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Redland City develops disaster-resilient, eco-friendly data centre
REDLAND City Council’s new data centre, developed by Vertiv, utilises a modular style and the latest technologies to boost economical operation while lowering carbon dioxide emissions by more than 70 percent over the superseded system.
The Redland data centre that took only four months to finish and yet apart from its environmental credentials it is also highly rated for disaster-resilience.
Redland City chief information officer, Glynn Henderson said the efficient design of its new modular data centre was expected to reap economic and environmental benefits. Aside from moving to a well-ventilated area, the new data centre space is also more compact. Mr Henderson said he anticipated a 30 percent reduction in electricity costs and 70 percent reduction in CO2 emissions due to the use of more efficient plant and equipment.
“That’s really important because we’re a very eco-focused city,” Mr Henderson said. 
Being a coastal council, Redland City can also be involved in coordinating emergency responses to natural disasters such as fires and storms.
“One of the great things about having a compliant and highly resilient data centre is the ability to react quickly around disaster management. That’s a big thing for us,” Mr Henderson said. “As the city develops into the digital age and we increase the digital footprint in some of our newer city expansions, we’ll see a lot more requirement to connect services and utilities globally.”
Vertiv managing director for Australian and New Zealand, Robert Linsdell said a robust, scalable and secure infrastructure was needed for cities like Redland that are looking to become smarter for the future.
“There’s plenty of hype about smart cities and IoT but it’s important to consider what infrastructure you need to pull that off ,” he said. “Redland City understands this, and it is taking the steps now to make sure it can do the exciting part in the right way later.”
Vertiv, formerly known as Emerson Network Power, designed and built the 42-square-metre, self-contained facility with a 10-rack capacity and includes power, cooling and racks from Vertiv’s range.
Redland City Council approached Vertiv and Peak Services in late 2017 for a modular data centre design to replace its ageing primary and secondary data centres. The council’s old infrastructure was approaching end-of-life and becoming increasingly inefficient and expensive to operate.
Redland City Council was looking to move its critical applications to a depot site, not only to free up office space but also to ensure that data was secure.
Vertiv’s modular data centre for Redland City uses a steel-framed, double-skinned, insulated construction designed specifically to take the weight of specialist data room equipment. The facility is also fire-rated and structurally certified.
Peak Services information manager William Osborne also praised the “successful partnership” between Vertiv, Redland City council and Peak.
“Councils are different from other entities in that they spend public money,” Mr Osborne said. “They’re accountable to their rate payers for the spend, so anything they do spend must be done in a transparent and open manner to demonstrate value for money.
“From a supplier perspective, we keep costs down by looking at efficiencies in production, manufacturing, delivery and commissioning. What separates Vertiv from other data centre providers is its ability to customise and tailor the solution to meet council needs. For example facility sizing, energy consumption and facility expansion.”
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