Our significant expansion of Netwise London East (NLE) is now well underway, which is Phase 3 of development at our flagship data centre.
This will result in the addition of two new data halls, alongside a range of additional amenities and site features. Works began in December 2024, and will continue throughout 2025, with various completion milestones at multiple stages along the way.
The main focus at this stage is the installation of the new mezzanine, as this forms the basis of the entire internal sub-structure, around which we build our facilities (as seen at our London Central site, and also the current footprint at London East).
Here are some photo updates from the early stages of Phase 3:
Some of the earliest works centred around a full internal and external renovation of the new unit, including a significant amount of work on the roofThe exterior cladding of the building also enjoyed a full refinish, which will become evident in later photosThis is the view across to the expansion project within the new unit, from the existing facility entrance / footprintThe inside of the new space also required significant refurbishment before our main works schedule beganThe front-of-house areas also got completely ripped out ahead of a total refurbishmentWe’ll be adding further office and administration spaces in this new side of the facility, and the existing upstairs office also saw a full strip-out ahead of refurbishmentThis is the main frontage of the extended footprint after the completion of the initial refurbishment, ahead of our main works schedule commencingThis space will become a second / extended NOC and operations space, after the initial refurbishment, and with the new carpet covered ready for the next phase of work to beginThe site has been fully prepared for our main work schedule here, including all protective covering of newly installed surfaces, and the various required temporary site boards and signage in placeThe temporary signage extends to all areas of the siteOne of the existing ground floor spaces has become the on-site canteen and break room, ready for the various contractors that will be working on-site in the coming monthsOne of the early stage jobs, beyond our initial laser survey of the space, is to laser plot the main column locations for the new mezzanine sub-structureWith such a high degree of accuracy required for the installation of the mezzanine, collaboration between engineers, project managers and installers is keyA view across the main space, as column locations are marked up according to the installation plansHere are some of the many heavy-duty custom steel columns as delivered, ahead of installationA view across the main space, following the initial refurbishment, as the main work schedule beginsAnother view across the main space, following the initial refurbishment, as the main work schedule beginsThe mezzanine sub-structure is a surprisingly quick component to install, with much of the work front-loaded during the planning and engineering phaseThe mezzanine is installed in bays / sections, and progresses across the space from the initial column locationsA view of the mezzanine progress from the rear corner of the new spaceWe have an installation timelapse of the mezzanine install, which we’ll be making available in the near future – 19,000 photos in total!Here we see part of the structure standing in isolation, ahead of the installation of the purlins that will make up this particular bayThis is the underside of a partially complete bayHere we see further progress, as the temporary safety netting is installed to the underside of the mezzanine ahead of installing the top surfaceThe main beams are partially assembled on the ground, ahead of lifting into placeA view of progress as the mezzanine structure continues to take shapeA view of the underside of the structure, as top surface boards begin to be positionedThe boards are fixed to the structure, and will form the initial face upon which the next stage is built, which will be the main envelopeHere we look down from the partially completed half of the structure, which will continue across this span to the far side of the spaceDespite the expansion project taking place within an adjoining unit to the existing live footprint, the two spaces will be combined into a single facility – as part of this, we will be breaching between the two units; we have installed temporary dust and fire barriers, ahead of the cut through processHere we can see the initial breach of the outer skin of the envelope within the ground floor corridorProgress continues with the mezzanine installationThe view here is taken from what will eventually be the cooling plant area for Data Hall 6 – the two halls within this new expansion will be larger than those within the current footprint, each housing three containment podsThe final columns being cross-checked after installation, as the mezzanine continues towards completionA view back across the mezzanine structure, as works progressThe scissor lifts work in conjunction with our forklift in getting components to the correct height for installationThe view looks across the area that will make up Data Hall 6 on the ground floor of the new spaceThis view is from the approximate eventual location of Pod 3 within Data Hall 6All parts of the steel structure are now complete, with only the remaining top surface installation to goThe view here looks across to the outside face of the facility, which will house offices, a new meeting room, and supporting electrical infrastructure for the new data hallsThis is the view from the top surface as it continues towards completion – this is taken from the eventual first floor corridor, looking into the area that will house Data Hall 5The top surface installation continues hereMembers of the Netwise team undertake regular inspections as part of the installation processThis view sits on the edge of what will become the B-side UPS and switchgear room for the two new data halls, and the associated cable access corridor (a new cable handling methodology that we’re deploying as part of the expansion) – the new meeting room will be directly above