Data center and R&D lab will reduce CO2 emissions, decrease data center physical footprint requirement and reduce energy consumption.

Brocade, a provider of data center networking solutions and services, yesterday announced the opening of its data center and engineering labs in a 75,000-square-foot space at its new San Jose headquarters, incorporating key elements of flexibility, energy efficiency, sustainable design and technology innovation. According to the company, the construction of the new campus enabled it to design its engineering labs and data center to the highest standards and best practices, from the ground up, collapsing the access and aggregation networking layers for a flat Layer 2 network that results in more available bandwidth and simplified operations.

It explains that it consolidated three San Jose-area data centers into one 5,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, decreasing the physical footprint requirement and reducing data center energy consumption, which will eliminate a huge amount of CO2 emissions per year. In addition, the company:

• Increased the electrical density of its racks by utilizing more rack unit space and designing new rack elevations.
• Gained more vertical space by designing a flat floor lab - as opposed to a raised floor - enabling engineers to install taller racks with more rack units.
• Consolidated five R&D engineering lab locations into one R&D Lab. The decommissioning of 400 racks and subsequent re-racking of equipment resulted in huge yearly savings, increased rack power density, and decreased rack footprint.
• Unveiled a capable, highly-available yet simple network based on its NetIron MLX technology, eliminating the need for the aggregation layer. Connecting the network edge directly to the core has greatly reduced capital outlay and simplified operations, in addition to decreasing requirements for space, power and cooling.

The company further explains that the new data center executes on its commitment to business and corporate responsibility, with a number of advanced design features that optimize energy efficiency, including:

• Hot-row/cold-row configuration and hot-row containment
• Custom-designed, energy-efficient in-row cooling units with built-in fan redundancy
• Fully automated controls at the POD level with energy monitoring capabilities
• Energy-efficient chillers and cooling towers
• High-efficiency motors with variable frequency drives
• Occupancy-sensing lighting controls
• Very Early Warning Smoke Detection (VESDA) system
• Fire suppression using dry pipe and dry agent to protect equipment
• A calculated Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric of 1.3, while comparable data centers of the same size typically have a PUE greater than 1.5

"Brocade's new cutting-edge data center incorporates design features that are directly linked to our Brocade One vision - unmatched simplicity, investment protection, non-stop networking and optimized applications," said Michael Hirahara, Vice President, Global Real Estate, Facilities and Services at Brocade. "Our data center and R&D lab go beyond just being functional spaces. They are a testament to Brocade's technological expertise, corporate vision and core values."