Hotel for computers

A new co-location data center opened by Great Basin Internet Services in Reno this month marks both a major upgrade and key part of its business plan as the company emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

A co-location center is like a hotel for computer gear. Customers put their servers and network equipment there, and the center provides power, security and bandwidth.

GBIS has provided co-location services for 15 years, but previously it housed customers' equipment, along with its own network gear, in a small building on Fifth Street. The new co-lo center now is in the same building as its offices on Ridge Street downtown, and its network equipment is just a few blocks away in the Wells Fargo building on South Virginia Street, where other telecom providers are located. A fiber connection between the GBIS network and the Ridge Street location enables the company to provide large amounts of bandwidth to co-location customers.

"We are so thrilled to be here now," says Gary Helmers, GBIS sales and marketing vice president. The new co-location site offers better security, fire protection and power backup than the Fifth Street location, as well as room for expansion. And its new network site, with its close proximity to telecom providers, gives GBIS faster and less-expensive access to the bandwidth it resells to customers.

"We can get Internet access from many providers without running circuits all over the place," Helmers says.

As giant telecoms, such as AT&T and Charter, have gobbled up the residential Internet market, GBIS has turned its attention to serving small and medium-sized businesses with a full line of telecom services.

Moving its network core and co-location center were key parts of the company's reorganization plan. GBIS filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in August.

The Nevada District U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved its reorganization plan April 21, with no protests by the court or any of the company's creditors. GBIS has started payments to creditors, and now is in the final stages of emerging from bankruptcy. "I would hope we'll have it done in the next month or two," Helmers says.

GBIS started planning the equipment move six months ago and undertook it in stages this spring. First it moved its own network to South Virginia Street. Then it moved its co-location center, working in the wee hours of the morning when Internet traffic is slowest and taking care not to cause any service interruptions.

"It's a major operation," say Bruce Robertson, GBIS founder and chief technology officer. "You have to develop functionality in both places."

Once the company got everything up and running in the new location, it shut down the equipment on Fifth Street.

In the last few years, the co-location market in Reno has been stagnant, and some providers such as Redundant Networks have left. But GBIS sees lots of potential. Demand for data center space is growing as technology companies develop new applications, and pressure grows on public companies and industries, such as health care, to back up their data offsite. Many companies such as online gaming and social networking outfits put their servers in different spots all over the world. Dispersing the servers geographically, versus locating them all in one place, speeds information transit.

A January report on co-location data centers by San Jose, Calif.-based Gartner Group says demand for co-location services will increase this year while data center construction will slow.

Helmers says some co-location providers in northern California have run out of space or access to additional power, and companies are reluctant to build new data centers in today's economy.

GBIS is marketing its upgraded co-location center to California and Las Vegas markets. Easy driving distance to the San Francisco Bay Area and convenient flight service to Southern California and Nevada make Reno an attractive option, Helmers says.