Take a closer look at
Hetzner’s Network.

Website and Server Hosting Data Centres

A Data Centre is, by definition, a facility used to house computer systems and associated components. As a web hosting business, Hetzner has a number of Data Centres around South Africa and in Germany which house shared and dedicated servers used to host your website(s) as well as the various components which ensure these servers run smoothly.

What can be hosted at our Data Centres?

Hetzner can host a number of solutions for your hosting requirements. Currently Hetzner offers:

Hetzner’s Data Centres

Hetzner owns and operates four Data Centres: three in South Africa and one in Germany. The first Data Centre (CPT1) was opened in Cape Town's Great Westerford Building, Newlands during 2001. In order to cope with national demand in hosting services, Hetzner strategically opened the Johannesburg DC (JHB1) in July 2004 at Gallo Manor, Sandton. By 2006 both Data Centres were running at full capacity. As a result, Cape Town's second Data Centre (CPT2) was opened in July 2006.


Our Data Centre in Nuremberg, Germany hosts servers and websites for those clients who wish to target European and US based markets or wish to make use of more cost effective hosting options as bandwidth quotas are more generous in markets outside SA.

Customer feedback

I was fortunate enough to visit your Johannesburg Data Centre in Gallo Manor.

Over the past few years I have worked for a few large organisations in Johannesburg and surrounding areas and I have always been ill impressed with their server rooms. My typical depiction of a server room was a large chilled room filled with numerous rows of servers and cabinets, cables lying all over the show and large bundles of cables all intertwined in total chaos. I could not understand how anyone could ever know how and where each cable was being used.

I would like to commend you on the best server rooms I have ever seen. Never have I been so impressed by the neatness and uncluttered feeling of a server room. You guys really blew my socks off! I would have no problem in referring anyone to Hetzner for server hosting in future.

I congratulate you on having such phenomenally clean and uncluttered server rooms, this is something which I think you as an organisation can really be proud of!!

Michael Hughes - A R I C E N T

MTN Business Data Centres

In 2008 all Hetzner's Data Centres were running at full capacity. In February 2008, Hetzner opted to use MTN Business' (formally known as Verizon Business) Data Centre facilities in Johannesburg.


*All new websites and servers hosted in SA are housed in the Johannesburg MTN Business facility.

Hetzner Network Connections

Hetzner’s Network Connections in SA

Hetzner provides a resilient and redundant network infrastructure which allows for maximum uptime. Our substantial bandwidth capacity allows us to accommodate spikes in traffic, reducing the chance of customers experiencing network degradation.


Our cable routers are connected via fibre optic cables to MTN Business' backbone from where we have uncapped access to MTN Business' local and international network. Our Data Centres are connected to MTN Business via a 1GBit uplink. A second, redundant fibre optic cable follows a different path.


All of Hetzner's network connections to MTN Business are protected from router failure by a pair of routers on both Hetzner and MTN Business' ends of the links running in active/passive failover mode.

Hetzner’s Network Connections in Germany

Hetzner also offers a third server location option in Falkenstein, Germany. Its two redundant high-speed fibre optic lines to Frankfurt and Nuremberg ensure faster data transfer which can transport up to 800 GBit.


By sharing floor space with Hetzner Online, Hetzner South Africa is able to share the features of the Falkenstein Data Centre with all our customers hosting their websites on our servers in Germany.


Hosting in Germany is the perfect location for those who are intending to target the US and European markets. For clients who would like a more cost effective option, Germany is the best option as traffic costs are much lower than in SA, providing you with a higher traffic quota. However, should you wish to target a South African market, you should bare in mind that hosting with a DE package could affect your site’s performance e.g. Web page loading speed.


Data Centre Components

Climate Control

The heat output of servers is considerable, and without environmental control, servers will fail or have their lifetime reduced considerably. To compensate for the heat output of Hetzner servers, all Data Centres are fitted with Air Conditioning systems designed to provide maximum cooling for the server environment. The Air Conditioners were installed and are maintained by experts, ensuring maximum efficiency.


The Remote Technology (RT) systems provide an early warning of air conditioner failure or other unusual environmental conditions. Should a fault or failure be detected, all our Data Centres are equipped with redundant Air Conditioner capacity.


Security and Monitoring

Biometric/Magnetic Access Control

All visitors to the Data Centres must be accompanied by a Hetzner employee at all times.


Access to the Cape Town Data Centres is controlled by a Biometric fingerprint access system. Hetzner is able to manage the movements of staff by identifying and verifying them with this fingerprint technology.


To access the Johannesburg Data Centres, employees need to pass through the building's security as well as Biometric Access control before reaching the actual Data Centre's keypad access system. A unique combination is entered into the keypad which will then disengage the magnetic hold on the doors.


24/7 Monitoring of premises

All South African Data Centres are monitored by CCTV cameras. In addition each building premises is patrolled by 24/7 security guards. The Great Westerford building is patrolled by Fidelity security and the Gallo Manor building is patrolled by ADT security.

UPS and Generators

An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is installed in each Data Centre to ensure our servers are instantly protected from any power interruptions. A diesel power generator takes over in the case of an outage. All Hetzner's UPS's have two hours of battery backup.


Fire Protection

Hetzner Data Centres are fitted with fire detection and fire suppression systems. When there is confirmation of a fire, the Suppression system releases an Argon-Nitrogen mixture which decreases the oxygen level to below the point at which combustion can take place whilst still being safe to personnel.



Technicians and Support

All critical systems (UPS, air conditioning, temperature ranges, managed servers etc.) are monitored 24/7/365 with notification via email and SMS to more than one support staff member. All servers in our Data Centres are installed and monitored by qualified technicians, minimising the risk of error or failure.

Network Framework

The Data Centres are equipped with server hardware needed for our Web Hosting, TruServ and Managed Dedicated servers. Cables, routers, switches and racks together with the servers form our robust internal network structure.


Cables – Cables are used to connect computers and peripherals. There are different types of cables with specific properties which are used to communicate specific kinds of information/data.


Routers – Routers are network devices that forward data packets along networks. Routers are placed at gateways, where two or more networks meet. They configure the best path between hosts.


Switches – Switches are small hardware devices which join multiple computers together within one local area network (LAN).


Racks – Racks are the frames or cabinets onto which Hetzner mount their server hardware.