Vertiv boosts colocation data centre capacity for Chorus

Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, has helped Chorus expand its colocation offering in New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, and unlock customers’ computing potential in regional locations using its existing distributed network of telecommunications (telco) buildings.

Chorus is a New Zealand wholesaler of telco infrastructure, operating and owning the largest copper and fibre networks in the country. Since its inception in 2011, the organisation has provided New Zealand’s 90-plus retail service providers (RSP) with open layer 1 and layer 2 services on its copper and fibre networks.

Chorus has undergone a colocation data centre evolution to expand its digital reach, repurposing four existing metro-based telephone exchange facilities into EdgeCentre modular data centre sites. Within these sites, Vertiv SmartAisle data centre infrastructure has been operating to support the Chorus fibre network. Recently, the wholesaler sought to deepen its Auckland data centre capability — where demand is highest — and so opted to expand its Mount Eden EdgeCentre site.

“New Zealand RSPs are increasingly determined to offer wraparounds of cloud managed services, and we want to keep being the wholesaler for their network and hosting service requirements in that relationship,” said Mohammad Hadi, Colocation Product Manager at Chorus.

“Mount Eden was our pilot build in 2015, and every rack in that facility has since sold out. To give our customers room to play in today’s digital ecosystem, we needed to expand our capacity in Auckland where customers needed it. This demand led to the significant expansion of the Mount Eden site.”

Chorus re-engaged Vertiv for a modular and scalable data centre solution that would complement the facility’s existing structure. Vertiv carried out the design and implementation of a 23-rack hot aisle containment system with a scalable power range of 50 to 250 kW. The solution uses refrigerant-based air-cooling modules, robust uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and a state-of-the-art environmental monitoring unit that tracks energy consumption, alerts teams to potential failures and rapidly diagnoses problems.

“Our 23 racks of new capacity live in a single row on a back wall — an efficient use of space,” Hadi said. “That’s relevant because sites such as Mount Eden used to be occupied by large, legacy copper telco equipment. They’re now being replaced with smaller, more sustainable fibre alternatives, and Vertiv is helping us free up new space to put it to other uses.

“We’re now looking at more data centre growth in the region. With close to 600 telephone exchange buildings already dispersed throughout the country, we have a head start in giving regional areas access to the computing power and functionality they currently lack, right at the network’s edge.

“This move will also benefit our customers who are making decisions around resilience. In the unfortunate event of a natural disaster, geographical diversity — where workloads spread across multiple locations — is critical for business resilience.”

“With a combined fibre network and distributed data centres offering, Chorus is making a splash on the digitisation of New Zealand,” said Mark Langford, Head of New Zealand at Vertiv. “We’re proud to offer Chorus confidence throughout its colocation journey. With robust edge solutions, the company is inviting innovation within its existing real estate and trusts our leading design in facilitating scalability alongside the colocation demand curve.”