As the end of the first month rolls around, we’ve seen further developments in the front-side of the building as we finalise the office, NOC and on-site meeting room.
We’re now also very close to beginning works on the main envelope, including the mezzanine, internal walls and doors, raised floors and hung ceilings.
Weekly overview
This week has seen the NOC space really take shape, adding in some of the final touches that tie-in with the visual language found at London Central. This includes the signature grey NOC screen wall, that has been carefully colour-matched to the doors within the facility.
Matching internal NOC signage has also been installed this week, with our main brand and associated focus lighting to follow soon.
We’ve now taken delivery of our goods lift, which will sit centrally in the main space of the building, and provide easy access to the first-floor data halls with any large, heavy equipment. This method of access will stand alongside standard stair access, as well as forklift access for the movement of any large materials; vital for successfully deploying a modular fit-out.
Excitingly, we’ve also taken delivery of our new forklift! This is the second forklift we’ve owned in our build project history, the first helping us through the London Central build before being sold on. This one will be staying with us as part of the split-level warehousing and loading bay integrated into the NLE design.
While we’re still acutely aware of how early into the project we are at this stage, we’re nevertheless incredibly pleased with how quickly the space has become identifiable as a Netwise facility.
All ground floor windows have been privacy screened to match NLC A look at the privacy etch-style vinyl on ground floor windowsAnother look at the privacy etch-style vinyl in receptionCompleted reception privacy vinylsOur self-tracking PTZ cameras now flown outside the facility, with remote monitoring from the NOC at NLCOur signature grey NOC wall, with the first TV being test-mountedTest mounting more of the NOC screens, with HDMI delivered over the structured cablingThe NOC signage template in place, ahead of affixing charactersA closer look at the brushed stand-off lettering, to match what we have at NLCThe completed NOC screen wallAnother look at the completed NOC screen wallThe on-site meeting room laid out, carrying over our visual motifOur new forklift arriving at NLEOur new forklift will be instrumental in the construction of NLE
As with the last instalment of the Build Blog, while we await the full commencement of the internal envelope for the data halls, we’re primarily progressing with front-of-house works, and behind the scenes planning for the rest of the project.
Aside to what’s been snapped above, we’ve also been undertaking early preparation works for the installation of our lift.
There’s also been considerable activity on the network side of things. NLE has now been fully deployed on our metro network, utilising the initial 10Gbps link which will take us through to commissioning. We’ve deployed a high-availability Cisco stack on-site to handle all internal operations, and link back to our core Supernode in Telehouse North.
What’s next?
The next couple of weeks will see progress across a number of key areas, while the envelope is finalised, allowing heavy works to begin very soon.
Further security system integration will be happening next week, along with the roll out of our new compound fencing. We’ll also begin work on the lift shaft, to be in place prior to the main envelope enclosing it in due course.
Though progress this early on in the project is modest, with some delays still being felt due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, we are now onto week two, and as such there have been various forward movements to report.
Weekly overview
Firstly, early works on the London East NOC have been progressing nicely, with a full upgrade to the in-room power and network infrastructure, ahead of populating the space with equipment.
In direct relation to this, our temporary 10Gbps interconnection service is now active, linking the new site into our network for the first time. This means that we can retire the even more temporary mobile service that on-site engineers have been using until now – very welcome news!
Having the site fully functioning as a working satellite office and being remotely accessible from the off-set is very important. This means that we can integrate security systems immediately, having direct interplay with our primary NOC at London Central, ahead of NLE becoming a fully-autonomous site when the time comes.
We also took delivery of the new perimeter security fencing, which will follow the same design principles as London Central; a 2.4M palisade system with anti-climb razor wire. This site will have a huge 6M sliding gate for vehicular access, and again make use of a turnstile for secure, tailgate-free pedestrian access.
Behind the scenes, plans have naturally been pushing ahead at pace in all other areas as we enter the final preparation stage for mezzanine and envelope installation.
Let’s take a brief look at items showing some early visual change:
The BT cavalry have been on-site as we begin onlining NLEOur temporary 10Gbps network extension for the site, ahead of internal routing The first of what will be many, many miles of fibre delivered to siteOur new perimeter fencing being dropped into the facilityA look at some of the new palisade fencing system as it gets off-loaded Another look at some of the palisade fencing system The structured cabling runs are adding up; nearly a kilometre has been run in alreadyA look at the acoustic cabinet, which will house local access equipment for the NOC – complete with bungee cable harness A look at the new socket termination in the NOC, for both power and networkWe’ve again opted for HikVision’s auto-tracking camera systems, for external CCTV
As you can see, despite some minor delays caused by the current state of play (aka COVID-19), excellent progress is being made across the board.
We’re very excited to have the site functioning remotely already, despite being just two weeks into the main build project. Having full visibility over the site from our London Central NOC this early into the project is fantastic, and allows for newly installed systems to be cross-integrated as they’re installed, dramatically decreasing the eventual commissioning process, which is often attacked in bulk after topping out.