thisHere we see the underside of the completed mezzanine structureAnother view of the completed mezzanine, as viewed from the eventual location of Pod 3 in Data Hall 6, looking towards the eventual location of the UPS rooms and cable access corridorsThe completed structure, as seen from the new loading bay area, with temporary barriers in place until the envelope is installedThe next action on the underside of the mezzanine structure will be the column encasementsHere we see the top side of the new structure, as some minor additional works begin on the sky lightsThis is the view from the eventual location of Pod 3 within Data Hall 5, looking across to the eventual location of the new offices and meeting spaceOur scaffold tower is being used for roof-level access now that the top surface is completeThe insulation and closure of the sky lights can be seen underway hereAll of the sky lights above the data halls will be insulated and closed off as part of the pre-envelope works, which replicates the setup in the existing live data hallsOur facilities team are undertaking this work, ahead of the next major contractor stage – the envelopeThe view down into the new loading bay, as viewed from the edge of the mezzanine, where the access corridor will be located – there will be level loading capabilities here, as with the existing loading bay
As you can see, we’ve been able to make quite an impressive start to the project. To have the mezzanine complete in the first week of January sets up our work schedule incredibly well, allowing for the envelope to begin later this month.
We have also now started a range of other preparatory works ahead of this, including the insulation and closure of the skylights, encasement of the columns with fire protection, and some of the breaching works for interconnecting the units and other internal areas.
We have more updates coming as part of Phase 2 soon also, so watch this space for plenty more build content throughout Q1 2025 and beyond.
It’s been a while since we last published a Phase 2 update from Netwise London East (NLE), so we thought it would be a good time to update everyone on the current state of play.
We’ve been remarkably busy with both the ongoing expansion works at NLE, alongside the closure of Netwise London Central (NLC), which was retired from active service in early June.
Data Hall 4 went live in May, and quite remarkably, it’s already a touch over half full, despite opening to new clients just a couple of months ago. This is in large part thanks to the absorption of our customer base from NLC, which we migrated over the course of eight evenings in May, however we have also welcomed a host of exciting new clients into our latest data hall.
Let’s take a look at what’s been happening. We start with updates from back in mid-April, before jumping ahead to current day:
As part of commissioning the primary cooling system in Data Hall 4, a number of adjustments were made to the global cooling control system, as we implemented a new hot air extraction methodologyHere we see the early stages of the air intake louvres being cut into the rear fabric of the building, ahead of the first filtration layer frames being installedCommissioning the power delivery system inside of DH4 formed the latter stages of the deployment schedule for this roomWe commissioned UPS systems for both DH4 and the forthcoming DH3 at the same time, to front-load some of the later commissioning works for the final hall deployment in Phase 2Bringing UPS’s online is a major part of any data hall commissioning schedule, enabling the delivery of power to end user racksHere we see the rear of the fully-completed and commissioned UPS arrangement in LV Room BThis is a view of the fully-completed and commissioned UPS arrangement in LV Room AWe showed you our LOTO board in the last update, but here’s another look at the customised board, which is used extensively as we continue to deploy capacity at NLEHere’s a closer view of one of the locks used to safely lock out a circuit which is pending commissioning, or under maintenanceIn addition to the LOTO board and accessories, we also have rescue boards in each of the LV Rooms – we’re adding some additional exciting electrical safety features in the coming months, which haven’t yet been seen in UK data centres, so watch this space for more news on thatHere we see the core network upgrade as deployed on the B-side of the network at NLE – this was part of our full network-wide upgrade, which happened across several months in Q1/2, a six figure investment in our network as it continues to grow rapidlyThis is the view across Data Hall 4, a few days before racks would begin landing for our new client waiting list, as well as the first racks migrating from NLCThis is another view across DH4 as we prepared the space for imminent client move in datesHere we see the first racks being positioned, based on the initial requirements within the space – the containment systems for Pods 1 and 2 were then constructed around racks after the first wave of new client installs and rack migrations from NLCAnother view of early staging works in DH4Now we jump ahead to DH4 as it stands today, in July 2024Here we see both pods within DH4 at around 50% capacity, ahead of the glass door vinyl’s being appliedA view across DH4, with a crash cart in use – we have these Ergotron models deployed in each hallThe hall is now under heavy use by new and existing clients – we now move onto the deployment schedule for DH3
It’s fair to say that this summer has already been one of our busiest periods on record. Deploying a new data hall at NLE is no small task in itself, but to deliver this alongside the decommissioning of NLC – which also involved the in-house planning and execution of an entire facility migration – leaves us feeling incredibly proud of the team we have driving Netwise. The complexity of successfully realising a multi-faceted project like this cannot be understated, and seeing these tasks result in tangible improvements to service for our clients is always incredibly pleasing, particularly after making seven figure investments in our future here at London East.
