Ok, I was just thinking. I know that their are a few factors in opening a datacenter like.....Where the fiber is and stuff. But what about climate.

Wouldn't it be better to open a DC in New York (Climate is Perfect, NOT TO HOT, NOT TO COLD)

I mean miami and texas and places down south are so HOT in the summer. Why are they good places?

Do you get what I am saying?

:rolleyes:

Since a data center will need a good climate/temperature control, I can see what you mean ... A data center in a very hot place (say, Texas) will probably consume more electricity to cool down the data center ... makes sense ... But perharps the cost of electricity is cheaper in Miami/Texas then in DC?

cheers,
:beer:

I think there is good and bad wherever you look.... Having a Data Center in Florida myself I at least know i can get to it. My biggest concern with putting a DC in a cold climate would be being snowed out. Server Is Down but we have to wait for the snow plow to make us a path :D We have heavy storms, they have blizzards, those guys have earthquakes, these guys have tornadoes etc etc etc.... Just be sure wherever you build it you take the appropriate precautions to deal with the climate....

People have told me Texas is the best place becasue of costs for EVERYTHING.

:uhh:

Deb,

I hear you on that. I'm sure there are other states but tell me 3 BIG reasons why Tucson, AZ is bad for a datacenter. The one I can think of is summer time -- that wouldn't be too big of a deal..

Hmmm I lived in Arizona for about 10 years... (mainly Phoenix) and during that time I found utility costs to be EXTREMELY HIGH so you've got #1 exactly correct... Cooling the place would be tough. I'm not sure what the rates are for a building itself over there would be though as I was young and dumb when I lived there... I know you can get some land in the middle of nowhere for a low price but getting any connectivity to it would be tough. One thing GREAT about Arizona is you have an extremely low risk in the disaster area. No heavy snow, no heavy rain (to speak of), no tornadoes, no earthquakes, just hot hot sun .... If you have found a good deal in AZ I'd say go for it -- but then again, who am I to say? :D

True, I am pretty sure Tucson is less though. Oh well..

I think there is good and bad wherever you look.... Having a Data Center in Florida myself I at least know i can get to it. My biggest concern with putting a DC in a cold climate would be being snowed out. Server Is Down but we have to wait for the snow plow to make us a path We have heavy storms, they have blizzards, those guys have earthquakes, these guys have tornadoes etc etc etc.... Just be sure wherever you build it you take the appropriate precautions to deal with the climate....

Thats why you should stay away from the extremes.

I mean there are so many DC's in the south where it is hot. HOW COME THERE AREN"T more in New York/New Jersey/Virginia/Penn. These places have no extremes (Not to hot in the summer, not to cold in the winter. No Big Snow Storms, No Brown Outs) So I still don't get why South is better for DC but it would cost more. Hmmmm SOMEONE ANSWER ME!!!!!! :D

i think you better do some better research on your climates. true the more middle the country the less extreme you get, but my all means it isnt a perfect area or climate. the biggest reason datacenters are where they are is the layout of the major backbones in the US, and where the largest demand for the fiber, b/w, and services, is. you dont have a huge need for a datacenter in Paw Paw, WV (yes its a real place). so your not going to find one there. however there are quite a few NOC/DC's in the metro areas of NY PA NJ and MA etc etc. do a little more research, you'll be surprised.

:rolleyes: He is right...look up "Internet" in the phone book, you will be surprised.

Seems to me if you're serving customers on the east and west coast, that the best place for your servers would be right smack dab in the center of the US, where some of the backbones cross it of course.

I'm in tucson now - since we're higher up in the Mountains its not as hot as Phoenix. So when Phoenix is 120 F we're only 110 F :)

haha, that's right! It's not 110 alot though..

if the infratrustucture in the uk was as good as the us it would make for a good place to build dc's. good links to the us and europe and a good climate. not to hot, not too colf, keep away from scotland and you wouldnt have much snow trouble. bit of rain now and again, so as long as you dont build it on a flood plain it would be safe as houses. we dont do earthquakes, theyre so working class, so that isnt a problem. no twisters only a few strong gales during freak storms. i guess where ya build is down to common sense, find a nice middle of the road type setup, dont build next to any fault lines, volcanoes or flood plains, try and get a decent climate, reasonable wage and land prices etc.

Land is probably much much cheaper in Texas compared to New York & the electricity costs in the summer most likely will not make up the difference on land cost. So I can see why Texas & maybe some other areas would not be a bad choice for a DC.

Originally posted by Neo3Net

I mean there are so many DC's in the south where it is hot. HOW COME THERE AREN"T more in New York/New Jersey/Virginia/Penn. These places have no extremes (Not to hot in the summer, not to cold in the winter. No Big Snow Storms, No Brown Outs) So I still don't get why South is better for DC but it would cost more. Hmmmm SOMEONE ANSWER ME!!!!!! :D

Actually, I am aware of more than 100 data centers in the DC Metro Area (DC, Montgomery County, Prince Georges County, Prince William County, Fairfax County, and Loudoun County). Those are just the dat acenters I know of, there are a lot more private data centers in the area that I am sure I am not aware of.


While climate is an important factor, more important for a data center is access to electricity, bandwidth, and staff. If you are talking about an enterprise-class data center, then you need not only redundant bandwidth, but redundant power sources as well (ie lines run to two different power grids). Many second and third tier cities do not offer that type of access. They also do not offer the same bandwidth access that larger cities do.

Ultimately, the ongoing monthly costs are more important than the initial costs to build a data center. If you can build out your data center for $1 million in one city, with MRCs of $80,000 or for $1.5 million in another with MRCs of $40,000, the second city will start saving you money in the second year. Given the fact that many companies ammortize the construction costs of their data centers over a period of 5 years or more the second option makes a lot more sense.

