Phase 2 of development begins at London East

In late August, works began full-force on Phase 2 of our London East data centre build project.

While we won’t be publishing a Build Blog to the same degree as Phase 1 – the forthcoming modular roll-out of additional capacity will be less technically involved (and perhaps interesting) than the front-loaded primary build – we are still going to document this process, and put out updates as things progress.

Phase 2 will predominantly focus on two areas of expansion at London East; the deployment of Pod 2 in Data Hall 1 for an immediate capacity boost, and the full deployment of Data Hall 2, for mid-term growth enablement.

This phase is less time-sensitive than the initial build, and will likely be a split development phase as works continue in other areas, including our Build and Break Room and our new personnel lift, both coming in October.


Updates

We’re now a couple of ‘split weeks’ into Phase 2, and have some initial visual updates to share with our readers.

Roof
The first major works as part of Phase 2 involved the addition of the roof extraction cowls over the top of what will become the cold corridor for Data Hall 2
Roof
This is the view from on top of the roof, with the seven extraction cowls nearest being the new additions for Data Hall 2, and the seven furthest away being the active service cowls for Data Hall 1
Roof
These cowls allow for exhaust air to be extracted to atmosphere, if not required for any recirculation purposes – our new roof fall-arrest system can be seen in the foreground here, installed this summer
Roof
The new cowls are an exact copy of those servicing active loads in Data Hall 1, allowing for the weatherproof venting of hot exhaust air
Materials
There are a lot of materials and components which go into each data hall – the duct sleeves seen here are for the eventual 28 intake louvres to be cut into the rear of the building for the forthcoming second data hall (of four in this building)
Shipment
The components to make up another three of our containment pods arrived to site this week, allowing for the deployment of another 84 racks across halls 1 and 2
Floor
We’ve also added a couple of other niceties to the facility as part of this phase – here we can see our custom engineered glass floor tiles, which we’re placing in strategic locations to show off the quality of our sub-floor fit-out
Floor
Here are another set of these tiles in the main stairway atrium, showing the large trefoil runs between LV rooms – these will all be lit in due course, to make this even more of a feature

We’re extremely pleased with developments so far, despite being early into Phase 2. It is a phase of work which is expected to take us into next year for full realisation, however it will complete in stages. For example, the deployment of Pod 2 in Data Hall 1 will come first, and will be a relatively fast process, as this simply requires the physical construction of the containment pod and the integration of some monitoring and operating systems. The supporting infrastructure is already in place, with no required additions at this stage.

The deployment of Data Hall 2 is a larger operation, as this still requires lots of work under the raised floor to make the space ready for power and connectivity.

We’ll be posting updates to this process as and when suitable progress is made.

London East Build Blog – End of Phase One

We’ve taken a much longer break than usual between build blog updates this time around, as we turned focus to the final stages of systems integration and commissioning.

However visual changes have been happening, and in what became the concluding run up to welcoming in our first client deployments to London East, we can relay some of those to you here, and give you a final overview of the facility following Phase One completion.


Weekly overview

With Phase One of the build project now concluded, we’ll be keeping things short and sweet this time, and direct attention to the most recent round of visual evolutions. These now span a period of several months, and in that time we have in fact welcomed our first clients into the new facility, with a very healthy provisioning queue ahead of us.

This is of course a major milestone for us, as we soft-launch the site to clients that have been on the waiting list for entry for quite some time now. Our official public launch is expected in the near future – details to be confirmed.

