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DEDICATED SERVERS        |        COLOCATION        |        DATA CENTER & NETWORK        |        CLIENT PORTAL

 
 

Data Center & Network

 

 Data Center Information

Vinax owned and operated its servers and equipment in downtown Chicago, Illinois in the Digital Lakeside facility (350 E Cermak Rd., Suite 240), the same building in which the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Equinix, Fidelity Investments, British Petroleum, and Qwest are located. The data center offers complete redundancy in power (2N), HVAC (N+1), network connectivity (2N), and security (24/7 on-site security). The data center facility sits atop three separate power grids driven by ComEd, with full UPS battery backup power and a diesel generators onsite. Our network is supplied by several separate networks including, Level(3), TeliaSonera, Tata, Cogent but dozens more third party backbone providers are available in the building via cross connect, such as MCI, Global Crossing, Abovenet, Qwest, XO Communication, Sprint, etc. Fiber connectivity is available to the data center over redundant paths, with fiber available directly to the building Meet-Me Room on the 2nd floor and Equinix on the 5th, 6th, and 8th floors. Vinax can assist with getting cross connects to any of the hundreds of providers in the building or directly provide Internet transit, transport, or managed services, such as 24/7 on-site technical support.

Why Chicago?

More long haul fiber goes through Chicago than any other city in the United States. Most of the fiber connecting the East and West coasts of the United States goes through Chicago, giving Chicago ample network capacity as well as routes that offer low latency to both the East and West coasts. Chicago also has an extremely low occurence of natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, floods, and earthquakes compared to most of the rest of the United States, meaning there is a reduced risk of outages due to natural disasters. In addition, Chicago has a much lower average cost of living compared to other major markets such as New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC. The lower cost of living reduces the expenses we incur as a whole and allows us to pass those savings on to you.

Fire Suppression System

A state-of-the-art fire suppression system constantly monitors the physical environment for smoke, chemicals and other hazardous materials that might spark a fire. The data center uses a dual-interlock pre-action sprinkler system throughout the facility. These pipes are dry-filled with compressed air - until two alarm conditions are reached thereby releasing the valve to charge the system. Water is only released in the area when a sprinkler head has lost its seal, or is actuated, due to heat, AND the fire detection system has detected a fire condition. If a head is accidentally knocked off, water does not flow into the system. Any water discharged will be sprinkler-head specific, which will limit the potential for damage caused by over-spray.

Redundant and Precise HVAC System

Air control is critical in maintaining fast, efficient performance from our customers' equipment. To create the right environment, the data center is fitted with a comprehensive Liebert HVAC system that delivers constant, ideal air conditions, between 68 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit and between 40% and 50% relative humidity at all times. Our HVAC system uses efficient and effective chilled water cooling, not a standard forced/chilled air configuration. HVAC systems maintain a minimum of N+1 redundancy, allowing the data center to maintain a constant, cool environment that is conducive to our customers' mission-critical equipment and operations.

Redundant Power and UPS

The power systems are equipped with a level of redundancy that guarantees continuous operation. To ensure that the data center is always operational all the time, a multi-layer power generation system, using some of the highest grade equipment available, is in place. Conditioned AC power with two independent A & B power buses, respectively, is available. In addition, UPS, battery and diesel generators back up every power system. Unlike some other data centers the climate control and security measures are also backed up with redundant power to ensure clean operation during power outages. The UPS systems maintain three hours of battery backup and a 2 MW diesel generator is onsite for longer outages. If there are issues with the diesel generator the three hours of battery backup gives ample time to dispatch a portable diesel generator system, if needed.

Security

Visual confirmation and strict sign-in procedures, both conducted by trained security personnel, along with key cards, and photo ID verification ensure that only authorized personnel have access to our data center. No customers are allowed in our space unattended and staff is on-site 24/7. In addition, all aspects of the data center are monitored and recorded via color, hi-resolution digital video cameras. All video footage is kept on hand for a period of at least 30 days.

 Network Information

Our network utilizes routing and switching products from Cisco and Juniper, the leaders in the industry. We utilize redundant Brocade MLXe and Juniper MX routers as our core routers. Cisco 6500 switches in our distribution layer, and Cisco 2960 series for our aggregation/customer layer. Additional network equipment includes Noction to optimize network routing and performance. In addition, 10 Gigabit Ethernet is used at the core of the network to reduce the risks of internal congestion due to DDoS attacks and to maintain optimal flexibility.

Our network is fully meshed, using OSPF, and redundant with a wide selection of backbone providers, including Level(3), TeliaSonera, Tata, Cogent, and supplemented by our international peering network. We took care in choosing our carriers; our research showed them to be some of the fastest and most reliable networks available. Not only are the providers redundant, but their entry paths are redundant as well. Some carriers are brought into the network at Equinix and carried down three floors to our data center over redundant 10 Gigabit Ethernet lines while several pairs of fiber also connect us to providers in the building Meet-Me Room (MMR). In the building there is also fiber from dozens of other companies such as Global Crossing, Abovenet, Qwest, and Sprint and easy access to the Equinix peering fabric.

Internal Network

  • Redundant Brocade MLXe and Juniper MX core routers

  • Redundant Cisco 6500 distribution layer switches

  • Cisco 2960 series aggregation/customer layer switches

  • Noction for Performance Network route optimization

  • 10 Gigabit Ethernet internal backbone

  • 100% network uptime SLA

Backbone Carriers

  • Level(3) - Direct 10 GigE (10,000mbit/sec)

  • TeliaSonera - Direct 10 GigE (10,000mbit/sec)

  • Tata - Direct 10 GigE (10,000mbit/sec)

  • Cogent - Direct 10 GigE (10,000mbit/sec)

Network Peering

  • Comcast - Direct 10 GigE (10,000mbit/sec)

  • Equinix Exchange Chicago - Direct 10 GigE (10,000mbit/sec)

  • Chicago Internet Exchange - Direct 2x GigE (2000mbit/sec)

  • NYIIX (New York, NY) - Direct GigE (1000mbit/sec)

  • PAIX (New York, NY) - Direct GigE (1000mbit/sec)

  • PAIX (Palo Alto, CA) - Direct GigE (1000mbit/sec)

  • Any2 (San Jose, CA) - Direct GigE (1000mbit/sec)

  • Equinix Exchange (Ashburn, VA) - Direct GigE (1000mbit/sec)

  • LINX (London, UK) - Direct GigE (1000mbit/sec)

  • AMS-IX (Amsterdam, NL) - Direct GigE (1000mbit/sec)

 

 

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