Vertiv enables further innovation at Russian data centre

Vertiv has been an influential technology partner for IXcellerate since 2013, providing thermal management products, including refrigerant gas-based CRAC units as well as free cooling chillers. For its latest phase of expansion, IXcellerate selected cutting-edge Liebert^® AFC adiabatic free cooling chillers. It also deployed the Liebert PDX with Vertiv EconoPhase^™, an air-cooled direct expansion system with a refrigerant pumping module to allow a shift from compressor to economiser mode when conditions suit. Cooling typically accounts for 40 percent of energy consumption within data centres, but this combination of technology allows up to a 50 percent reduction in energy consumption compared to a conventional air-cooled unit, and partial power usage effectiveness (pPUE) levels as low as 1.05.

The equipment deployed for IXcellerate also extends beyond critical thermal management to the provision of high-performance Liebert EXL S1 Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS). These innovative units offer market-leading double conversion efficiency of up to 97 percent and up to 99 percent in ECO mode, as well as optimised efficiency at partial load. Moreover, the Liebert EXL S1 is compatible with modern lithium-ion batteries – key to IXcellerate’s decision to select Vertiv.

“Lithium-ion batteries used in UPS promise benefits including significantly smaller and lighter footprints, faster charge/discharge rates, and higher energy density compared to traditional valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries,” says Jeffrey Fidacaro, senior analyst at 451 Research. "Deploying lithium-ion should allow IXcellerate to maximise its available white space for customer equipment. IXcellerate will also benefit from lithium-ion’s longer battery life, ability to operate in a wider temperature range and lower maintenance relative to lead-acid. 451 Research expects these features could provide significant savings on cooling and an overall improved total cost of ownership (TCO) for data centre applications."  

In addition to the advanced technology solutions provided to power the IXcellerate Moscow One data centre, which can house up to 1835 racks, the favourable TCO for all products was also instrumental in IXcellerate’s decision to partner with Vertiv. Vertiv was also able to ensure that the terms of supply were very competitive and appropriate for the Russian market.

Guy Willner, CEO of IXcellerate said: “Our clients trust us to deliver excellent data centre service in Russia with outstanding customer support. Not only do we adhere to a high level of 99.999% availability, we’re also subject to strict SLAs and enable our customers to comply fully with local legislation around IT outsourcing and personal data storage. As a result, choosing the right partner for any part of our business is critical to maintaining our reputation and leading market position.”

Dmitry Fokin, managing director at IXcellerate stated: "We have been impressed with the Vertiv thermal management and UPS solutions installed at IXcellerate Moscow One data centre. Paired with an extremely competitive TCO, our data hall has seen no downtime since its commissioning. Vertiv allows us to reinforce our reputation as a first-class data centre operator and will continue to provide us with a strong competitive edge in Russia.”

Giordano Albertazzi, president of Vertiv in Europe, Middle East and Africa said: “Russia has one of the highest internet penetration rates, and is an incredibly large and important market, one which demands robust infrastructure in place to support it. We have been a trusted partner of IXcellerate for over five years, and while we originally supported them in phases one and two of their growth, we are thrilled to now provide them with our latest power and cooling solutions. We look forward to working together on IXcellerate’s future growth plans as they continue to service some of the largest brands with their colocation needs and uphold their position as one of the top data centre providers in Russia.”