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.
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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