Gys Geyser, head of operations at Teraco, says that the build brings the total size of the Isando facility to 9000m2 of white space and 18,500m2 of utility space. He says that the volume of data centre space is directly related to the power feed negotiated with the local council: “We now have a total of 16MVA of power, which will ensure that we can adequately power the all the data centres, as well as ensure that they are properly cooled and maintained.”
“We have seen an increase in demand based on the number of local and international cloud, content and network providers coming into Africa, as well as from existing clients. Teraco has also seen growth in the ICT sector, particularly from within the managed service provider segment,” says Geyser.
With an estimated 18-month build time, Geyser says Teraco’s new site should be operational towards the end of 2016. He says that there are some unique elements included in this build such as the approach to cooling.
“Teraco has implemented a dynamic free cooling system. We have taken what has worked in our previous deployments and applied the latest technology and best practices. Additional support services have been added, such as a water supply system to ensure that our environment can operate independently from council for a period of time, guaranteeing uptime and availability. Aiming for a low power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating, the new cooling systems will definitely assist Teraco to achieve greater efficiencies,” says Geyser.
After completing an environmental impact assessment, Teraco was granted permission to store 210,000 litres of diesel on site. Geyser says that this is a significant achievement and will enable Teraco to run all the data centres for a minimum period of 40 hours at maximum load.