GRP
Our transformer enclosure is now all back together, including all blockwork and the border, which really completes this side of the front compound
GRP
Having this area completed has enabled clients to migrate into the facility
GRP
As always, the devil is in the detail, and our matching metering enclosure carries the same installation hallmarks as the larger transformer enclosure seen to the side
Gate
Our main vehicle access gate in our front compound is receiving the full automation treatment at the moment, for integration into our access control system and full hands-free operation and locking
Gate
This new automatic gate system connects into our multi-facility access system, and uses a toothed track and motor to open and close gates of up to 1.6 tons
Reception
Our reception area has really taken shape now, with the full glazing system now in place
Reception
The client entrance to NLE now maintains segregation between client routes and our security / check-in team at all times
Reception
The glass security door which forms part of the new reception glazing system required some interesting technology to implement, both for the glass-mounted maglock, and this wireless RFID reader which now interfaces directly with our Paxton Net2 system via a custom board integration
With live client systems now online inside of NLE, both LV A and LV B have their UPS systems delivering conditioned power to critical client deployments
Our LV rooms now have additional floor detail in place, in the form of ribbed rubber safety matting, seen here in LV Room B
As part of our modular data centre design and deployment strategy – which we’ve implemented at all of our bespoke facilities to date – spaces for future capacity deployment can be seen throughout Netwise London East
Our core network is of course fully online and working for clients now deployed at London East, for both transit and backhaul – the B-side of the NLE core and passive infrastructure is seen here, including 144 of the 432 fibre pairs delivered to site by Zayo
Here we see the A-side of the same core and passive communications, which you can see quite clearly is a direct reflection of the B-side – the building is designed as a double-mirror, both left-to-right and top-to-bottom
A wider view of the A-side LV room, which shows the rubber matting route now in place
These custom generator system status screens found in both LV rooms are a fantastic tool for monitoring our various generator tests
Our LV rooms form the beating heart of London East, and we’re extremely proud of how they’ve turned out – these rooms and the equipment within them will support the four data halls in this building for many years to come
Here we have a view of the Build and Break Room, which has since had progress made on the kitchen and lounge segments (not shown here)
With our LV rooms acting as the heart of the building, the data halls are very much the brain, where client deployments reside – this is the view across Data Hall 1, to the occupied Pod 1 containment system, from where Pod 2 will sit very soon
Despite being open to clients for just a few months, Pod 1 now sits at around 56% capacity at the time of publishing this post, which is why the next phase of work in this hall is already underway
This is a view of the A-side ODF in Data Hall 1, with the overhead cable ladder for copper and fibre cross-connects (on the A-side) now beginning to show visible population, as more client systems come online here
The cold aisle containment system at NLE is certainly a step up from NLC, with electric sliding door entry, which can also be deployed with access control for private pod entry (as is the case here)
The new generation of adiabatic coolers have been performing exceptionally well, running at a much lower pressure than the previous generation – despite hitting nearly 40C locally at NLE this month, the CREC system alone dealt with this amazingly well, with the supplementary AC system not called upon once
This view of the rear of our evaporative cooling system in Data Hall 1 shows the scale of the full setup, with the entire rear face of the building acting as a large intake and exit point for the facility – this hall alone has 28 external air intake and filter bays, which helps make this such a low pressure system
AC
All supplementary air conditioning systems, including the secondary system in Data Hall 1 and all building-wide comfort cooling, are now fully online and operational across the board – we only have a small AC plant area in our front compound, as we again lean entirely into super-efficient adiabatic cooling technology here at London East

The main purpose of this post is to present the current state of play at London East following Phase One of construction, which sees Pod 1 online in Data Hall 1, servicing live clients. We will periodically dip back into the Build Blog, to update on individual projects, and of course the move into Phase Two.

We’re dubbing the next phase of development Phase One-Point-Five, and that’s for some of the ancillary areas which had to be pushed back in favour of technical readiness for client systems. This includes customer facing amenities such as the customer break-out kitchen and lounge area, the personnel lift, and a few remaining internal developments such as our new power monitoring system and some customer portal improvements.


What else has been happening?

Since completing on Phase One, introducing our first set of customer deployments, and the forthcoming Phase Two works, we’ve continued with the fit-out of our customer build and break area.

Works are well underway in terms of laying the section of herringbone floor on which the kitchen and lounge areas of the room will be situated, and our high-specification kitchen installation is also in progress.

Here’s a very small sneak peak at progress so far.

A view of the herringbone floor as it is installed over the raised floor tiles in this space
The extra investment in time to install herringbone floor is well worth it, and in keeping with the attention to detail found across all of our facilities
Here we see the very early stages of the kitchen cabinets being installed – things have progressed significantly since, with the worktop and island now in place, however we’ll have a dedicated post for this in due course (it’ll be worth the wait!)

What’s next?

In the immediate term, we’re welcoming a range of clients into Data Hall 1. In fact, we’ve already deployed systems into 17 enclosures, with plenty more lined up for both London East and London Central.

To keep pace with demand looking ahead, and to allow for the next deployment phases, we’ve just had 89x new APC racks delivered to site, which are currently being held in a 60 square metre block in Data Hall 4.

New APC Racks

Phase 1.5 is already underway, and expected to last into early autumn. Phase 2 works will begin shortly thereafter, which will see Pod 2 come online, and Data Hall 2 shortly thereafter.

