OVH Builds Custom Servers at its Data Centers

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Rows and rows of custom-built servers inside an OVH data center. (Photo: OVH)

When the staff at OVH's newest data center need to install a new server, they don't need to go far to find one. The huge web hosting firm builds its own custom servers on-site at its facility in Beauharnois, Quebec, creating perhaps the shortest supply line in the industry. OVH, which is based in France but entered the North American market last year, says that server ordered on its web site can be built on-demand in just 15 minutes, and in a rack within an hour. OVH's latest server models, known as "2013 Reloaded" integrate the latest generation of RAID cards, with 6Gbps of bandwidth and 3 options of access acceleration: the CacheVault technology (with ultra-fast Flash memory), FastPath (improving I/O performances using SSD drives) and CacheCade which combines SSD and SATA/SAS drives for frequent access (SSD) and primary storage (SATA/SAS). This video provides an overview of the company's manufacturing operation in Beauharnois, along with a look at the data center design, which features a peaked roof design similar to the Yahoo "chicken coop." This video runs about 2 minutes.

For additional video, check out our DCK video archive and the Data Center Videos channel on YouTube.