Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings has officially opened the new $8.5 million Derwent Park Data Centre, which was built to service Aurora’s data needs as well as providing commercial hosting space for content providers and carriers seeking to leverage the NBN rollout in Tasmania.
The DPDC is the only facility of its type in the State to offer electricity network backup, connected to separate distribution zones with two backup 650kVa generators. The duplicated power supply and backup is complemented by advanced cooling, security, and fire suppression systems.
Aurora CEO Dr Peter Davis said the data centre already had 62 server racks in place, with 50 already allocated to Aurora and other customers using the commercial space. As customer demand grows, the data centre has the capacity for a further 70 racks.
Dr Davis also said the data centre offered carrier-neutrality, providing telecommunication customers with access to competitive telecommunication services.
“This is the only purpose-built data centre facility of its type in Tasmania, offering up to 130 serviced racks, duplicated power supplies, back-up generation, and advanced fire, cooling and security systems,” Dr Davis said.
“There are three major customers currently utilising the facility, with the capacity to add another 70 racks to the configuration as customer demand continues to grow.
“The facility’s two separate power supplies and backup generators can operate continuously in the event of a prolonged power outage.
“The cooling system in the data centre includes dry cooler technology that takes advantage of Tasmania’s cooler weather to reduce energy consumption and operational costs.
“This data centre should be the first choice for customers seeking data security and reliability for their critical Tasmanian IT services,” Dr Davis said.
