Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery

With its first 3,000 square meters now operational, Australian data centre startup NEXTDC says its rollout plans for 2012 and 2013 will see it generating revenue from the current financial year.

Citing research that shows data centre occupancy in A/NZ has doubled since 2004 (when many Australian data centres were still suffering the after-effects of the dotcom collapse), the company says that with most facilities hovering between 80 and 90 percent full, its plans for coverage in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Perth should match long-term demand.

The company told its AGM that access to electricity is the most significant challenge facing Australian data centre operators. Queensland, South Australia, NSW and Victoria are all facing a power supply deficit, the company said, citing research from Deloitte for the Australian Energy Market Operator.

Part of its plan to protect its power supply is to pursue tri-generation plans, something which the company also says reduces greenhouse emissions by 70 percent compared to brown coal-fired electricity. This should also help buffer its operations against the federal government’s planned “carbon tax”.

The company told shareholders it now costs between $AU7 million and $AU9 million to deliver a megawatt of power to a data centre for IT loads, with NEXTDC’s build eventually to deliver 33 megawatts nationwide. ®

Cloud storage: Lower cost and increase uptime