The Challenge
Airways New Zealand — through its international arm Airways International Ltd — signed a contract with the Civil Aviation Academy of Nepal to deliver a TotalControl tower and surveillance simulation solution for Nepalese air traffic controllers. A core component of that project was a self-contained micro data centre capable of storing and managing critical aviation data reliably in a remote, international deployment. The unit needed to be fully assembled, tested, and ready for installation before shipping to Nepal.
The challenge was to build a completely self-contained data centre within a single cabinet — one compact enough to ship internationally, yet sophisticated enough to maintain a safe and stable environment for critical aviation data without external infrastructure support. Temperature, humidity, smoke detection, access control, and air conditioning all needed to be integrated into a unit measuring just 2.1 m high by 800 mm wide by 1 m deep.
The Solution
Teltrac partnered with Rittal ANZ to design and assemble a micro data centre within a Rittal IT rack at Teltrac’s warehouse in New Zealand. The completed unit integrates all the environmental controls, monitoring, and security systems needed to operate as a fully independent data centre — requiring no external data centre infrastructure at its destination.
Key Elements
- Rittal IT rack forming the structural and environmental enclosure for the entire system
- Built-in air conditioning system recycling hot air and draining condensation to maintain a consistent internal environment
- Temperature and humidity monitoring and control throughout the cabinet
- Smoke detection integrated into the enclosure
- Access control securing the cabinet against unauthorised entry
- Full sensor suite providing real-time environmental monitoring of the unit
- Assembled at Teltrac’s New Zealand warehouse and subjected to extensive testing prior to international shipment
Why This Solution
- A micro data centre within a single self-contained cabinet is the ideal solution for international deployments where no existing data centre infrastructure is available at the destination
- Rittal’s enclosure systems are trusted globally across aviation, industrial automation, and IT infrastructure — making them a natural choice for a safety-critical aviation application
- Integrating air conditioning, environmental monitoring, smoke detection, and access control into a single unit eliminates the need to source and commission these systems separately on site in Nepal
- Assembling and thoroughly testing the unit in New Zealand before shipment ensures any issues are identified and resolved before the cabinet reaches its remote international destination
- The compact form factor — 2.1 m × 800 mm × 1 m — makes the unit practical to ship and deploy in locations where a conventional data centre room is not feasible
Installation
Teltrac Director Brian Theobald personally led the assembly of the micro data centre at Teltrac’s warehouse, working with Rittal ANZ to configure and integrate all components within the IT rack. Once fully assembled, the unit underwent extensive testing to validate environmental controls, monitoring systems, and data integrity before being signed off for international shipment to Nepal. The destination installation was handled by the Airways International team on the ground — Brian did offer to assist in person, but international travel wasn’t on the cards for this one.
Outcome
The completed micro data centre forms a critical component of Airways International’s TotalControl tower and surveillance simulation solution for the Civil Aviation Academy of Nepal — supporting the training of Nepalese air traffic controllers with reliable, self-contained data infrastructure. The project is a strong example of how Teltrac’s assembly and integration expertise, combined with Rittal’s world-class enclosure technology, can deliver complex infrastructure solutions for demanding international applications.
Teltrac is proud to have been selected for this project, and the collaboration with Rittal ANZ and Airways International reflects the kind of technically demanding, high-stakes work that Teltrac is trusted to deliver.
Project Partners