NextFort Ventures Chandler, LLC announced the selection of Johnson Controls Inc. as the supplier of an innovative free air cooling system being deployed in NextFort's new 180,000 square foot data center in Chandler, AZ. NextFort's Phase 1 launch in March will feature availability of 130,000 sq. ft.

of NextFort High-Density Computing Suites (NextFort HCSs(TM)). These are completely self-contained, all concrete and steel rooms designed to house up to 20 high-density IT racks for a total IT load up to 225KW (up to 600 watts/sq ft.) Future expansion calls for 50,000 square feet of additional HCSs that can be rapidly deployed. NextFort worked closely with Johnson Controls to design the highly-efficient, fully redundant direct expansion air conditioning cooling system that does not require water.

Each NextFort HCS has its own cooling system contributing to nearly 40% better energy efficiency compared to conventional data centers, thus reducing energy costs for NextFort's customers. Featuring Johnson's highly-durable York Equipment compressor, the solution delivers maximum energy efficiently and individual control associated with innovative free air cooling capabilities that can scale from 0 - 100% depending on the individual needs of a customer's environment. Key customer benefits: Customers can start by deploying two cooling units for a 2N redundant configuration, and easily add more (in a matter of days) as they increase power density inside in the HCS.

Customers are able to choose the temperature they want to run their HCS(s) depending on the requirements of their computing environment. Each cooling system features variable-speed fans and compressor capacity technology to drive cooling efficiency. Depending on outside temperature, each NextFort customer can use varying amounts of outside air (up to 100%) to supplement cooling capacity and save energy.

Each NextFort customer has a dedicated cooling system where power is metered locally -- customers only pay for power related to their individual cooling system. Innovative system controls allow customers to view and operate their cooling system remotely via a secure customer portal. Customers can take advantage of NextFort's remote-hands services thus eliminating the need for IT resources on site.