Brocade Opens its New State-of-the-Art Data Centre and R&D Innovation Lab
75,000-Square-Foot Data Centre and R&D Lab will Eliminate 4,450 Tons of CO2 Emissions per Year, Decrease Data Centre Physical Footprint Requirement by 30 Percent and Reduce Energy Consumption by 37 Percent
Brocade is opening its Data centre and engineering labs in a 75,000-square-foot space at its new San Jose headquarters, incorporating key elements of flexibility, energy efficiency, sustainable design and technology innovation. The construction of the new campus enabled Brocade to design its engineering labs and data centre to the highest standards and best practices, from the ground up, collapsing the access and aggregation networking layers for a flat Layer 2 network that results in more available bandwidth and simplified operations.
Brocade consolidated three San Jose-area data centres into one 5,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, decreasing the physical footprint requirement by 30 per cent and reducing data centre energy consumption by 37 per cent, which will eliminate 4,450 tons of CO2 emissions per year. In the process, the company was able to decommission approximately 133 kilowatts’ (kW) worth of equipment, translating to $200,000 in yearly savings.
In addition, Brocade:
· Increased the electrical density of its racks by 21 percent by utilising more rack unit space and designing new rack elevations.
· Gained 12 per cent more vertical space by designing a flat floor lab – as opposed to a raised floor – enabling engineers to install taller racks with more rack units.
· Consolidated five R&D engineering lab locations into one R&D Lab. The decommissioning of 400 racks and subsequent re-racking of equipment resulted in a yearly savings of $260,000, increased rack power density (up 21 per cent), and decreased rack footprint (down 20 per cent).
· Unveiled an extremely capable, highly available yet simple network based on Brocade NetIron® MLX technology, eliminating the need for the aggregation layer. Connecting the network edge directly to the core has greatly reduced capital outlay and simplified operations, in addition to decreasing requirements for space, power and cooling.
“Brocade’s new cutting-edge data centre incorporates design features that are directly linked to our Brocade One™ vision – unmatched simplicity, investment protection, non-stop networking and optimised applications,” said Michael Hirahara, Vice President, Global Real Estate, Facilities and Services at Brocade. “Our data centre and R&D lab go beyond just being functional spaces. They are a testament to Brocade’s technological expertise, corporate vision and core values.”
The new data centre executes on the Brocade commitment to business and corporate responsibility, with a number of advanced design features that optimise energy efficiency, including:
· Hot-row/cold-row configuration and hot-row containment
· Custom-designed, energy-efficient in-row cooling units with built-in fan redundancy
· Fully automated controls at the POD level with energy monitoring capabilities
· Energy-efficient chillers and cooling towers
· High-efficiency motors with variable frequency drives
· Occupancy-sensing lighting controls
· Very Early Warning Smoke Detection (VESDA) system
· Fire suppression using dry pipe and dry agent to protect equipment
· A calculated Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric of 1.3, while comparable data centres of the same size typically have a PUE greater than 1.5
Additional Information
· Video tour of Brocade data centre, narrated by Michael Hirahara, Vice President, Global Real Estate, Facilities and Services:
http://community.brocade.com/community/brocadeblogs/wingspan/blog/2010/07/12/brocades-world-class-data-center-at-san-jose-campus
· “Bringing ‘IT’ All Together” — Blog by Tim Graumann, Vice President of Information Technology and CIO:
http://community.brocade.com/community/brocadeblogs/wingspan/blog/2010/08/03/bringing-it-all-together
· “IT ‘Servers’ Up Maximum Efficiency at the New Brocade San Jose Campus” — Blog by Tim Graumann, Vice President of Information Technology and CIO:
http://community.brocade.com/community/brocadeblogs/wingspan/blog/2010/06/22/it-servers-up-maximum-efficiency-at-the-new-brocade-san-jose-campus
· “Going Green (with Envy) at the New Campus with a High-Performance Brocade Network” — Blog by Tim Graumann, Vice President of Information Technology and CIO:
http://community.brocade.com/community/brocadeblogs/wingspan/blog/2010/05/25/going-green-with-envy-at-the-new-campus-with-a-high-performance-brocade-network