Client Story: The Multi-Tiered Approach to Tier Certification
"The Tier Certification of Constructed Facility process provided our team with an opportunity to better understand the behavior of different systems, thus assuring business continuity. Our Operations staff was able to really see how the electrical and mechanical systems reacted, and as such, now feel more comfortable as they know exactly how to proceed for maintenance without impact on our business continuity."
Roger Lampach
CEO, LuxConnect
Overview
LuxConnect is a private limited company owned by the Luxembourg State, which was founded in 2006 with the mission to strengthen the country’s position on the European Internet map and to provide a state-of-the-art IT environment for Luxembourg. The organisation is a multi-tenant, multi-tier data centre and dark fiber network operator. LuxConnect has two sites and four buildings with total server spaces of 14 700 square meters. The organisation has three independent data centres, DC1.1, DC1.2, and DC1.3 in the Bettembourg ICT Campus located in the south of the country, and the DC2 facility in centrally located Bissen. The sites are interconnected via multiple routes using the dark fiber to guarantee customers’ data centre business continuity.
The LuxConnect data centres were designed and built in less than ten years, and the newest of the facilities, DC1.3, launched in août 2015. Of the four buildings, three have been certified by Uptime Institute.
LuxConnect is also the 2018 winner of the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres for its DC2 data centre in Bissen, Luxembourg. The EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency is a voluntary initiative managed by the European Commission created to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner without impacting critical function of data centres. This is an important issue for LuxConnect, where all facilities are supplied by 100% certified green electricity.
The LuxConnect data centres were designed and built in less than ten years, and the newest of the facilities, DC1.3, launched in août 2015. Of the four buildings, three have been certified by Uptime Institute.
LuxConnect is also the 2018 winner of the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres for its DC2 data centre in Bissen, Luxembourg. The EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency is a voluntary initiative managed by the European Commission created to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner without impacting critical function of data centres. This is an important issue for LuxConnect, where all facilities are supplied by 100% certified green electricity.
Opportunity
LuxConnect developed an innovative strategy using Uptime Institute’s Tier Certification to clearly differentiate their services and pricing to key customer groups. LuxConnect is the first and only facility to offer multiple Tier levels within the same data centre.
With the multi-tiered approach to Tier Certification, LuxConnect can offer customers different rooms with separate Tier objectives within the same building. This provides clients with the opportunity to use different rooms to house different types of applications, mission critical and noncritical and the ability to benefit from the flexible SLAs and pricing models that this unique strategy allows LuxConnect to offer.
The DC1.3 data centre contains Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV Certifications of Constructed Facilities on the same floor in the same building, a one-of-a kind approach. This mix of Tier Certifications is an integral and strategic part of meeting and exceeding customer demands. With multiple Tier II, III, and IV facilities, LuxConnect can attract gamers requiring high availability and low latency, and still be sensitive to costs. The Tier III data centre is designed to run without interruption, and if a business relies on 7x24 IT availability, Tier III ensures that each and every component needed to support the digital environment can be shut down and maintained without impact on live operation. Tier IV, which has the highest availability, performance and resilience a data centre can achieve, is designed to support mission-critical operations. Other important verticals include banks and other financial facilities require the Fault Tolerant Tier IV Certification of Constructed Facilities.
The Tier II spaces in the data centres are mainly designated for gamers. These spaces contain two installations, the “front end” which is where gaming companies connect, and another installation used for client analysis of customer behavior which helps to determine new customer product offerings. In fact, gaming companies were the impetus to offering Tier II spaces and where the unique implementation of multiple Tier levels was born.
With the multi-tiered approach to Tier Certification, LuxConnect can offer customers different rooms with separate Tier objectives within the same building. This provides clients with the opportunity to use different rooms to house different types of applications, mission critical and noncritical and the ability to benefit from the flexible SLAs and pricing models that this unique strategy allows LuxConnect to offer.
The DC1.3 data centre contains Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV Certifications of Constructed Facilities on the same floor in the same building, a one-of-a kind approach. This mix of Tier Certifications is an integral and strategic part of meeting and exceeding customer demands. With multiple Tier II, III, and IV facilities, LuxConnect can attract gamers requiring high availability and low latency, and still be sensitive to costs. The Tier III data centre is designed to run without interruption, and if a business relies on 7x24 IT availability, Tier III ensures that each and every component needed to support the digital environment can be shut down and maintained without impact on live operation. Tier IV, which has the highest availability, performance and resilience a data centre can achieve, is designed to support mission-critical operations. Other important verticals include banks and other financial facilities require the Fault Tolerant Tier IV Certification of Constructed Facilities.
The Tier II spaces in the data centres are mainly designated for gamers. These spaces contain two installations, the “front end” which is where gaming companies connect, and another installation used for client analysis of customer behavior which helps to determine new customer product offerings. In fact, gaming companies were the impetus to offering Tier II spaces and where the unique implementation of multiple Tier levels was born.
“We have designed our data centres to follow Uptime Institute’s Tier Standards and Specifications from the beginning. In fact, our two project managers are Uptime Institute Accredited Tier Designers (ATD), which has been a real benefit, helping us to better support our internal needs, keeping everything running smoothly.”
Roger Lampach
CEO, LuxConnect
Roger LampachCEO, LuxConnect
Solution
Tier Certification has been a real benefit to LuxConnect. The company’s strategic implementation of the Multi-Tier approach is valuable to both customers and LuxConnect, serving as a key differentiator from competitors. This also aides in achieving the company’s primary objectives, the improvement of the national dark fiber network and the building and operation of state-of-the-art data centres.
LuxConnect has put their strategic version to work for customers. The company’s DC 1,3 was designed, built and operates to Tier lV specifications. The data centre is certified by Uptime Institute for both Design and Constructed facility, uniquely built and implemented with both Tier ll and lV within the same building, and Tier III rooms available. This provides clients with the opportunity to use Tier ll rooms for less critical applications and Tier lll or lV rooms for very critical applications, enabling a tailored and cost-saving solution.
Luxembourg’s first class central European location includes excellent low latency connectivity to all major European Internet hubs along with a highly competitive energy pricing. Government support of the ICT sector and Luxembourg’s world’s first ‘data reversibility’ law make the country one of the world’s safest locations to store data.
LuxConnect has put their strategic version to work for customers. The company’s DC 1,3 was designed, built and operates to Tier lV specifications. The data centre is certified by Uptime Institute for both Design and Constructed facility, uniquely built and implemented with both Tier ll and lV within the same building, and Tier III rooms available. This provides clients with the opportunity to use Tier ll rooms for less critical applications and Tier lll or lV rooms for very critical applications, enabling a tailored and cost-saving solution.
Luxembourg’s first class central European location includes excellent low latency connectivity to all major European Internet hubs along with a highly competitive energy pricing. Government support of the ICT sector and Luxembourg’s world’s first ‘data reversibility’ law make the country one of the world’s safest locations to store data.
