Vegas Valley proves desirable location for securing cloud data

When people talk about “the cloud” in reference to the Internet, some assume the data are actually up in the atmosphere. But this cloud is really down to earth.

“The truth is, the cloud actually has four walls,” said Jeff Brown, president of Cobalt Data Centers, 7710 W. Cheyenne Ave. “We are ever more dependent on technology, and technology has to reside somewhere.”

In a nutshell, the cloud is a data center. There are many of them around the world. In the Las Vegas Valley, they include ViaWest Data Center, 3330 E. Lone Mountain Road; SUPERNAP, a Switch Co., at 7135 S. Decatur Blvd, with more than 1,000 clients globally; Syptec-Vegas, 302 Carson Ave.; and Tw Telecom, 3944 E. Silvestri Lane, which was bought by Level 3 Communications Inc. in November. Level 3 clients include Netflix and Google.

Kim Salinas, general manager for the local Level 3 facility, said companies change their coding “all the time” to prevent cyber hackers from gaining entry.

“You’re going to be secure by having these network operation centers focusing 100 percent of their time on monitoring (cyber attacks),” she said.

Brown said Las Vegas is a perfect spot for a cloud facility such as Cobalt, which stores cloud data for hundreds of corporations.

“Southern Nevada is fast becoming a preferred location for critical infrastructure because of a low risk of natural disasters — earthquake, tornado, tsunami — for civil unrest and not a nuclear power plant nearby,” he said. “And economically, it’s very attractive to do business here.”

The 34,000-square-foot Cobalt facility looks like a regular office building but is full of computers that are the brain centers of many companies. It is also filled with movie-worthy measures to thwart anyone from breaching its security, such as an 18-inch exterior wall reinforced with steel and Kevlar; multi-factor verification such as retina scanners and fingerprint ID systems; and a security monitoring center with 14 screens showing a variety of activity.

But it is the storage “brains” of Cobalt that are the heart of its business. Behind a battery of locked doors and cages are the operating systems of various companies, all in one giant room. None of the client companies could be named for the sake of confidentiality. Each client can access only its own cabinet, which is filled with its equipment. Cabinets come outfitted with power outlet strips nearly 7 feet tall and a chimney-type system to whisk away any heat generated by the equipment. The set point is 72 degrees.

Doomsday scenarios are kept in check with super-sensitive smoke detectors, humidity sensors and power surge protection. Companies will send technicians to Las Vegas when equipment needs repairing or updating or when more equipment needs to be installed.

Cobalt keeps two massive backup generators on its lot. Each is contained in a trailer the size of ones pulled by 18-wheelers. The diesel-powered generators can each put out 1.25 megawatts of energy.

Don Shackley, chief information officer for Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging, said his company valued the secure operation at Cobalt and that, being in health care, the company had lots of considerations when it came to safeguarding its data and the availability of it.

“For us, we have two data centers that are ours, in Anthem and one (in the northwest),” he said. “So, for us to go to a company like Cobalt … is really a strategic decision on our part to ensure that we’re doing everything we can in our efforts to provide health care to our patients, that that information is available 24 hours, seven days a week.”

The cloud isn’t just about technology. As information technology people can be on site for days, and down time can last for hours when downloading systems, Cobalt includes a kitchen, a TV, pingpong and an indoor golf putting green.

Contact Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 702-387-2949.