Our Datacenter

Introduction

Ultima Hosts operates from one of the USA's premium datacenters which has provided over seven years of high performance web hosting solutions. Currently, the datacenter has served over 15,000 clients in 85 countries. The entire facility is staffed by highly trained, industry experienced, and professionally educated technicians.

The datacenter has a central focus on redundancy allowing the network to rapidly self-heal failures without interruptions to connectivity.

Ultima Hosts uses multi-tiered redundancy with a N+1 internal device elements as well as entirely redundant chassis allowing any routing device to fail without interrupting server data connectivity. All core routing and switching equipment is state of the art Cisco.

The datacenter has exclusively selected premium Tier-1 bandwidth providers, ensuring minimal latency and excellent reach ability on a global basis.

Providers include direct connectivity with MCI/UUnet, AT&T, and Savvis/Cable & Wireless. The datacenter uses aggregate connectivity reaching 4,500+ networks and just a single network away from the datacenter's uplinks.

SBC Diverse Path OC-48 Fiber

OC-48 Flashwave 4500 Fiber connectivity to the facility is supplied by an SBC OC-48 diverse path fiber optic sonet ring. Featuring level 7 path diversity the datacenter uses sonet ring with multiple entry points into the facility as well as connectivity directly to multiple carrier offices. There is no shared physical path at any point in the entire sonet loop. This design allows for uninterrupted service even in the event of a fiber cut, or other direct CO equipment failure. The datacenter's optical equipment is capable of supporting multiple OC-192 connections.

Cisco GSR 12000 Border Routers

The datacenter's network connectivity begins at the border layer which connects directly to the Tier 1 service providers as well as to the network core. The datacenter's reliance on multiple devices each with internally redundant systems ensures the highest levels of reliability.

Each Cisco GSR is capable of independently routing 60 gigabits of data at wire rate while isolating any fault risk to each independent line card. Connections to the core are derived independently enabling yet another layer of redundancy and performance load balancing.

Cisco Sup720 Core

The datacenter's fully redundant network core handles bandwidth aggregation and routing for the entire network. Each Cisco 6509 Sup720 is capable of routing up to 400 million packets per second with a total capacity of 720 gigabits per second each.

This layer is fully redundant with each unit possessing the ability to route the entire core in the event of a device hardware or software failure. Core failure recovery is a nearly instantaneous process and is fully automated by the self-healing core elements.

Cisco 3550 Distribution Switches

Final layer3 distribution to rack switches as well as VLAN segmentation is handled by Cisco Catalyst 3550 distribution switches. Each switch is capable of handling simultaneous wire rate data traffic for every port configured ensuring optimal performance and eliminating blocking potential to the core or individual rack switch.

At the rack layer the datacenter utilize Hewlett-Packard Procurve switches to follow and further enforce VLAN segmentation protocols from the distribution layer as well as offer final customer network access.

Datacenter Power Systems Overview

The datacenter's power systems feature extensive fault tolerance and resilience at every layer. Incoming service is routed underground to a dedicated on-site transformer. This system routes to the datacenter's transfer switch junction which also connects to the datacenter's power generation facilities.

The datacenter's primary UPS is a 300kva Powerware 9315 featuring redundant battery cabinets and a full maintenance bypass allowing for service and upgrades without interruption of power to the datacenter's servers.

Liebert Precision power distribution units handle final power transformation and distribution to racks.

Cummins Generator

Generator backup services are provided to the datacenter's facility by a Cummins 313kVa Diesel Generator featuring over 24 hrs of autonomous runtime before requiring refueling.

Generator power is activated automatically in the event of a grid failure by the transfer switch. The intermediate load is capable of being handled for over an hour by the UPS, however this is not necessary as the generator is active and up to speed within 16 seconds of a power failure.

Facility General Environment

The datacenter's facility includes over 11,000 square feet of available space. Construction is built to surpass local building area codes and seismic requirements. Industry standard hard floors are covered with vinyl tile and overhead wiring systems are utilized for enhanced cooling and a more secure cable infrastructure.

Datacenter access is strictly limited to technical staff. Electronic security systems control datacenter access and are accompanied by a full compliment of motion detecting security cameras which are strategically placed throughout the entire facility. Furthermore we use facility external walls are concrete powered to a height of twenty feet.

Liebert 22 Ton AC Unit

Environmental processing systems include redundant Liebert Precision 22 ton up flow air conditioning units. Temperature and humidity are precisely regulated year round to ensure optimal equipment reliability. Each unit contains independent compressors and cooling loops to further enhance fault tolerance and reliability.

Air filtration systems actively remove foreign particulates from circulation and cycle the entire datacenter air supply in a matter of minutes.

The datacenter is a fully managed facility, as such technical staff includes level 3 technicians on site 24 hours per day, allowing incident response times to be kept to a minimum and system integrity retained with utmost urgency.