Defence to kit out 'Building 195' data centre

The Department of Defence's Intelligence & Security Group has moved to fit out a facility that is to house "cryptographic equipment" as well as IT servers, switches and storage infrastructure.

A brief tender document released yesterday said the majority of 'Building 195' would be kitted out with standard 19-inch "front-to-back air cooled" racks, which it is seeking.

"The uniformity provided by a single rack configuration for the majority of Building 195 equipment will realise a number of cost and support benefits, and will also simplify the implementation of any hot-aisle containment solutions," the department noted.

Although Defence sought to promote rack uniformity, it acknowledged that some systems it wished to house in 'Building 195' — such as high performance computing (HPC) systems — would likely call for a small number of "proprietary equipment racks".

Of the standard racks, it appeared they would be used to house high density workloads. One of the conditions is that they "be capable of providing sufficient airflow to cool a minimum of 30KW".

Also sought under the tender are power distribution units (PDUs). Defence wants to run sensors connected to the PDUs to monitor ambient conditions in the racks.

Tender responses close January 7 and work is expected from mid-February next year.