But as with any operation of this nature, these are just the headline deliverable outcomes that have been worked on over the past several months. We’ve undertaken plenty of additional projects in tandem over the last quarter, which may be of interest to our readers.
We completed our full core network upgrade in May, with the final upgrade – and the most major works list – happening at our HEX/LD8 node. This involved a full conversion of this location to our Supernode architecture, which in this case required a full cabinet swap to accommodate. This type of thing requires considerable planning, however our team were able to complete the entire works list within the four hour maintenance window, which was an impressive feat. We also undertook a minor upgrade to our core node in Redcentric Shoreditch (formerly CLL), which brought the entire network upgrade project to completion. This comes as demand on our network grows rapidly, delivering world-class connectivity to clients across all of our on-net locations.
We also grew our fleet in spring, with the addition of an electric pick-up truck, and our own low-loader, which is perfect for rack migrations. The latter vehicle comes in a relatively rare specification for us, with extra height and a 750kg tail lift, which makes it absolutely ideal for the movement of fully populated racks – a game changer for most facility migration projects.
The first addition was 002 – this is our electric pick up truck, which is perfect for trips between our various London PoPsThe most recent addition to the fleet is 003 – this is our low loader with uprated tail lift, which makes for the perfect rack migration vehicle These join 001 – our original van which is still our most utilised vehicles
As part of bringing Data Hall 4 online in May, we rolled out new cooling system architecture, which involved some adjustments to how the extraction side of the system works. We now have a twin-hall shared extraction plenum, with a centralised control system, which we believe to be the first of its kind for an evaporative system such as ours. This involved the expert design work of multiple teams, and will also be a part of the roll-out for Data Hall 3 later this year.
Further to this, we have additional cooling being deployed in all data halls in the next few weeks, through the modular installation of further evaporative coolers. Each room is growing from four CREC units, to six CREC units.
NLC closure and migration project
In May, we migrated all of the clients in our London Central facility to our new London East facility.
This took many months of planning, however we were able to complete the physical migration process in just eight evening sessions – a real testament to our broad in-house capabilities.
All 126 enclosures were successfully transitioned to our London East facility (with a few landing in other on-net locations where required), with most racks moved in a fully-populated state. This allowed for minimal client disruption, and the fastest possible transition from one site to the other. The fastest migration window took just two hours, from power down at NLC, to being back online at NLE.
Here we have some photos of the now retired facility, which served our clients well for nearly a decade:
The main office and NOC at NLC, following strip-out and decommissioningA look at Data Hall 1, following strip-out and decommissioningA final look at the outside of NLC, following a full de-branding of the building
The end of an era, but the beginning of a truly special new chapter for Netwise, as we focus on our campus site, London East. We will be expanding this location significantly in the coming months – more on this very soon.
What’s next?
The biggest upcoming build work will be the onlining of Data Hall 3, the final hall in the current building at Netwise London East. Work will begin on this hall in the coming weeks. This will be the final component of Phase 2, before Phase 3 works begin in late 2024 / early 2025 – this will be a major development phase.
