Sep 23, 2025
When safeguarding your business-critical systems, not all data centers are created equal. Many providers advertise “high availability,” but only a select few truly deliver 99.999% uptime—known in the industry as Five 9’s. At Fort Rock Data Center, uptime isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a measurable advantage that sets us apart from budget competitors.
What Does “Five 9’s” Actually Mean?
Five 9’s represents 99.999% uptime, equating to less than 5.26 minutes of downtime per year. For comparison:
- 99.99% uptime (Four 9’s): About 52 1/2 minutes of disruption each year
- 99.9% uptime (Three 9’s): Allows for over 8 hours of downtime annually
What would be the impact if your organization was dead in the water for a few minutes versus multiple hours? Even a few minutes of downtime can lead to the loss of thousands of dollars. Understanding the differences between a 99.9% and 99.999% uptime guarantee isn’t just tech jargon or fine print, it can be the deciding factor between smooth operations or unexpected and costly interruptions.
Why Fort Rock Delivers True Reliability
Cheaper providers may claim they’re reliable, even promising four or five 9’s, but without the right infrastructure, redundancy, and real-world expertise, their promises often fall short when it matters most. Fort Rock was purpose-built to exceed this uptime standard, with high availability design and facility specifications that speak for themselves:
- Strategic Location: Fort Rock Data Center is strategically located in the central Oregon hub of Bend with a 4,000-foot foundation of solid granite and basalt. This places us in a FEMA-rated “relatively low” disaster risk zone that is well outside the 500-year flood plain and immune from most natural hazards
- Geographically and Network Diverse Connectivity: 12 carriers and connectivity options are available with low latency and high bandwidth, many of which utilize geographically diverse entrances and fiber networks to Tier 1 interconnects. These diverse fiber paths help ensure redundancy through diverse network paths.
- Redundant Power & Cooling: Dual segregated commercial electrical entrances and plant equipment, automatic transfer to backup batteries and generators (6+ days of fuel), plus a 30,000-gallon water tank for over a week of off-grid cooling.
- 24/7/365 Monitoring: Our expert engineers proactively monitor environmental cooling, network, and critical power systems issues before they affect uptime.
- Disaster-Ready Infrastructure: Thick, seismically sound steel reinforced cement walls and floors support high-density equipment and maximize resilience.
- Advanced Protection: VESDA early smoke detection, robust fire suppression, and EMP/lightning discharge systems safeguard equipment.
Reliability Guaranteed: Our Five 9’s SLA Commitment
Our commitment to Five 9’s uptime (99.999%) is more than a promise; it’s built into every client agreement through our comprehensive Service Level Agreement (SLA). Unlike many providers who charge extra for SLAs or are only included with premium services, we automatically include our Five 9’s guarantee at no additional cost. If we ever fall short of this standard, our clients receive service credits, ensuring true peace of mind for every business we serve.
Low-cost providers may seem appealing at first, but outages are expensive. Industry studies estimate the average cost of downtime at $5,600 per minute. A single multi-hour outage can erase any perceived savings and cost your business far more in lost revenue, not to mention missed opportunities and reputational damage.
At Fort Rock, we believe every client is a partner, and our impeccable uptime is an investment necessary for your business continuity and overall success. Our clients choose us for peace of mind, compliance, and reliability, benefits that far outweigh short-term savings.
The Bottom Line
Five 9’s isn’t just a number, it’s our commitment to keeping your business online and operational all day, every day. Fort Rock Data Center is purpose-built and maintained to ensure resilience, staffed by experts, and strategically located for long-term stability. Because when it comes to your critical systems, “good enough” uptime just isn’t good enough.
Are you ready to protect your critical systems with true Five 9’s reliability? Contact Fort Rock Data Center today to learn how we can help keep your organization safe and operational.
Call us at 503-266-8274 or email Sales@FortRockDC.com and discover the difference that real uptime makes.
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