Like I said. I understand about fiber and connectivitey.

I know there are a lot of Data Centers in NY/PN etc. I live 10 miles from 2 alone. hehe :)

I just thought that there was some reason that I was missing

So far I got:

Building Costs
Electric Costs
Fiber

Anything Else
:rolleyes:

Are you talking just about costs to build a data center building? What about all the good stuff that goes inside? :cool:

:eek: I was just thinking that........1 Million? For a DataCenter?

If your talking about a building then that makes sense but to rent some place your crazy.

A datacenter can be built for around $50,000.

You really wouldn't need more then $500,000 (assuming you want everything top of the line and everything there can be)

Originally posted by MattS
Are you talking just about costs to build a data center building? What about all the good stuff that goes inside? :cool:

I'm sorry, I should have been more clear, I was just using those numbers as examples.

Originally posted by Neo3Net

You really wouldn't need more then $500,000 (assuming you want everything top of the line and everything there can be)

Just out of curiousity, how many data centers have you built :D? $500,000 won't come anywhere close to outfitting a datacenter with top of the line everything :) (in terms of infrastructure, not even talking building costs).

Heh... $500,000 would hardly cover your electrical equipment, (Two Generators, UPS systems, PDU's etc)......

Daniel,

I've got 2 generators and some UPS's I'll sell you for 500k ;) Seriously though, if you are not building the building, you could definatly outfit a small datacenter with 500k.... generators, ups's and all.

-Brendan

Originally posted by HRBrendan

I've got 2 generators and some UPS's I'll sell you for 500k ;) Seriously though, if you are not building the building, you could definatly outfit a small datacenter with 500k.... generators, ups's and all.


But don't forget, Neo said $500,000 for top of the line equipment. You can't purchase a single Juniper M160 for $500,000, much less set up a whole data center.

A small datacenter maybe, but not on the size i've delt with.

This is kind of partial since I live in Dover, but Dover, Delaware in my eyes is an excellent location for a data center. Weather wise we don't get extremely hot weather (A few weeks it's in the upper 90's), we don't get extremely cold weather (We saw possibly an 1" of snow here this winter, and a heavy winter is when we get one 12" snowstorm), We never see any tornados, some severe thunderstorms but power has never been a problem here (managed very well), Hurricanes happen about once every 10 years and unless it comes up the Cheseapeake Bay or the Delaware Bay it hardly causes major damage. Now the benefits. Dover is literally 2 hours from every where. 2 hours to DC, Baltimore, Philly, New York (3 hours), and others in the Northeast Corridor, so clients could take a day trip to the data center if need be and still make it home for dinner. :D Plus theres the Delaware Beaches which a really nice, and cost of living is really low :) . Well, that was my 2cents on why a DC would be good here. Just thought i'd ring in.

Looks like I double posted. Wouldn't let me delete it so i just created an explanation :)

Put it in Chicken's basement. Too bad it'd get clogged with fur and other loose particles.

Actually I actually figured my costs to build a DC a few times. And you could build a small DC for around $50,000 no problem.

With $500,000 You could build an nice size DC but I didn't mean TOP of line everything I meant good equitment and not "Cheap John's Routers" :D

Originally posted by Neo3Net
Actually I actually figured my costs to build a DC a few times. And you could build a small DC for around $50,000 no problem.


Okay, I surfed on over to my friendly neighborhood e-bay...and this is what I found, based on stuff you can buy on e-bay right now.

You are talking about a small data center, so we are going to assume 8 racks. We'll split that half colo, and half managed Linux/BSD servers. Obviously, you do not need to fully stock the dedicated servers you are going to offer, so we'll start with 20. I am also assuming you will only need a single DS3 to start with:

DS3 Setup Charge: $3000
Cisco 3640 $4000
Foundry FastIron 24 port Switches: $1000 (x8)
Server Racks w/ UPS: $500 (x8)
1U Servers: $1000 (x 20)
Generator: $4500
Cooling/Ventilating Unit: $2500
Power Strips, Cables, etc: $1500
(let me know if I have missed anything)

Comes to: $47,500

This assumes, you are able to install the racks yourself, configure the power so that the generator takes over in the event of an outage yourself, install the cooling unit yourself, and configure the router and switches yourself.

This also does not include the shipping costs for any of these items, and it assumes you are able to get them all at these prices.

I don't think it can be realistically done under $50,000.

Well actually I do build my own servers so I could build a 1u for around 800. In any case that was just a small number I through out there.

Originally posted by Neo3Net
Well actually I do build my own servers so I could build a 1u for around 800. In any case that was just a small number I through out there.

No worries, I was just trying to give everyone an idea of the costs that go into building a data center infrastructure (and my list was, at best, incomplete). I think some people on this board don't fully understand the costs involved in running a data center, and balk at prices that are perfectly reasonable, given these costs.

I know. A lot of people think its just Buying the stuff and putting them in. Its much more then that. Like I said I just put a number out there

Originally posted by Neo3Net


Thats why you should stay away from the extremes.

I mean there are so many DC's in the south where it is hot. HOW COME THERE AREN"T more in New York/New Jersey/Virginia/Penn. These places have no extremes (Not to hot in the summer, not to cold in the winter. No Big Snow Storms, No Brown Outs) So I still don't get why South is better for DC but it would cost more. Hmmmm SOMEONE ANSWER ME!!!!!! :D

Real estate is f***ing expensive here, that's why! (here being NJ)