We hope to announce the next phase of works in an official capacity in the next few weeks.
Otherwise, we will continue to welcome new clients to our world-class facilities, along with the provision of assistance to existing clients looking to grow. This is an exciting time for Netwise, and we look forward to sharing more news with you very soon.
It’s been another very busy stint of work over at Netwise London East, as we continue to deploy Data Hall 3 and Data Hall 4.
While we’ve taken a relatively lengthy break from the #BuildBlog since the last update, the same cannot be said for the development schedule itself, which has been continuing at pace without pause.
Let’s get straight to the photo updates:
Before Christmas, we pulled in the supply cabling for both Data Halls 3 and 4The ground floor corridor – as with the first floor corridor – functions as the main arterial route for supply power to each hallAnother view of the underfloor supply cabling within the ground floor corridorOnce all cables are in position and cleated to the cable ladder, it can make for quite a satisfying photo opportunity – this is why we place glass floor tiles in certain locations throughout our facilities!The planning for routes and access for cables such as this is an involved process, requiring input from several areas of the overall design processOnce the sub-floor room supply cabling is complete, in-room cabling can begin – here we see some of the large supply cables which will feed the new busbar system being deployed in the new hallsHere we see some of the infrastructure within Data Hall 4, in position and being commissioned – this view predominantly shows the A-side ODF as the main harness fibre is run inHere we see the B-side ODF, ahead of termination and the internal fit-out beginningThis wide view shows the position of the backup / supplementary AC systems, as well as our new distribution board designs, as part of the new power delivery system being deployed in halls 3 and 4This is a slightly closer view of the A-side distribution board, as well as the A-side supplementary CRACHere we see some of the complex containment work as part of the sub-floor power delivery system, ensuring all cable routes are carefully contained and managedThis view shows the new busbar / track system which is being used in halls 3 and 4Here we see the B-side distribution board, alongside the dual-fed mechanical distribution boardThe primary cooling system can be seen here, ahead of final commissioning – this is our CREC system, which is largely responsible for our world-leading PUE figuresSome of the systems that sit outside of the hall itself can be seen under commissioning here – this is the fire control panel, as cabling is put awayThe A-side ODF again pictured here, shortly before all internal infrastructure is installedUnderfloor cabling has progressed further in this shot, showing additional routes dressed into place, and terminations about to beginThis internal view of the bottom section within the dual-fed mechanical board shows the enclosure empty, ahead of internal commissioningWe’ve added to our in-house electrical testing kit, as part of our recent NICEIC Approved Contractor status – more on this soonWe deployed some custom metering enclosures across our live data halls in the closing stages of 2023, which have been serving us with a host of power metrics ever sinceWe’ve had a LOTO board custom made, which now sits outside of LV Room A – this serves as an enhanced electrical safety measure, as we continue to bolster our in-house capabilities across the board
This all sits alongside a whole host of additional organisation-wide projects, which includes the full upgrade of our entire core network, across all on-net locations. This will see the staged upgrade of all routing assets on our core network, to cope with ever-increasing demand from our clients. Telehouse has already been undertaken, with our London East site to follow in the next couple of weeks. Equinix LD8 will follow shortly thereafter.
We’ve also had another major round of development work undertaken on our customer portal. This predominantly concerns the backend of the system, with a custom IPAM administration and deployment module now live. We also have additions to the client-side coming very soon, which will improve the booking, tracking and handling of deliveries.
We’re tantalisingly close to announcing some very significant expansion news, but we’ll have to hold back on that for a little while longer – keep an eye on announcements in the coming weeks / months.
We’ve been reasonably quiet with the #BuildBlog of late, with focus squarely on the deployment of additional capacity at London East, leaving little room for deep dives into progress (unfortunately!).
But we’re now back with this latest instalment, as we begin tracking progress on Data Halls 3 and 4.
Looking back on our last instalment of the build blog, Data Hall 2 was still very much under construction. This space is now fully fitted out as a private data hall for a single client, and is now under occupancy.
We’ve also got plenty of other updates to report across a range of areas within our London East facility, thanks to an ongoing development programme which extends beyond footprint capacity alone.
