StrataSpace datacenter... Interesting, but how can you expand when you are underground?

http://www.strataspacedata.com

http://www.strataspace.com

No way! No how, would I place our servers underground.

I can just see water or flooding filling up that entire entrance way, then filling up the entire datacenter to the roof, killing everyone and everything inside.

Not a risk I would be willing to take no way.

BTW, I noticed that they said that they had natural disaster protection in place....

They had only thought about natural disasters such as tornados, hail, earthquakes, and storms. As I stated in my last post.... A flood, which Kentucky is known for, just from rain (served in bootcamp there), would wipe that place out, in seconds.

Since they are underground, the water of course would rise to ground level. So, something that may not flood elsewhere in the town, would most likely sit inside that trench like entrance they have, gradually filling the place up, until the water reached ground level, which would be their ceiling.

I would assume that they have some type of preventative system in place for water disasters as well. They must have pumps. I just don't see them building something like that without pumps. Then again, maybe they did

I just found an irony in the fact that they listed every other possible Kentucky disaster, except flooding.

This should be high on their list in my opinion, as it's one of the most common occurances in Kentucky, and they seem to have left it out of the list of disasters they're prepared for.

Basically they've listed all of the disasters that plague above ground facilities, while leaving out all of the disasters that plague underground facilities, such as; cave in, flood, etc.

The other unforseen issue with flooding is that since this is an old mineshaft, the potential to flood from the inside out, is also there.

First thing I thought of was it caving in - should be interesting to see, I like how their website is pretty broken with the links along the side there.

StrataSpace was developed with quality in mind. We have established an outstanding infrastructure, which includes:

* Redundancy: power &
telecommunications
(per client request)
* Storm water drainage
* 8" water service line with
fire hydrants
* 3" domestic water line
* 8" sanitary sewer line

If they receive a major downpour of water, could they adequately keep the building dry with only drainage? No where in the list does it say they have pumps, but that could be part of the "Storm Water Drainage" system.

Sure, underground facilities have unique problems of their own, as a rule they are more secure than above ground facilities. One of the data centers that the company I work for uses is a "bunker", http://savvy.net. It's a former IBM facility that once housed mainframes during the cold war.

AFAIK pumps are always used in mines, to keep them operational (a flooded mine is useless), so I'm fairly confident they have a very well thought out system in place.

It is odd though that they didn't give it much coverge as it would be among the very important systems running there.

I was about to say the same thing. A simple drainage system, without pumps would never work. Add to the fact that that place would fill up faster than a glass of ice tea on a hot day.

You're right actually. I live in an old mining town, and a lot of the newer homes are built on old mines. The only problem is....

While the mine pumps kept everything dry from the outside in, these pumps never worked when it came to flooding from the inside, out. When a mine floods from the inside, it generally rushes in so fast that it will kill anyone who is directly standing there. We actually had this happen just last year in Pittsburgh. They weren't even mining in that area. The wall just gave out, and flooded that entire portion of the mine. The pumps won't work in that scenerio.

In addition, if water rushed that quickly from the outside, the pumps won't work either. Now of course, once the water rushes in that fast, the pumps will work to get the water out, but not before it destroys everything, or anyone that happens to be stuck inside.

You can probably ignore this post ... I just came across articles on the net talking about flooding in Crestwood.

StrataSpace might have been smarter if they had chosen to disclose its elevation in relation to the surrounding area. According to a very good atlas I have, the area where Crestwood is ... seems ... to be at a much higher elevation than Louisville or most places in the other directions from it. BUT ... the topopgraphical map only had Louisville marked and I had to guess the location of Crestwood on it from where I saw it on another map.

I am pretty sure if they went to the expense of converting an old mine ... they probably insured the walls, ceiling and floors were sealed well enough to eliminate any threat of ground water seepage or flooding potential. And if they are on a hill or elevated area ... the water table is likely hundreds of feet below the facility. The nearest river is miles away.

But still ... I wonder just how much protection a former limestone quarry would provide in the off chance there was an earthquake. I think I would feel safer about it if it was encased in a granite quarry.

JMHPO
Peter

Precisely another point. Limestone is a fairly soft mineral/rock, compared to granite, and other forms of stone. So you are correct. One would have to question this decision as well.

That would depend on the intensity of a quake. Softer stone such as limestone will actually suffer less damage (up to a point) than a harder stone formation. Softer stone will have some ability to "flex" and not suffer brittle failure. In either case if the equipment isn't shock mounted a quake will likely damage stuff (above or below ground).

wood-frame buildings and steel buildings hold up better in earthquakes. Brick/stone/adobe building suffer the most damage.