SAMARA, Russia -- Russia's second-ranked national mobile service provider, MegaFon, has put into operation a massive Tier 3 data center. The opening of the 74,400 square feet Samara Data Center marked the completion of a $30 million project launched by MegaFon two years ago.
The largest of its kind in Russia, the telecommunications facility was officially opened on October 8, 2010 in the city of Samara. The data center is set to become the backbone of the future national data center network.
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The new data center in Samara boasts the highest standards of reliability and the strongest security features in Russia, says MegaFon. The center utilizes multiple diverse fiber-optic connections to ensure reliable connectivity and the operational sustainability of its own network and its clients' infrastructure.
Uptime Institute, a Santa Fe, New Mexico (U.S.)-based international professional organization, has made a provisional assessment that the Samara center is designed and built in accordance with the requirements of Tier 3, one of the most stringent standards of an infrastructure's capabilities. An official certificate for the site will be issued at the beginning of 2011.
"This is the first time a brand new, state-of-the-art data storage and transmission facility of this size has been built in Russia for commercial use," said Valeriy Ermakov, MegaFon's Chief Operations Officer.
He added,m "Data centers are the keystone of our infrastructure which enables us to provide our domestic and global clients and partners with cutting-edge information technology services. In the coming years we will be actively developing our data center network powered by our own nationwide fiber-optic backbone. This ambitious project will foster economic growth in Russia's regions and thus significantly contribute to the country's modernization."
The center's facilities are now available to a wide range of domestic and global customers. Among the services it offers are housing of IT equipment and Internet connection, collocation, and managed hosting.
Key project facts, according to a press release, include:
-- 900 million Rubles ($30 million) investment.
-- The center's infrastructure comprises the data center itself, its own on-site power substation, a diesel generator, a dedicated boiler station, secure perimeter fencing and a guardhouse.
-- The center covers 6,912 square meters (74,400 square feet) and features six server halls of 400 square meters (4,300 square feet), main and redundant power supplies and a control center.
-- Up to 200 GB/s bandwidth capacity in energy-saving mode.
-- An 8 MW power system.
-- The center was designed and built to meet EIA/TIA-492 standard specifications ("Telecommunications Cabling Systems Standards for Data Center Infrastructure"). The project fully complies with the standard's requirements: it is a stand-alone building located in a flood-safe area remote from residential properties. The site utilizes redundant power supplies guaranteeing 100% availability (two independent power inputs), has high bearing strenght - up to 5,000 kilos per square meter, a safe modern fire extinguishing system and is protected 24 hours a day by security guards.
-- With its own fiber-optic backbone in the Volga region and nationwide, MegaFon can guarantee the unsurpassed reliability of its data transmission and additional redundant data communications channels. The center utilizes multiple diverse fiber-optic connections to ensure uninterrupted performance in case of a cutoff failure.
-- Uptime Institute's provisional assessment indicates that the Samara center is designed and built in accordance with the reliability requirements of Tier 3. An official certificate for the site will be issued at the beginning of 2011.
www.megafon.ru
