What’s a hosting provider to do when a single tenant decides to take over your data center? Why, build another one, of course, that uses the architectural lessons you learned by building the first one.
Ascent, which developed the much-ballyhooed Northlake Data Center for Microsoft near Chicago, is working on another highly energy-efficient data center near the first site. The building is being called CH2 (the facility that Microsoft has taken over was originally known as CH1).
The new data center will take up more than 250,000 square feet that will be split up and filled with what Ascent calls Dynamic Data Center Suites. These are self-contained pods that allow the tenant the choice of multiple cooling options, including chilled water or air-side cooling, and that can be used with varying levels of power density or energy efficiency.
The other thing worth noting about the new facility is that it will use the same power infrastructure that attracted Microsoft to the original facility. CH2 will have a substation with dual diverse connections to the nearby power transmission grid. For more about Ascent’s green data center philosophy, visit this link.
CH2 is supposed to be online by the end of 2009.
