Toowoomba gets first regional Tier III DC

Australia’s first Tier III regional data centre is open for business in Toowoomba, a fast-growing regional centre 120 kilometres inland from Brisbane.

The $40 million co-location Pulse Data Centre was officially opened today by Julieanne Gilbert, Assistant Minister for State Development, and Paul Antonio, Mayor of Toowoomba.

The centre has been built by FKG Group, with Telstra supplying IT services, NRG Electrical providing the power installation and Schneider Electric providing data centre solutions, IoT and industrial technologies, including its EcoStruxure IT platform.

The centre is located at the new Toowoomba Technology Park, which offers multiple tier levels and security tailored for clients.

As well as the data centre, the facility will also eventually include a “research incubator, disaster recovery space, start-up offices and service facilities, with room for further expansion within the park,” said Dallas Hunter, group manager, property developments for the FKG Group.

“Importantly for Toowoomba, this new technology industry hub is expected to generate significant employment opportunities in information, media, telecommunications and agricultural technology, resulting in an estimated 5000 new jobs as we tap into growing demand from Australia and Asia.”

Pulse Data Centre’s Tier III has incremental capacity of up to 50 megawatts, and provides business continuity protection to both corporate and government clients in a secure location 507 metres above sea level.

According to FKG Group, the centre will have 720 data racks which will be delivered over four equal stages (data halls) — each to be fitted out as business demand requires.

The first data hall delivered today has 180 racks.

The main building meets strict security requirements, such as tilt panels for all perimeter walls and core filled blockwork fire compartments internally. The roof has been designed as a penetration-free roof sheeting system with a second PIR insulated panel skin underneath as a second barrier for added protection to the data halls. The data halls are also protected with a dual fire detection system and gas suppression throughout.

The data halls are cooled by large chillers and multiple CRAC (computer room air conditioning) units on a dual feed which circulate chilled water through a line which has been specifically designed to take advantage of the local environmental conditions — utilising free air cooling to achieve the best cooling efficiency for the building.

The data hall cooling is supplemented with small amounts of fresh air supply which passes through a filtered mezzanine plenum that is then either humidified or de-humidified to meet the tightly controlled data space humidity and temperature requirements.

The facility incorporates a tri-redundant power train solution and is one of the first data centres in Australia to include lithium-ion batteries in the UPS delivery. With a designed capacity of 2.5 MW of IT load for the first building, 16-cylinder generators (1850 kVA) were required as the backup power source to the facility.

The site is fully fenced around the perimeter with 2400 mm-high security fencing over gabion basket vehicle barrier walls. Access to the site service area is via security vehicle traps at the rear of the development.

Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure platform has contributed to the data centre reaching the Tier III rating.

“We chose to partner with Schneider Electric on this landmark venture not only because of their global reputation and experience in the data centre market, but the innovation demonstrated throughout their EcoStruxure platform and their agility in supporting a project at this scale,” said Peter Blunt, Pulse Data Centre general manager for the FKG Group.

Schneider Electric’s VP of IT, Joe Craparotta, said: “A great example of our technology in action at Pulse Data Centre is our Galaxy V-Series UPS solution for data centres, which features long-lasting lithium-ion batteries. Pulse Data Centre is able to provide excellent power quality in demanding electrical environments, offer lower energy costs — up to 99% efficiency, and allows for local and remote management.”

Image courtesy FKG Group.

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