Is there a way to expand my existing data center?

Nick, you received some good answers here but if you have an urgent need and don't have time to conductd the research necessary to consolidate/virtualize or migrate to Cloud computing, you have only two options.

1) Offload your data center via a Co-Lo

2) Acquire a portable Datacenter similar to what HP offers. Here's a blurb from their web site.

HP POD benefits:
Build an IT strategy where you can deploy capacity within weeks – where you want it, when you want it, anywhere in the world. The HP POD slashes the time required for data center build out and reduces your current and future capital expenses by allowing you to add capacity as you need it.
* Six weeks from Purchase Order to Shipment in the U.S.; Worldwide Availability: Whether you need the equivalent of 4,000 square feet of traditional data center capacity shipped inside of six weeks, or want to blend brick-and-mortar and container data centers into a flexible strategy.
The HP Link:
http://h20338.www2.hp.com/enterprise/cache/595887-0-0-0-121.html

I can't speak on HP's pricing but if you have a permanant need to expand your data center or just a temporary need until you can implement some of the above suggestions, this may be a good fit for you.

Good luck.

It sounds to me that you are talking about expanding an on-site data center. If this is the case, I would recommend that you look at hosting some or all of the application servers that you are expanding with. When you start to factor in the costs of redundant power, battery back-up, chillers and the management needed for an on site data center, it starts to make sense. I work with a Tier III data center in Central Florida that rivals the best data centers in the country and they do it a better cost. There are definitely cost effective solutions out there.

Also, take a look at some of the white papers on Focus. Check out the "10 Signs Your Data Center Needs Virtualization".

Please let us know what you end up doing.

Nick,

That question is going to be difficult to answer without a lot more details.

This is not typically the type of question that can be answered definitively in a forum or newgroup or mailing list. (IOW, we need a lot of info, and it probably helps to be there to see things).

You could start by answering the following for us:

* Where is your data center today? (In office space, colo, etc)
* How large is it?
* What is driving the desire to expand it?
* What is the time frame for the desired expansion?
* What budget would you consider? (Your definition of "fortune" might be different from someone else's)
* Are you currently making use of virtualization?
* Have you considered going to a collocation facility?
* Have you evaluated cloud computing for the expansion or moving some existing resources?
* Do you have a technical team on staff?

The answer to these will help others come up with more meaningful responses to your needs.

-ASB: http://xeesm.com/AndrewBaker

To bluntly answer the question you asked: Yes you can expand a data center. No there is no way to do it without spending a fortune. I of course do not know your exact situation but I make the two statements with 99% certainty. You would likely need to acquire new cooling and UPS for your expansion and those costs alone would push the project into the expensive category. Beyond that you would have the structural changes, fire suppression changes, lighting changes, flooring changes, and security changes that would have to be made each bringing a 5 digit cost of their own at a minimum.

There are ways to get more equipment into the data center without having to undertake physical expansion. For example, servers have gotten more efficient and you can fit more compute power into the same space. Technologies such as virtualization can also help.

If you would like some free consultation, do not hesitate to ping me...