November 24, 2008 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Dedicated and managed hosting provider The Planet (www.theplanet.com) announced on Monday it has opened the latest addition to is D6 data center in Dallas. The company first announced its expansion plans in June.
According to The Planet’s most recent announcement, the new phase adds 12,000 square feet to the company?s operations, bringing The Planet’s total data center footprint to 167,000 square feet. The new section will also be able to accommodate up to 10,000 servers.
With an enhanced, yet common-sense, design that completely separates hot and cold air, the company estimates the data center’s “coefficient of efficiency” will be approximately 1.5, which is below the 1.6 “ideal” ranking.
The coefficient of efficiency is an EPA and Uptime Institute recognized measurement of the total power necessary to operate a data center divided by its critical power, which is the energy required to operate its servers.
As part of its energy efficiency initiatives, the company has extended the returns of the computer room air conditioning units through the ceiling and used the space above the ceiling as a return air path.
By installing Chatsworth Products ducted exhaust cabinets in the new phase, The Planet says it is taking the next steps beyond traditional “hot aisle-cold aisle” setups to completely isolate the hot and cold air in the data center.
“We continue to experience solid customer demand, so this new space enables us to accommodate our growth,” says Jeff Lowenberg, The Planet’s VP of facilities. “Additionally, operating our data centers at peak performance is important to both our company and our customers, especially as we prepare for our future.”
The Planet operates six data centers, with four located in Dallas and two in Houston.
The D6 expansion follows two other announcements The Planet made last week. On Tuesday The Planet launched a new API that will extend the management capabilities of Planet Alpha’s dedicated hosting customers, particularly its reseller customer base.
And on Monday, the hosting giant announced the limited availability of its new cloud storage service to current hosting customers.
