On the west coast of Norway, one of the world's largest data centres is being built in a decommis- sioned mine at the Lefdal Mine Datacenter (LMD). The five-storey tunnel system with 75 chambers pro- vides 120,000 square metres of space for an infrastructure with a potential total capacity of 200 MW. The ambitious target is to make the LMD the number one in Europe, with unsurpassed levels of cost- efficiency, security, flexibility and sustainability.
“The Lefdal Mine Datacenter will put everything else in the shade”, claims Andreas Keiger, Senior Vice President, European Sales at Rittal. Rittal is on board as a strategic technology partner. This project is setting new standards, not only in terms of efficiency, but also in the area of sustainability. Lefdal uses 100 percent renewable energies. Even the server cooling is “green”, by drawing on the water in the neighbouring fjord.
And when you consider the Total Costs of Ownership (TCO), the LMD is 40 percent cheaper than other data centres in Europe. This is partly due to standardised RiMatrix S data centre modules from Rittal, which score highly in terms of flexibility and cost efficiency. The preconfigured, space-saving modules are supplied in containers and comprise ten or twelve server racks. These are ready to use, complete with power distribution, climate control, and monitoring and IT infrastructure management software. The cooling solution is a Liquid Cooling Package. An LCP draws in waste air from the server, and cools it via the high-performance heat exchangers linked to the cold seawater circuit. EC fans blast the cool air in front of the IT equipment again. The entire system is connected to the 565 metre deep fjord, guaranteeing an unlimited supply of cold water, and reducing energy consumption to a minimum.
The underground data centre also has another inestimable benefit: Security! The system can only be accessed via one, well-protected entry point. The rock formation provides natural protection from electromagnetic pulses. Specially trained security staff patrol the entire installation around the clock, 365 days a year. A three-stage authentication process and intelligent camera systems provide addi- tional security.
