A Visual Exploration of RagingWire’s newest Pace Setter in Ashburn

InterGlobix Magazine had an opportunity to experience some of the unique design elements of RagingWire’s VA3 Data Center, in Ashburn, Virginia.

As a part of NTT (a $106billion, 283,000-employee company), RagingWire Data Centers connects its clients to one of the largest data center platforms in the world.

RagingWire is the North American data center platform within the portfolio of NTT Communications, which operates 140 data centers in 20 countries worldwide.

RagingWire was founded in 2000 with its first data center in Sacramento, California. Since then, the company has grown from coast to coast across the U.S., adding more data centers in Northern California (including work underway for a new Silicon Valley data center in Santa Clara), Dallas, and Ashburn, with plans for more in other top North American data center markets.

RagingWire first entered the Ashburn, Virginia market in 2012 with its VA1 Data Center, followed soon afterward by its VA2 Data Center. Then in 2018, RagingWire opened its highly secure, 78-acre Ashburn Data Center Campus with the debut of its 245,000 square-foot Ashburn VA3 Data Center.

The VA3 data center was chosen as a top “Pace Setter” in Loudoun County’s 2018 Signatures of Loudoun County contest. This was the latest data center design recognition for RagingWire, which previously had been honored for the blend of functionality and aesthetics found in its Northern California and Dallas data centers.

A different kind of data center

VA3 is RagingWire’s first data center facility on its new 78-acre Ashburn Data Center Campus. At full build-out, the campus will offer over 1.5 million square feet of data center space on a professionally landscaped, securely fenced and monitored property that will contain nearly 1,000 trees and shrubs (including dozens of vibrant Red Maples, Honey Locusts, and mixed colors of Crepe Myrtles).

A crucial new part of Loudoun County’s infrastructure

For reliable power, RagingWire’s VA3 is fed from two separate substations. If the feed is disrupted, nearly 4,000 batteries can power the entire building while 22 generators (each the size of a semi-trailer) fire up to take over until the utility is restored. The six data vaults are cooled by 116 next-generation, waterless air conditioners. For telecommunications, VA3 has three entry points for more than 25 carriers and cloud providers.

VA3’s dramatically colorful inside foyer

1. The Signatures Of Loudoun Design Excellence Award

RagingWire Vice President of Marketing James Leach holds the Signatures of Loudoun Design Excellence Award, flanked by Loudoun County Chair of the Board of Supervisors Phyllis Randall (left) and Loudoun County Design Cabinet Chair Alan Hansen (right).

“RagingWire’s stunning design for the VA3 Data Center has extended the company’s legacy of excellence in visual design,” said Alan Hansen.

2. A lunchtime oasis

Open, roomy and bright, the kitchenette break room at RagingWire’s VA3 invites people to converse, relax, and recharge. (Photo credit: Noah Hayes)

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