Let’s move onto the update photos. This first set were actually taken back in June, however the next instalment of the build blog ended up getting significantly delayed, so here they are:
This was the view across Pod 1 in Data Hall 2, as of June 2024The view across Pod 2, again in June 2024This is the A-side ODF in Data Hall 2 being pre-staged in the summerThe view across to ODF B, as works continued in Data Hall 2 this summerThe checker plate bash protection was also fitted to the perimeter of Data Hall 2 around this time – this is the view of ODF A being pre-stagedPre-staging the ODF enclosures allows for a speedier fit-out once the cabling process beginsSome of the control system cabling is being run overhead hereA view across Data Hall 2 as pre-containment works concludeThis view of LV Room B shows another UPS being rolled into place, ready to support Data Hall 3 in the near futureHere we see the A-side ODF in Data Hall 2 with some initial flood cabling underway, prior to termination – these are management cables, responsible for things like monitoring systems and CCTVThis is the internal view of a CREC control system unit, with the front cover and control screen removed, as internal terminations conclude ahead of commissioningData Hall 2 just prior to having the racks and containment rolled in for assemblyWe jump forwards slightly here, to a view across the now assembled Pods 1 and 2 in Data Hall 2 – this is taken from the rear of the hall, showing the custom layout for this client (the reasons for which will become clear further down in this post)
Now we can catch up in time to where things stand today, with the next run of photos from the past couple of weeks – apologies for any gaps in progress, we’ve been very busy!
Here we see Pod 1 inside of Data Hall 2, which is now handling live servicesThis is a custom, installed-to-request workbench area for the private tenant of Data Hall 2, which sits behind the shortened Pod 2Having access to your own private data hall allows for additional deployment options, such as these storage cabinets for spare componentsThis view across to Pod 2 in Data Hall 2 shows the inter-pod cable ladder in place, which is now handling active connections for this tenantThis is a view of both live pods in Data Hall 2, ahead of some final finishing touches, such as the pod door vinyls and some custom lighting options as selected by the clientHere we see the rear of Row D in Data Hall 1 – the next wave of racks will be deployed as part of Data Halls 3 and 4 in Q1 2024; we now have very limited availability, so get in touch early if you need assistance with spaceThe ground floor is in full development mode, as general non-essential access is now closedAs part of the next phase of development, works are now well underway for bringing Data Hall 4 online, with 3 to follow shortly thereafter – here we see one of the many cable drums in Data Hall 4, as it is prepared for installationThe ground floor arterial corridor for power cabling is now being filled with the critical power routes required for the next two halls at London EastThese routes support diverse critical power runs for rack PDUs, as well as supporting power for mechanical systemsThis is a cable entry aperture into Data Hall 4, which has been skinned to allow for easy fire sealing once all cabling has been finalisedHere are the CRECs in place for Data Hall 4, including all of the custom containment and blanking for the additional unit positions, matching the design for Halls 1 and 2The rear-facing air intake louvres have been cut in for both Halls 3 and 4, ahead of system commissioning in due courseHaving additional UPS systems in pre-staging will speed along the deployment time for Halls 3 and 4This view inside of LV Room A shows one of the newly arrived UPS systems undergoing some staging works, with internal access granted via removal of a side panelWe’ve also undertaken a round of improvement works in the front compound – we now have on-site EV charging via our fast-charger, which will be available for use very soonWe’ve also now marked out parking bays, and installed some Armco to better guide client movements in the front compound, and to protect the sliding vehicle gate more comprehensivelyOur loading bay has had some storage upgrades, including this full-height pallet racking wall, which has been loaded up with components to form part of our future expansion phasesWe’ve developed a custom storage solution for our APC PDUs, with some of our on-site stock shown here making use of this new hanging systemWe now have direct internal roof access, via this custom hatch, which has a detachable ladder system, for easy and quick personnel access to the roof for inspection of our hot air escape routesEach floor now has a dedicated waste handling area, allowing clients to dispose of both general waste and recyclables with greater easeAll toilets within the facility now have Dyson hand dryers, something we have carried across from our London Central facility – these are on backlit standoffs for an added luxury finishOur custom check in system has now been live across both of our facilities for a little while, with the introduction of our new QR code system – this has been performing well for clients, representing a massive improvement over the previous systemOur reception area now has the same Naturewall cladding as our Build and Break Area, and as found in some other common areas, to continue through this visual motifThis also effectively boxes in some major cabling routes, which is always welcomed over having such things on display in reception
As you can see, despite the delay in getting this build blog instalment posted, we’ve been rather busy.