In early July, we spent an entire week on intensive portal development works, as we roll out our brand new client power monitoring platform, client port and bandwidth monitoring re-integration (something that’s been on the cards for a long time now!), and a range of other UX improvements.

We also have some extremely exciting additional developments to pass on very soon, pertaining to our ongoing expansion in all areas. We’re hoping to be able to break silence on this in the coming few weeks.

London East Build Blog – Weeks 93 to 97

With the final utility connections now upon us, and the last elements of our stage one internal fit-out now reaching completion, we’re now tantalisingly close to welcoming our first clients into NLE.

A large portion of the facility has in fact been ready to receive client systems for some time now, however as is always the way with projects of this scale and complexity, a number of tasks did run into delays for various reasons as we headed into the back quarter of last year.


Weekly overview

As much as this is a five week update – one of the longest spanning periods to date on the NLE Build Blog – it is somewhat light in visual change, as we’ve been focusing most of our attention on systems integration. Naturally, this is an incredibly important and complex part of onlining any new data centre, however it does prove a tricky side of the project to relay visually.

Regardless, we do have some photo updates to relay this time around.

Monitoring
We’re now finalising some of the last monitoring and control system integrations, including the monitoring system seen here forming part of our supplementary cooling infrastructure in Data Hall 1
Network
Here we see one of the many MUXs we have across all of our POPs, which we now have branded for us
Network
Our core network has been building up to the point of full commissioning in layers, as various devices across the facility come online for the first time – here we see the first phase fibre layer landing in place on the B-side
Network
We have now fully deployed the internal network at London East, from core to edge
Network
This is the same across both the A and B sides of the core network and distribution network – there will of course be further internal connections made across this platform as the first client systems land on-site
ODF
The A and B ODFs in Data Hall 1 are now also fully online, supporting our own infrastructure requirements, and ready to handle cross-connects and transit for clients as they begin to deploy live systems
ODF
ODF B in Data Hall 1 is presently more busy than ODF A, as this is where a larger quantity of our own management links come back to, due to the positioning of this ODF within the room and wider building
Private Pod
The private pod we have ready for one of our clients is fully commissioned, including custom access control, and the now fully-trimmed security panel which segments this secure space for the client
Reception
We’ve begun the installation of the new security glass system in reception, which will place the on-duty guard in a segmented area, which also secures the route to the on-site NOC
Reception
The track system for the glass is being fitted here, which will house the large, custom-cut 10mm thick security glass
Reception
The system will be comprised of a large sheet with slim opening over the desk, and a large floor-to-ceiling door and glass infills to the side, with access control
Reception
Various supplementary signage and notices have also been distributed throughout the facility, including the custom fire zone map which sits alongside the main building alarm system
DH2
We’ve pre-emptively started rolling out some more infrastructure in Data Hall 2, which remains in a partially fitted out state – this is the Honeywell PSU and control interface as part of the monitoring / BMS for this space
HV
The final piece of the puzzle for our HV connection arrived on-site, and has now been pulled in and jointed – this is the largest diameter cable drum to arrive at NLE to date
HV
This is specialist HV cable for connecting into our transformer, and comes on the drum as a pre-cut triplex length to be pulled in as a single piece
HV
We had further civils underway as part of this final connection, which required a small amount of additional excavation in our demise, and another dig in the road nearby
HV
In addition, we have two other digs happening simultaneously in the nearby area as further services arrive to site ready for opening
LV
We’ve also completed a fully custom installation of Intelimonitor SCADA screens in each LV room, which show live status information on our generator system, which read from the sets and breakers in real-time
LV
Here’s a closer look at the SCADA screen in LV Room B – this is a custom mounted Surface Pro, running the custom software and screen output for our particular setup

Much of the work in this period has been happening in less visual areas, including the onlining of systems and bringing them into our centralised control and monitoring platforms. This has been an ongoing part of the commissioning process for some time now, and is nearing completion.

The facility is in a position to accept client systems on a pre-staging basis, with all internal power systems online.

As we head into the final month of Q1, we’re extremely excited to be as close as we are to full readiness. We’re expecting the first client systems to begin rolling into the facility in March, which will of course be the most major milestone of this project to date.


What’s next?

We are continuing with our extensive commissioning works, which span all areas of the facility and its various systems.

