"An hour's worth of downtime on our computers can mean between $2 million and $6 million lost on credit-card sales alone for our customers. That's why we wanted to be online all the time," says Dennis Hughes, director of Property Management at First National. "We want to be up when our competitors are down."

To guarantee protection of the sensitive activities and information contained in its data center, First National took no chances in addressing security. A dry moat, 30' wide and 20' deep, encircles the building to keep out intruders. Window glass can absorb impacts of up to 150 miles per hour. The third-floor computer nerve center is sealed off behind reinforced concrete walls and guarded with the aid of an iris-scanning device reputed to be more accurate at verifying identity than a fingerprint or retinal scan.

First National also placed special emphasis on the power supply feeding the Technology Center. Provided by a local utility over the electric grid, power in any geographical area is typically subject to fluctuations, spikes, or even blackouts. With reliability a crucial requirement, the bank chose a power source that, while not yet in wide use, stands up to rigorous uptime demands: fuel cells.

"The fuel cells give the Technology Center a calculated reliability 100 times greater than leading data centers today," says Tom Ditoro, electrical project engineer at HDR, the architect that designed the facility. "Most have five nines [99.999 percent reliable], which equates to a probability of five minutes of unscheduled downtime per year. A data center using fuel cells comes in at seven nines and a five [99.999995 percent reliable] and has a probability of only three seconds of downtime per year."

The Best Defense

To ensure such reliability, security measures at the Technology Center must leave no area of the building vulnerable, as evidenced by the facility's layout. Should an unwelcome visitor successfully negotiate the moat, the first floor of the building is still beyond reach; it sits 15' below ground.

According to Hughes, having a subterranean first level further insulates the facility against the predictable and not-so-predictable.

"This building can withstand an F4 tornado," he says. "If the outside of the building shears away, the core can continue operating."

(The National Weather Service defines an F4 tornado as a cyclone with winds up to 260 mph capable of wreaking "devastating damage." It is the second most severe type on a five-point scale, topped only by an F5 tornado, which inflicts the most acute destruction.)

On the first floor of the three-floor building are mail and printing services, loading docks, Human Resources personnel, classrooms, mechanical room spaces, and an employee break room. The second floor supports check and invoice processing, security, and cash management.

The third floor houses the facility's high-security data activities; this area, supported from beneath by three-foot-thick concrete floorplates, is topped by its own roof, which is situated beneath the main building roof. In addition to the bar-coded ID cards used to access various areas of the building, the iris-scanning device outside the third-floor computer bunker provides a nearly incorruptible layer of protection from unauthorized entry.

"Finding a duplicate iris is like the exact same snowflake falling to earth twice," says Hughes.

The iris scanner lies inside a small vestibule between the outer office and the data bunker. Once a person gains access to this area, the outer door closes.

"You can't have a straight pass through from outer door to inner door," says Hughes. "And once you're inside the vestibule, there's a man trap. If you fail the iris scan three times, you're locked into that area until security comes to get you."

Security Within and Without

Besides fielding its own contingent of security personnel, First National contracts out for additional security as well. Visitors to the Technology Center are escorted at all times, and the janitorial staff, also contract workers, is subject to background reviews. The bank's risk management group takes security one step further.

"We continually try to improve our system on a proactive basis to make sure our security remains effective," Hughes says.

The Technology Center not only looks out for itself, its detection equipment monitors building security at other First National branches in surrounding areas. If someone is attempting to break in to any of the 15 other First National locations in Omaha or branches located in Kansas, South Dakota, and soon Texas, an alarm is triggered that brings local authorities to the scene of the crime.

Under Your Own Power

As California's power woes continue to demonstrate, the recent restructuring or "deregulation" of power markets is taking its toll on the stability of regional electric supplies. Combined with the fact that utility-provided power is already prone to fluctuations or outages, companies seeking more reliable sources of electricity often turn their attention away from the local power grid.

First National decided that on-site fuel cells, a chemical device that takes in fuel and produces electricity, would provide the Technology Center with the reliable power it needed for constant uptime. (See "Getting Inside Fuel Cells.") According to HDR's Ditoro, adding fuel cells into the building design affected both the timeline and the cost of the project.

"A lot more time went into the project on the engineering side," he recalls. "And implementing the fuel cells added about $1.2 million to the project cost."

For Hughes, the cost is worth the benefits.

"We realize that this is the first installation of multiple fuel cells in a facility," he says. "It's the largest set of fuel cells feeding a data center in the world. But remember, we could lose up to $6 million an hour if it goes down."

System Setup

The facility has four fuel cells: two for critical power needs and two for backup power. Each fuel cell produces 200 KW of electricity and runs on natural gas. In case this fuel source becomes scarce, the Technology Center is equipped with backup generators that use diesel fuel. In addition, the fuel cells operate in parallel with the facility's connection to the utility grid--a third source of power for the building.

"All four fuel cells are online all the time," says Hughes. "If one should have a problem, another will shift over and pick up that load. We wanted to make sure that the power supplied to our computers is as reliable as the computers themselves."

"They produce virtually no emissions," adds Ditoro. "They're cleaner than a car. They do produce a tremendous amount of heat, which is reclaimed for other purposes at the Technology Center. You also recover energy costs by reclaiming that heat."

According to Tim Lang, mechanical project coordinator at HDR, each fuel cell at First National's Technology Center produces approximately 750,000 btu/h of usable heat when operating at its rated power capacity. Exchangers inside the fuel cells allow for high-temperature byproduct heat to be redirected to supplement the building heating system. As for the low-temperature heat produced by the fuel cells, the end use is unique.

"In Omaha, it snows," Lang says. "You can't get the snow out of the moat around the Technology Center unless you carry it out on your back. So we installed a snow-melt system."

Piping underneath the concrete and terrazzo slabs that form the bottom of the moat conveys low-temperature heat put off by the fuel cells.

"Otherwise, we'd have to shovel snow 15 feet above our heads," explains Hughes. "With the snow-melt system, an hour after the last snowflake falls, the moat will be wet for a short time before it turns into dry pavement again."

People Power

With all the high-priority computer and data operations whirring away in the Technology Center, one might overlook the fact that 350 people work inside the building every day. For First National, however, the prominence of machine-oriented processes dictated that the facility be especially people-friendly. Atriums, skylights, and a glass staircase all help to ease the stress of the exacting work performed inside the building, as do a mix of cubicles and open and closed office spaces.

These amenities extend to the outside of the facility, which is flanked by plants and trees. At the south end of the Technology Center, sheets of water cascade over the dry moat's granite retaining walls. Workers can enjoy this view in the nearby employee break area, shaded by a cantilevered overhang.

"Day-to-day computer work is fatiguing, and troubleshooting is hard work," says Hughes, adding, "Sunshine does a lot for people."

By Jason Mihos