We’ll continue to get our head down with development work on the run up to the new year, as demand for our services remains exceptionally high. We hope to have another update prepared for our avid readers in the next couple of months.
We also have some further news on the horizon with regards to continued expansion, which we hope to be releasing early next year. Needless to say, we’re very excited for what 2024 will bring.
Progress continues with Phase 2 development works at Netwise London East (NLE), as we head into the warmer summer months.
Data Hall 2 is approaching completion, which will be another fantastic milestone to reach in the total development journey of our newest facility. There have been solid advancements made in all aspects of the Data Hall 2 roll-out, with the most notable being the progress made on power and cooling infrastructure.
As before, we’ll keep things brief, and move straight onto the progress shots:
Here we see the underfloor electrical containment starting in Data Hall 2The island area seen in the centre here is the eventual position of Pod 1 within this spaceThe containment provides direct pathways to every possible rack footprint within a data hall, and provides safe routes for all other supporting infrastructure cablingSeeing the containment routes come together is always a pleasing visual change in the sub-floor area of each hallAs with Data Hall 1, the underfloor power for racks in this space is deployed using several kilometres of cabling, to mounted underfloor commando socketsGreat care is taken to ensure that A and B power feeds to each client rack do not cross over, only meeting at the point of use / rackHere we see some of the immaculately laid cabling for the A-side feeds reaching Pod 2Each cable runs between a given rack position and the relevant power distribution board for that side of the power delivery systemHere we see the commando sockets at the point of termination, along with the earth bonding flowing in behind, for the racks and for the raised floor system itselfThe cable runs here ensure no cross-over between A and B feeds on the under-rack containment, which is now more visible at this stage of the installationAs always, we’re absolute sticklers for quality and detail, even when it will rarely / never be seenThe mains ring which spans the underfloor area and supplies our cleaners sockets is now also in placeThe cable drums for this part of the build are certainly smaller than those required for the LV room fitouts in Phase 1, but these still clock in at around 400kg per drumAside to underfloor cabling, the remaining bulk of the termination work is found in each of the four PDUs, and the dual-fed mechanical boards – all finished in striking orangeThe distribution boards have by far the highest concentration of terminations to be undertakenThe in-board terminations are just as carefully handled as everywhere else – a work of artThis is one of four power distribution boards in Data Hall 2The cold corridor area of Data Hall 2 has also continued to develop, as the evaporative system is now plumbed in for supply, and has its drainage in place, ready for commissioningThe hot air exhaust plenum is ready for the commissioning of the extract fans in due courseThe first floor store room has been acting as our development side office, providing a space for site meetings, plans, and all other items necessary for a project on this scale to move ahead successfully
Further to the visual updates above, the supplementary / backup air conditioning system is also nearing the point of commissioning, with the pipework installation underway, following the same routes as with the system for Data Hall 1.
Once Data Hall 2 is livened up in terms of the power delivery system(s), the full commissioning works for the primary and secondary cooling systems can begin, which will bring the room to the point of safe occupancy (pending the fitout of the containment Pods, of course!).
We’ve been extremely pleased with progress on-site in the last few weeks. One thing that continues to shine through above all else is the quality of the work, which is something we and our clients alike have come to expect from a Netwise data centre. Every detail is carefully considered, resulting in a truly remarkable facility that we can be proud of for many years to come.
Working Phase 2 around an already active data centre has added additional challenges, not felt during Phase 1 (whereby the site was unoccupied by client deployments). While none of the works undertaken as part of Phase 2 pose any risk to live client services, there are many considerations to bear for enabling continued client access while many areas of the facility are being actively worked on.