All the while this is happening, the final elements relating to our core utilities are being finalised, which will bring phase one of our build to a conclusive state. There will be a certain amount of post-onlining works, which could be dubbed ‘phase one-point-five’, ahead of the later technical space expansion into Data Hall 2, which will be phase two.

We even have some early interest in our ground floor data halls for singular client project use, so it could be that plans for internal expansion are indeed brought forwards, depending on how these things come together in the coming months.

London East Build Blog – Weeks 87 to 92

We’ve had a busy start to the year as final stage works continue, taking us towards close-out on phase one at London East.

Our core team got to enjoy some much-deserved time off over the holiday season, ready for action as usual in the new year – one which is set to hold a wide range of milestones for Netwise.


Weekly overview

We’ll get straight to it with the photos this time, as we’ve got lots of changes to show our readers, which have materialised in both the run up to and exit from the holiday season.

General
We added a nice wide angle lens to our photography arsenal over Christmas, which will help us properly capture the scale of our new facility
General
Here we see Data Hall 1 in its completed state, ready to receive customer deployments in due course – Phase 1 will see the onlining of Pod 1, with the position for Pod 2 (assuming the standard full-length application) seen in the foreground
General
A look across Data Hall 1 to Pod 1, containing Row A and Row B
General
Our new wide angle lens helps us get in close to areas that would otherwise be difficult to properly show on-screen
General
This end of the first pod, seen held open while final work is undertaken, will be a private entrance for a client who has elected to take segregated space
General
The stylised vision panel privacy etching has now also been applied to Data Halls 3 and 4, until the rooms go live
General
A more visible view of these on the doors to Data Hall 3, which will be removed when the room goes live
Core
The staging of our own resilient core is now well underway, with all hardware in position, and cabling now approaching completion (more visibility on this next time)
Core
We’re now also able to begin fully integrating the new site, as systems come online and mix with our live operation
Core
The core racks again follow our colour coding from London Central, with the A-side being yellow, and the B-side being blue
Core
The core racks now also have customised overhead troughs to enable easier and safer cable routing between the rack and ODF
Reception
Our reception is really taking shape now, with our custom reception / security desk now in place, ahead of the glass enclosure installation coming soon – the site is already manned 24×7 in preparation for launch
Ramp
Our new brushed welcome sign is now in place at the main customer entry way, leading to the data halls and technical spaces
Ramp
This sign follows the same design as the NOC signage we have at both of our data centres
Noc
The NOC screens at London East are now online, and pending final completion in terms of display configuration
LV
The LV rooms now each contain folders documenting the LV designs, for easy engineer access, and are soon to be fitted with additional smart screens for generator status readouts, in addition to the already very detailed ComAp controllers – you can also see one of the first aid kits located here, which have now been fitted throughout the facility
LV
Our new wide angle lens has allowed us to capture the scale of our main switchgear more completely, with the full seven metre span visible here in LV Room B
LV
The same full-view of the board in LV Room A
LV
The view across to the UPS and distribution in LV Room A
Noc
Our small acoustic rack in the NOC, which handles local NOC communications, has now been cabled in its final configuration
Loadbank
One of the major tasks undertaken on our arrival back after Christmas was the final load bank test of our newly deployed backup generator system
Loadbank
This load bank test enabled our generator engineers to run the system up to significant levels during the configuration stage, to simulate the building load as it will be once client deployments begin landing on-site
Loadbank
We were able to simulate a load of 780kW across the whole system, before running generator each up to around 500kW to soak test on a per set level
Loadbank
Having use of this unit for the week of commissioning ensures that our backup power systems have been tested sufficiently up to suitable load figures, which is not possible using building load at this point in time
Loadbank
With the unit running, a large amount of heat is produced (top exit), which is how the energy requirement is created
Fire
This is a view of the fire control and extinguishant panel outside of LV Room B, which shows the custom badges we’ve had made for these units throughout the building – details, details, details!
Metering
Here we see pre-staging for our in-house assembly line for producing the circuit monitors, which will sit under each live client rack, and enable power metering which is PDU-agnostic

It’s an exciting time, as we begin to see many aspects of the new site ‘go live’ for the first time. Aside from some final elements due to close off in the coming few weeks, the site is now essentially service-ready, with some early deployment options for particular clients taking shape.

