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Published September 25, 2012, 12:00 AM

Photo Gallery: Touring Involta


Lucas Mistelske, manager of Involta’s new data center, talks about the center’s services in the data hall that will hold clients’ computer servers. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)

  • Lucas Mistelske, manager of Involta’s new data center, talks about the center’s services in the data hall that will hold clients’ computer servers. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
  • Security is tight at Involta’s Duluth data center, with cameras, card readers and this iris scanner to control access. Manager Lucas Mistelske says the iris reader is more accurate than fingerprint and retina scanners. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
  • A trio of cameras in the center’s lobby monitor the entrance and two hallways. More than 50 security cameras are scattered around the center, both inside and outside. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
  • To ensure uninterrupted service the Involta data center is built with multiple duplicate systems, such as the two transformers, left, and two emergency generators that are behind the data center, Each can provide enough electricity to operate the center. “We have one more than what we need at all times,” center Manager Lucas Mistelske said of critical equipment. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
  • If electrical power is ever lost at the Involta data center, deep-cycle batteries – 20 to a cabinet, 80 in a bank – will provide uninterrupted service to the center during the 22 seconds between the loss of power and when the emergency generators would begin. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
  • The office area of Involta’s new data center at 3401 Technology Drive in Duluth is the only section that has windows. The steel reinforced concrete walls of the data center itself are 12 inches thick and can withstand 160 mph winds. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
  • Pam Schmitt, operations administrative assistant for Involta, works in the staff office area that features an industrial look. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)