Networking and storage player NetApp launched a new data center in Hillsboro, Oregon which will be the hub for all NetApp global customer support monitoring and corporate IT services.

Running on its storage operating system Ontap Netapp said the site would automatically provision and optimise storage resources with efficiency and performance using policy-based management with 100% accessibility.

Cynthia Stoddard, chief information officer for NetApp, said: "With the business and customer landscape changing at a rapid pace, we demand an intelligent storage architecture that can anticipate and respond to the business faster. Characteristics such as zero-touch automation, 100% utilisation, end-to-end visibility, and built-in efficiency features provide us with the ability to quickly respond to change and make sure we stay in lockstep with our customers' needs."

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  "To achieve the growth objectives we have, we need to enable an environment where the data is essentially immortal; it is always available—never having to worry about scheduled downtime or gaps in our ability to support our customers."
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  The  data center was designed in partnership with Digital Realty. 
  
  The Hillsboro data center will house FAS6200 storage systems and a joint Cisco and NetApp FlexPod solution will address all of the physical and virtual computing workloads and leverage clustered ONTAP. Approximately 1.5PB of clustered Data ONTAP storage will be deployed in the Hillsboro data centre.

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  Cisco has partnered with NetApp IT to provide the high-speed unified fabric network based on the Cisco Nexus products and FlexPod, a solution leveraging the Cisco Unified Computing System combined with NetApp storage. These two solutions together help form the core of the Hillsboro data centre architecture, enabling NetApp IT to achieve its scalability, availability, and utilisation objectives.
  
  Fujitsu PRIMERGY and SPARC Enterprise servers provide a complete ecosystem, based on over 40 years of industry experience and intellectual property that help NetApp operate more efficiently and reliably.
  
  The servers also excel in energy efficiency, virtualisation features, and sophisticated system management functions, which enhance and complement the efficiencies of the new world-class NetApp data centre facility.

While many data centres today struggle with energy waste, the Hillsboro data centre's innovative design supports the company's goals for sustainability and data centre power reduction. The estimated data centre power usage effectiveness (PUE)^[1] will be less than 1.3.

It will use outside air economisers which provide "free cooling" for most of the year. Inside pressure-controlled cold-aisle containment reduces fan energy while eliminating hot air intrusion.

"NetApp asked us to deliver an efficient, cost-effective data centre in the shortest time feasible. The Hillsboro custom designed data centre represents our commitment to meet NetApp's specific requirements, utilising our innovative approach to modular data centre engineering, design and construction," said Michael F. Foust, chief executive officer at Digital Realty. "We are very pleased this data centre will be an important component of NetApp's growth strategy and long-term vision to remain one step ahead of growing business demand."