natural gas electrical generation plants, the GigaCenter uses British Columbia’s abundant supply of clean, renewable hydroelectric power. Kelowna has also been identified as one of the best locations in North America to build a data center because of its stable geographic location, temperate climate and extremely low risk of natural disaster.
“We built the GigaCenter here in Kelowna because it’s one of the most stable and eco-friendly areas in North America,” RackForce president and chief executive officer Tim Dufour said in a statement. “The highly advanced network and scalable infrastructure supports our customer’s most demanding computing needs, today and in the future, while contributing to their corporate environmental goals.”
An additional 120,000 square feet is scheduled to be completed by 2011, which will also make RackForce’s GigaCenter one of the largest commercially available data centers on the continent.
GigaCenter was built the help of IBM’s (www.ibm.com) data center expertise. IBM helped RackForce use innovative design features to support both current and future technologies including massive data storage, high density blade servers, virtualized computing clusters and mainframe systems over the past year.
IBM global services vice president John Ostrander said IBM is proud to have been involved in RackForce’s exciting project. “The GigaCenter is a clear example of how Canadian companies continue to innovate and find new ways to improve global business practices, while reducing our impact on the environment,” Ostrander said in a statement.
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