The PaperWise Data Center

Underneath the rolling farmland on the outskirts of Springfield, Missouri lies one of the most amazing data collocation facilities found anywhere in the United States.

The Site

The 30 to 40 foot ceiling heights allow a “building within a building” design. Inside, individual concrete buildings are constructed to create a highly secure environment for critical computer operations.

Fire suppression within each building is provided by FM-200 fire protection systems. The common area is protected by a double interlock zoned sprinkler system to ensure loss prevention. Fire detection uses both standard smoke/ionization detection systems and VESDA early detection.

The facility maintains discrete operations; its Internet presence is limited and general knowledge by the public is minimal. The aboveground guard station limits vehicular traffic and access to customers only. The roads within the underground are not public streets, thereby limiting unauthorized access and public information. Currently, the aboveground space is undeveloped, minimizing attention to the location.

Security begins with an aboveground guard station manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Upon entering the underground area, visitors must have knowledge of the Data Center’s location. Externally, the PaperWise Data Center resembles all other locations within the underground. No signs are used to identify the site.

Entry begins by scanning a personalized security card at the first security access point in order to enter the mantrap. The security card contains a digital image of the cardholder and presents it to the posted guard for verification. The guard station is located next to the mantrap behind a large prison-glass window. The individual must clear both a fingerprint scanner and the second security access door to exit the mantrap and proceed inside. After exiting the mantrap, visitors enter the office area of the facility containing a conference room, staging areas, break room, work areas, and restroom facilities. A third security access point controls access to the common area. Once entered, the customer gains entry into their individual building by passing the fourth security level access point. Guard station personnel visually monitor all entrances to the facility and customer buildings while automatically storing all images to disk for retrieval purposes. Once inside the authorized data building, a final security level electronically unlocks individual equipment racks containing equipment.

The collocation combines three independent fiber circuits, each to a tier-one access provider. Additionally, the facility utilizes fiber optic interconnections to offer national connectivity via non-traditional public switched telephone network routes. This capability guarantees the greatest in route diversity and bandwidth to meet the most demanding requirements. Network speeds over 300 MB are available.

All PaperWise servers and network equipment have been designed to offer advanced fault protection and redundancy. All servers use RAID level 5 arrays for storage. Operating systems are installed on separate arrays, and all machines have duplicate or triplicate power supplies. Virus protection and security patches are updated continuously.

Data is replicated to a second F4 tornado-proof facility linked via a high-speed fiber network. This facility also serves as the 911 emergency service data center for southern Missouri. The second facility offers similar failsafe features to the primary data center. In the event of any primary system failure, any and all PaperWise processes can be brought live in minutes at the secondary facility.