[LINK] AGIMO details Federal Government data centre needs

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

<brd>
This is a good start, but the real savings come at the demand and 
sharing levels and can only be realised when agencies get together (or 
are put together) and consolidate/share their ICT infrastructure, not 
buildings and such.

Declaration of non-interest. I've had nothing to do with this initiative 
since last year.
</brd>

AGIMO details Federal Government data centre needs
By Brett Winterford
Jun 28, 2010 12:24 PM
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/218047,agimo-details-federal-government-data-centre-needs.aspx

The Federal Government has released a document that describes the 
desired characteristics of the data centres it will consider for 
outsourcing deals under its plan to consolidate the enterprise computing 
needs of its agencies.

The data centre consolidation plan, launched by Finance Minister Lindsay 
Tanner in March, is looking to consolidate most Federal Government 
agencies into larger, more modern third party data centre facilities for 
the next 15 years in an attempt to save the Government $1 billion.

The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) has 
released a draft statement of requirement which sketches out what 
information data centre builders and existing providers should be asked 
to submit to be considered for the multi-million dollar outsourcing deals.

Being a consultation draft, the document is not overly prescriptive, but 
asks all the right questions about data centre capabilities at a level 
of detail that suggests the authors have done their research on data 
centre efficiency.

Tenderers are asked to detail their available floor room space, security 
credentials, level of redundancy, access to power, connectivity and 
water, cooling methodology, power efficiency - even the sizes of doors 
and loading docks.

Among the more prescriptive requirements, AGIMO noted a facility must have:

Space and power: At least 500 square metres of server room floor 
offering power of between 500 kW and 1 MW per 500 square metres.

Security clearance: The relevant security credentials to store either 
National Security classified systems (from Restricted to Secret) or 
non-National Security classifications from (In-Confidence to Highly 
Protected) and staff that "have or are able to obtain appropriate 
security clearances up to and including SECRET and/or HIGHLY PROTECTED" 
(depending on the agencies hosted).

Biometric security: Highly-sensitive areas need to offer a level beyond 
proximity card entry - "incorporating biometric technology and proximity 
technology."
"The Agency may require electronic copies of the log data relating to 
all access activity to the Agency space," the document said.

CCTV monitoring: Facilities must come equipped with "high quality 
digital recorded Close Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance of data 
centre facilities doors and any space occupied by the Agencies."
"The system should, record accurate time and date stamps, have fast 
search functions, and be capable of providing alarm notification to 
offsite devices including phone and email. The video surveillance 
footage should be held onsite for immediate viewing for at least six 
months and the video surveillance footage should be made available for 
the Agency to duplicate and remove off-site if required for any 
security-related purpose."

24/7 access: Authorised agency staff must be provided access to the 
facility "24 hours a day, seven days a week with time/date stamp logging 
of all access granted and denied."
This included the loading dock and server rooms.

Reporting and monitoring: Operators will need to provide granular 
use-based pricing and reporting to determine the power consumption of 
individual agencies within a facility.
AGIMO also noted a preference for:

Pods and other modular fit-outs: "The data centre facilities should 
provide modularity, scalability and security to support multi-tier, 
multi-density and multi-tenancy requirements," the document said. "It is 
desirable that the data centre facilities be divided as zones, modules 
or pods for use by different Agencies."

Diverse carriers: "The Australian Government strongly prefers that the 
data centre facilities have diverse routes and entries to provide for 
connection to multiple telecommunications carriers."

Energy efficiency: "The Australian Government encourages "Green IT" and 
other environmental initiatives where possible," the document said.
Operators will be asked whether any co-generation or tri-generation 
capacity exists at the facility or whether any power is provided from 
"renewable sources". They are also asked how they reduce cooling 
requirements through the use of free air economisers.

The document also asks if the facility is able to operate at the higher 
range of temperatures (up to 25 degrees Celsius) set out in the recent 
update to ASHRAE's recommended temperature model.

-- 

Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Canberra Australia
email:	 brd at iimetro.com.au
website: www.drbrd.com