Electricity and Control October 2021

INDUSTRY 4.0 + IIOT : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Expansion of Isando data centre facility complete

Cellular router with WLAN interface The new TC router 4102T-4G EU WLAN expands the family of industrial cellular routers from Phoenix Contact with a WLAN interface, more I/Os and additional software functionalities. With its WLAN interface, the new TC router can be configured as an access point to connect to wireless sys- tem components located nearby or to allow technicians to gain wireless access to the process on site. For users, the WLAN interface can serve as a paral- lel, failsafe alternative to the Ethernet ports, which are switchable between LAN/WAN, to access the internet. In case of a failure, the system automatically changes to WLAN or cellular communication, or expands the band- width of poor wired connections. In addition, the new Teraco Data Environments Proprietary Limited, Africa’s biggest vendor-neutral data centre and interconnection services provider, has completed the JB3 data centre facility, located within the Isando Campus in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, South Africa. This multibillion-rand facility represents a strategic ad- dition to Platform Teraco, offering enterprises a scalable platform for IT infrastructure deployment while sustaining performance, reliability, security, and the widest network choice. JB3 comprises a building area of 45 000 m 2 , with 12 000 m 2 of data hall space and a 29 MW critical power load. Combined with the existing Isando Campus facili- ties, the critical power load totals 40 MW across the data centre campus, with room for further growth. Jan Hnizdo, CEO of Teraco, says the latest expansion at the Isando Campus meets the growing demand from cloud providers and other businesses for data centre ca- pacity and enables Teraco to offer highly resilient and se- cure colocation facilities. At the same time the company is working towards achieving its long-term vision of ena- bling digital transformation across the African continent. “This investment also aligns with the support we pledged to the South African government’s investment drive and our commitment to investing billions of rand into South Africa’s digital infrastructure. As the leading interconnection hub across the continent, Teraco has over 600 clients, including key networks, cloud provid- ers, global content and managed IT service providers, and direct access to Africa’s largest Internet exchange, NAPAfrica, in its data centres.” With over 200 telcos within Platform Teraco providing connectivity to Africa, Hnizdo says enterprises are now accelerating their digital transformation strategies and placing a greater focus on cloud adoption strategies. “Teraco is making significant investments in providing access to digital infrastructure that is resilient and highly flexible. This offers enterprises the ability to scale as net- work strategies evolve in a world where fast and secure

interconnection with strategic business partners and cloud on-ramps are a source of competitive advantage.” Platform Teraco provides the lowest latency intercon- nection points to cloud and content. With a direct private connection to all leading cloud providers, enterprises can deploy cloud services in the most latency-efficient, secure and resilient way. Enterprises can also deploy their public, private and hybrid cloud strategies from the Teraco platform and reduce the time and cost to access these cloud platforms. Hnizdo says Teraco has continued to see growth in cloud adoption making its role significant for those who need access to robust digital infrastructure. “Our clients use the data centre to scale their IT infrastructure, adopt hybrid and multi-cloud architectures and interconnect with strategic business partners within the Teraco ecosys- tem. Over the past year, we have seen a 48% increase in direct interconnects to public cloud on-ramps, reflecting the increasing trend of cloud adoption by businesses.” Aerial view of the completed JB3 data centre at Teraco’s Isando Campus east of Johannesburg.

For more information visit: www.teraco.co.za

device has more digital inputs and outputs and further software functions such as GRE, L2TP, PPTP, as well as an internal MIB for SNMP. The TC routers are cellular routers for infrastructure applications which connect widely spread out substations and machines to the control room via VPN. Globally avail- able LTE cellular communication technology enables everything from lean remote control protocols to video transmissions. For more information contact Phoenix Contact SA. Tel: +27 (0)11 801 8200 Visit: www.phoenixcontact.co.za

The new TC router with WLAN interface.

Electricity + Control OCTOBER 2021

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