Argentia bunkers poised to be data centre

Bomb-proof bunkers in Argentia will be used to keep hackers out of computer files, if a Canadian data storage company has its way.

The company,Teslagistics, described the Second World War bunkersas ideal when it talked about its proposal at an industrial showcase in Placentia in September.

Chief Operating Officer,Allan Meiusi, said customers wanttheir data to be protected both online,and physically.

"One of the things we're targeting...are folks that want to have their data stored in a very secure place,"saidMeiusi.

"I mean there are very few places in the world that have data storagein bomb proof bunkers,"

I mean there are very few places in the world that have datastoragein bomb proof bunkers.- AllanMeiusi,Teslagistics

Meiusitold CBC'sOn The Gothatthe company sees a growing marketnot only in Newfoundland and Labrador, but internationally.

"What we're going to be doing is hosting cloud material. We're not hosting websites, we're not hosting blogs," said Meiusi.

"So we're not an old fashioned data centre."

'These things are pristine'

The 70-year-old bunkers havewalls four-feet thick and roofs two-and-a-half feet thick. Some of them have many rooms, and in the day included a hospital with operating facilities.

WhenMeiusiwent inside some of thebunkers, he said they looked as if they were built yesterday.

"When we opened the doors we were just amazed... you'd think something 70 years old...would be mouldy and musty and God knows what else," saidMeiusi."These things are pristine."

'We're about high performance computing'

Meiusi said the company sees Newfoundland and Labrador as a resource based economy.

Alot of data collected is pertaining to those resources, such asocean floor and marine research. This type of data requires a lot of analyzing and processing power.

"It's really intense. We're talking about terabytes and terabytes of data but then that all has to be analyzed and it has to be processed by computers that really have a lot of power," said Meiusi.

The technology used to store the datameans that the Argentia bunkers won't needair conditioning.

The data servers are cooled using tubs of mineral oil.

"Basically all we need is power and a connection to a fibre optic cable and we're a data centre," said Meiusi.

The company hopes to dopreliminary construction by next year.

"We hope to have a sort of public display of what we're going to be doing done by February, said Meiusi .

While itsgoal is to put Newfoundland and Labrador on the map with regard to data storage, Teslagistics alsoplans to manufacture storage units in the province, and eventually provide jobs for around 90 people.