Multiple data center providers opened new Ashburn data centers in September, reinforcing the image of the region as a key player in the technology field.
RagingWire Expands Ashburn Data Center
RagingWire completed a build-out of its Ashburn data center in late September, adding 39,000 square feet of floor space and more than 8 MW of available critical IT power. The company’s 150,000 square foot Virginia data center offers a total of 14.4 MW and features five pods, or vaults, containing server cabinets and other hardware. The facility also offers 7,500 square feet of customer office and amenity space, extensive physical security and carrier neutral telecommunications capacity.
The recent expansion to the Ashburn data center included the creation of three new pods, each featuring 100 percent high-density available power. The new pods are already 35 percent pre-sold. Each vault offers 13,000 square feet of high-density raised floor space, as well as 2.7 MW of critical power. Two of the new vaults are available to clients as either turn-key units or build-to-suit solutions.
According to Doug Adams, senior vice president and chief revenue officer for RagingWire, the Virginia data center mainly attracts commercial, government and cloud enterprises that require wholesale data center space.
DuPont Fabros Opens New Virginia Facility
Another major facility operator, DuPont Fabros, also recently invested in a new complex in Northern Virginia. The company officially opened its newest Ashburn data center in late September, marking the sixth facility on DuPont’s 1.6 million square foot campus. The data center is the largest in the company’s portfolio and one of the largest multi-tenant facilities in all of North America. The Ashburn data center, known as ACC7, covers 446,000 gross square feet and will offer capacity for 41.6 MW of critical power when fully developed.
The company considered data center sustainability by utilizing reclaimed water in an evaporative cooling plant, enabling them to reduce the consumption of potable water. According to Scott Davis, executive vice president of operations for DuPont Fabros, this technique reduces the cost of water consumption for the facility by between 50 and 65 percent, which in turn lowers costs for customers.
The Ashburn data center boasts a PUE rating of 1.15 due to the efficient cooling plant and the use of medium voltage oil-filled distribution units. ACC7 has also been built to LEED certification standards.
“ACC7 is the result of extensive and progressive design considerations during the past three years and will be the standard for future data centers,” said Davis. “This design is a culmination of collaborating with our customers, incorporating trends in the data center industry, and leveraging our vast experience in designing and operating data centers.”
The Virginia data center also features 28 computer rooms, each with approximately 8,500 square feet and deliverable flexible power of between 1 and 2 MW. Each room is capable of housing 378 2 by 4 foot server cabinets. Dupont’s Ashburn corporate campus has telecommunications support from more than 25 carriers, as well as a connection from LINX NoVA, a member-owned Internet exchange point for the Northern Virginia region.
