Rackspace launches green UK data centre

Delivering outstanding Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.151 compared to the average data centre today rating of 1.72, and with a design BREEAM assessment certification of 'Excellent,' it is one of the UK's greenest data centres. The new operation is the first data centre in the UK to make use of innovative 'indirect outside air' cooling technology on this scale, without mechanical cooling, which means the overhead energy required to operate the data centre has been cut by almost 80 per cent3. The use of these cutting-edge technologies in the facility is testament to both Digital Realty's and Rackspace's full support of the latest ASHRAE guidelines4, which demonstrates an ability to follow stringent energy and sustainability targets while ensuring high levels of server performance.

The Crawley data centre was designed to maximise compatibility to and compliance with Open Compute Project standards. By using Open Compute Project designs, Rackspace has been able to realise outstanding scalability and energy efficiency opportunities in the hardware it deploys. The data centre delivers less weight, less waste and less wattage than traditional server designs.

Mark Roenigk, COO, Rackspace commented: "This data centre is the epitome of intelligent 21st century infrastructure engineering. We partnered with industry leaders to design and deliver one of the most environmentally friendly and reliable data centres in Europe. Our customers depend on us for their mission critical managed IT services and this new data centre furthers our commitment to delivering world class services to those customers.

"This is our tenth global data centre and this expansion will enable us to grow with our customers for many years to come. We are proud of the energy efficiency achieved with the innovative design that will become the starting point for boosting the adoption of more efficient technologies in the UK and Europe. We are honoured to operate and provide a positive impact in the Crawley community."

The new data centre, which is the size of two football fields and holds up to 50,000 physical servers, occupies a 15 acre site. The initial build was constructed in 15 months and took approximately 500,000 man hours. It provides 6MW capacity across two data suites, and will eventually comprise of four data suites with a total 12MW capacity. The site allows for further expansion up to 30MW, and a staggered build approach maximises year-on-year advances in technology and efficiency gains.

Physical security is provided at multiple layers starting with the physical perimeter fence through to personnel badge readers. There are also biometrics scanners that read the fingerprint of an individual before they are given access to sensitive areas.

A.William Stein, Digital Realty's Chief Executive Officer, commented: "With the addition of the Crawley site, the Digital Realty - Rackspace collaboration, which began in 2011, has been extended to a third continent. We are delighted to see Rackspace establish its new managed cloud data centre with such outstanding eco-credentials; in addition, Rackspace's recent expansion in Sydney is accessing clean energy through Digital Realty's Clean Start? program. With competition growing for facility services across the UK and Europe, we are pleased Rackspace choose Digital Realty as a provider to collaborate on this bespoke facility in Crawley."