Metro Data Center (MDC) was established in 2011 in Dublin, Ohio. The company is a full-service hosting and data center that specializes in serving the data needs of small- to mid-sized businesses (SMB), as well as local schools and governmental agencies. MDC’s core values center around the 5 C’s: Colocation, Cloud, Connectivity, Consulting, and Community.
Some SMBs are vulnerable to problems caused by lack of IT staff, expertise, and solutions. To meet this need, the city of Dublin established the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center and the TechDEC, a community of entrepreneurs working together to grow each of their businesses. Today, TechDEC hosts more than 150 established companies and startups that are owned, operated and staffed by local residents.
As part of its commitment to the community, MDC built and maintains the city of Dublin’s Dublink 100GB broadband network, which provides ultra-high-speed connectivity to local users through 125 miles of fiberoptic lines that run underground throughout Dublin.
From cloud hosted services and dedicated servers to the speed and connectivity of the Dublink 100GB network, MDC offers its clients optimized, secure productivity backed by on-site systems, and 24/7 monitoring and maintenance.
The company provides scalable fiberoptic network capacity with points of presence (POPs) via Level3, CenturyLink, Oarnet, Spectrum, and XO. MDC specializes in linking SMB organizations to IT solutions that help to grow their business.
MDC also created a pod-based approach to improve energy efficiency and service larger customers. Each pod utilizes as many as 20 cabinets, and feature cold-row containment. Currently six pods are in use and the facility has the capacity for 12 pod deployments. This pod approach has achieved significant energy efficiency improvements with measurable kilowatt savings recorded quarter over quarter.
Starting at Zero
When MDC took over the space from a global software security development company, it contained zero racks and 32,000 square feet of open space. MDC began to make necessary infrastructural changes to maximize airflow, optimize the floor plan, and organize racks to facilitate the company’s rational growth strategy.
Rittal, with a manufacturing facility in nearby Urbana, Ohio, was chosen as a partner because of the quality of its products, particularly the TS IT enclosures. MDC required racks that were physically robust as an essential aspect in choosing enclosure products. Rittal enclosures offer a variety of options to facilitate cooling, cable management, and on-the-fly configuration changes and are an excellent fit for MDC requirements.
General Features
Metro Data Center is a top-tier provider and has the physical and colocation capacity to meet the needs of thriving Dublin-area business and public community. The site spans nearly 55,000 square feet. This includes 5,903 square feet of raised data center floor space, 364 square feet of demarcation locations yielding 200 total rack spaces available in server cabinets. The center is able to provide the highest quality infrastructure services available, including extensive redundancy, stability, and security.
Power Management
One of the strengths of the facility is its state-of-the-art power management plan. This begins with fully redundant (2N) active power transmitted through dual electric feeds from two substations provided by American Electric Power.
Electrical wiring to the center is supplied via two unique routes through dual transformers, dual switch gear, and dual 625 KVA-UPS systems, all of which are autonomous in supplying the center’s (2N) power at 480 volts. Single-corded servers get in-rack Automatic Transfer Switches for redundant power.
Cooling
Designers of MDC employed a number of strategies for facility thermal management, including the use of N+1-rated glycol pumping stations and dry coolers and Rittal cold row containment systems. The Rittal solution maximizes cooling per cabinet and raises overall site efficiency. All cooling equipment is supported by generator back up, including seven 30-ton glycol-based air handlers.
Conclusion
With a pod approach to organizing the data center, MDC has created a model in energy-efficient design that scales to meet the needs of more and more customers without significant infrastructure investments. Rittal helps ensure that MDC has the cabinet and cooling solutions that scale to meet growing customer needs.
Through its consulting services the company has delivered IT strategy and deployment solutions that enable SMB customers the ability to focus on their core competencies in order to grow their business. By targeting SMB customers and fostering local economic development around IT services and infrastructure, MDC is revolutionizing the role of data centers and creating a blueprint for the Midwest.
