Latisys Launches Green Initiatives with data center improvements that reduce power, cooling needs

Latisys Announces Environmentally Friendly Upgrades on Eve of Democratic National Convention's "Greenest Political Convention in History" Held in Denver

DENVER - Aug. 22, 2008 Latisys, a leading provider of colocation, managed hosting, disaster recovery and IP network services, announced today the completion of "Green" initiatives to decrease the facility's carbon footprint. The announcement was made in support of the City of Denver's role as host of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, which is touted as the "greenest political convention in history." Latisys' Green initiative also follows in the footsteps of the City of Denver's efforts to leave an enduring legacy of sustainability programs in the Denver metro area.

Resulting from the expansion of its multi-million-dollar, 30,000-square-foot data center, Latisys has implemented technological advances and infrastructure upgrades at its Englewood data center, just south of Denver, that reduce its environmental impact.

"While Latisys supports the City of Denver's hosting role for the DNC, we believe environmental responsibility cuts across all political affiliations," said Corey Needles, Director of Data Center Operations at Latisys. "Green data centers not only save energy, they also reduce the need for expensive infrastructure upgrades to deal with increased power and cooling demands. Through the incorporation of advanced data center technologies, Latisys is becoming an industry leader in eco-friendly cooling and power optimization which allows us to keep our costs down."

Latisys' Green advancements include:

• Highly efficient power system components: Latisys' new high density colocation suite features a string of six parallel Generac 600kw generators at N+1 redundancy and increased capacity of three megawatts of power, with expansion capability to six megawatts at N+1 redundancy. The new, more efficient generators use a greater number of smaller capacity units, which operate at the high end of their rated capacity, increasing efficiency and ultimately reducing emissions.
• Use of DC power: Latisys also uniquely uses DC battery power systems, delivering higher efficiency with reduced heat production and saving energy wasted on power conversion and cooling. Also, the purchase of advanced 20-year-rated, UPS batteries increases time between battery replacement, reducing environmental impact of applicable power systems.
• Implementing virtualization: To increase efficiencies for its customers, Latisys has implemented managed hosting that takes advantages of blade servers and virtualization. Latisys' Cisco ACE firewall operates at reduced power consumption over legacy firewall technology. Latisys also implemented Compellent storage arrays which reduce space and power requirements over traditional data storage architecture.
• Environmentally friendly building: By installing specialized materials, Latisys has reduced the demand on cooling for the entire facility and alleviated power demands. For instance, Latisys removed aggregate roofing rocks, which act as a heat sink by absorbing heat and releasing it only at night. With white PVC installed on the roof, the building now reflects sunlight and heat rather than absorbing it, reducing the cooling load of the building by as much as 15 percent.
• LEED's approved cooling components: Latisys implemented a Dolphin Cooling Tower purification system, which eliminates harmful chemicals in water discharge making it safe and possible for repurpose. The cooling system is eligible for credits towards LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building certification.

Other green building improvements include:

• Installation of a hot aisle - cold aisle containment.
• Replacement of CRAC units with newer, more efficient models.
• Installation of a return air plenum that further segregates hot and cold air.
• Installation of motion sensors in data centers to limit lighting to times of occupancy.
• Installation of Ultrasonic Humidification Systems that operate at 93 percent higher efficiency than traditional humidifiers while eliminating additional heat.

Latisys is also considering additional green investments to reduce energy consumption, including the use of biodiesel for standby generators, the viability of air or water side economizers for cooling, adjustment of CRAC fan speeds and the use of wider range of cooling and humidification to match ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) specifications.

"The introduction of Green technologies in the facility not only answers the call to action for environmentally friendly data centers, but it provides a new opportunity to customers to take advantage of the cost savings that consolidation, high density space, and virtualized environments provide," added Needles.

For more information on Latisys or to schedule a tour of the Denver data center facility, contact Latisys Sales at 1-888-423-3477 or email sales-denver@latisys.com. For more information on Latisys' Green Initiatives click here.

About Latisys-Denver

Located in the Inverness Business Park in southeast Denver, Latisys-Denver offers highly reliable colocation, managed hosting, disaster recovery and IP Network services featuring Cisco, Microsoft, Red Hat, EMC and Compellent technologies from a SAS 70 Type II facility.