One system that we’ve been excited to see take shape is our new fully-integrated CCTV and access control platform. While we still have our long-retention continuous recording setup on all cameras, we now also have AI-driven motion tracking and sensing, which means that our system is able to follow visitors around the site automatically, generating points of interest as event triggers. This is also tied into the door entry system, which can actively track activity in the facility and record contextualised snapshots from nearby angles, to create journey data for future reference (if ever required). This level of automation is fantastic for enhancing our security.


What’s next?

Next up, we’ll be continuing with commissioning works across the board, as we liven up all areas of the site.

Six benefits of using data centres for your business

In 2020, global data centre spending reached $37 billion, with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft accounting for more than 50% of this. Data centres are facilities that can centralise the shared IT operations for an organisation, making it easier to store, process, and disseminate data. 

They are a vital component for the daily operations of many businesses and provide organisations with many more benefits. 

Do you want to learn more about data centre automation and data centre services in the UK? Keep reading this article for the top six benefits of using data centres for your business. 


1. Security compliance

One of the primary benefits of using data centres for your business is that they offer improved network security and compliance. Colocation centres offer many security features to keep your data safe, including key cards and other types of regulated entry. 

Plus, using a local colocation centre allows you to check on security yourself. You can gain access to your servers to make sure everything is in working order. 

Not only do data centres offer high security, but they can also protect your business from cyber threats. They can offer network security including firewalls and other systems that can protect your data from unauthorised access. 

This is especially important if your business deals with private or confidential data, as your customers will be confident in your ability to protect their information. 


2. Room to grow

Next, using data centres for your business gives you room to grow. As time goes on, your business needs will continue to change. By using this technology for your business performance, you can match your needs as your business grows. 

Using a colocation data centre allows you to expand your business infrastructure without having to spend a fortune. 

If your business grows, your IT infrastructure can grow with it. This scalability makes using a data centre a great option for new small businesses. 


3. Improved connectivity

Another great benefit of using data centre services in the UK is that it offers better connectivity for your network. When you are running a business, having a network problem can cause serious issues with your productivity and business performance. 

However, colocation data centres utilize redundant network connections to prevent connectivity issues. This means that your businesses important applications can always run smoothly without interruption. 

Data centres also offer power redundancy. They use several different power grids, generators, and even backup battery systems to ensure that you will never lose connection, even when the power goes out. 

These factors, combined with regular maintenance of the data centres, ensure that you will always be able to access your data. 


4. Data mobility

Across the world, it is estimated that 52% of employees work from home at least once a week. Because so much business is done virtually, especially after the global pandemic, businesses need to be able to access their data no matter where they are. Using a virtual data centre provides your business with data mobility. 

This means they will be able to access IT workloads and business data no matter where they are or when they need access. With this data mobility, your business can run and manage its workload on the cloud. 

Because remote work is becoming one of the biggest benefits an organization can offer to its employees, it is vital that businesses also make the change to business mobility. 

Similarly, using colocation data centres allows your company to take steps toward cloud migration. While the transition to cloud computing can be overwhelming, having your equipment in an offsite facility will help the process to go more smoothly. 


5. Increases productivity

When you use data centres for your business, it also enables you to increase your productivity. When you have issues with your IT services or network downtime, it is often due to human error. 

Because data centres allow for true automation, it takes out the possibility for manual error. It also saves you hundreds of hours in managing your resources. 

This is something that can greatly lower your operational expenses and make it faster and easier for you to access your IT services. 

Similarly, using a data centre provides you with more control for your business. You do not have to risk giving up control of your data if your network has a cyber threat. You will also not have to worry about having your systems shut down without warning. 

Utilizing data centres for your business acts as prevention for these problems and can save you countless hours by preventing data disasters. 


6. Cost-effective solutions

Finally, data centres and colocation service providers are cost-effective solutions for any business owner. The cost of IT infrastructure is continually increasing and inflexible. Many companies worry about being locked into inflexible infrastructures.

Plus, increasing your IT infrastructure as your business grows can be a costly investment. Instead, businesses can grow at their own pace when using a data centre. 

This allows you to maximize your profitability and to have more control over your business costs, management, and more. 

If you are looking for a way to save money for your business, you can talk to your local colocation service providers to learn more about their data centres. 


Looking for data centre services in the UK? 

Utilizing data centres for your business is a simple way to improve your data security and mobility cost-effectively. 

If you are looking for colocation service providers in the UK, we can help! Our team is the UK’s leading colocation service provider and offer private facilities in the centre of London. 

Contact our team today to learn more about our data centre services or to book a tour at our data centre locations in the UK.