What’s fantastic about this new project is that despite it being a clear evolution of what we put into our London Central build back in 2014-16, we are able to take tried and tested systems across to the new site for immediate deployment and integration, based on technology already in full operation across our existing estate. Regardless of the increased scale of the new facility, the time-to-live relative to scale is far lower than we’ve experienced with our previous build projects.
Changes to our metro network
Bringing a new facility on-net will naturally change the general make up of our metro network. There are a couple of changes coming to the design of our core in the coming months, ahead of the full integration of NLE in due course.
Here’s a brief overview of what’s to come:
Some of the adjustments coming to our core in the next 12-18 months
Works at London Central
London Central remains our flagship facility ahead of completing London East in 2021. As such, investment in NLC will of course continue, as the two sites will very much operate side-by-side once the new facility is ready for service. We’re very excited about our forthcoming private multi-site capabilities.
This week alone has seen a full service of our generator systems, a deep clean of all external compound areas, and various other maintenance operations, vital in keeping our sites operating at peak performance – particularly as we prepare to transition into summer.
We’ve also welcomed a range of exciting new client projects into the facility over the last couple of weeks, a true testament to the resilient nature of Britain’s technology industry during these trying times.
What’s next?
Next week will see further developments made to the integration of the on-site office and various security systems. We will also be providing a little more insight into the plans for the internal space, and what the newly formed data hall containment envelope will look like.
After more than 12 months of planning and preparation, the time to restart our famous Build Blog is finally here.
Many of our readers will probably remember the first iteration of this feature, which we ran throughout the build of our London Central facility, from initial shell to complete data centre.
We’ll be doing exactly the same for this exciting new project, documenting progress as the new data centre takes shape in the coming months.
So here we are, on what is effectively week one of the build project, having taken full control of the new site in early April.
An introduction
While this is week one for the Netwise team and its range of expert contractors, the new site has in fact already undergone a full shell refurbishment and stage one office fit-out, ahead of any project-specific works being undertaken.
These works have seen the complete overhaul of the building to ensure it met our extremely high standards ahead of conversion to a top specification data centre.
This first set of photos show the facility in this completed stage one form; an introduction to the space as we begin conversion this month.
Exterior front elevation, shown from the large front compoundA view from the rear of the main warehouse areaAnother view from back to front in the main warehouse spaceThe main warehouse space, viewed from the front, with the existing amenities block in viewA view across the main warehouse spaceA look at the feature staircase in our reception areaA brief look at some of the existing ground floor amenitiesA view up the main stairwell, to the office and future NOCA view across the office and future NOC areaAnother view across the future NOC, to what will eventually become the main screen wall for the NLE engineering team
The blank canvas we’ve been left with following the stage one refurbishment is nothing short of fantastic. We elected to pre-stage this work to ensure no overlap with the main project.
Beyond an illustrative overview of the empty spaces we’re currently presented with for conversion, there naturally isn’t really much to see at this stage. But we do hope that this gives a good early indication of the overall scale and quality of finish being pursued here, something our London Central data centre is already well-known for.
What’s next?
The first couple of weeks will see major transformations in the office area, so that on-site technical operations can begin immediately. We are also onlining a temporary 10Gbps extension to our metro network, connecting the site to our existing fabric to allow for remote monitoring and administrative works on-site to be undertaken without hindrance.
The next primary stage on the heavy construction side will see the installation of the mezzanine and envelope, including walls, ceilings and raised floors, to create the four data hall design in the main warehouse side of the building.
Next week, we will share more information with you regarding technical specifications and drawings, to give a full overview of what to expect from the data centre.
To say that we’re excited is an understatement! We hope this Build Blog can serve as an interesting distraction for everyone in this industry during these difficult times.
We look forward to sharing this journey with you. Keep an eye out for new entries to the Build Blog – subscribe to our RSS feed, YouTube channel and other social platforms for notifications.
As part of the recent expansion and capacity upgrade project at our London Central data centre, we have deployed another backup diesel generator, which joins the existing sets already providing protection to our clients.
This ensures our N+1 resilience level on backup power is maintained as we continue to introduce new customers into the data centre, and provide ongoing scalable growth to those already with us.
The new set – while outputting the same level of power as its existing counterparts – is a next generation unit that we’ve had presented in an inverse colourway; anthracite grey. This stands in contrast to the existing units, which are in an off-white colourway. Of the three sets which now make up the full system, it is the smallest, quietest, and sleekest looking unit, perfect for demonstrating where we’ve made tangible upgrades to our critical infrastructure.
As part of this new deployment, we’ve adjusted how the setup works as a homogeneous system, with regards to the operational logic for running three sets in an N+1 fail-over scenario.
The new generator is actually now Set 1, with the existing units becoming Sets 2 and 3. This allows the newest set to become the primary unit in this multi-generator system.
How our generator system works
We’re not doing anything particularly ‘special’ when it comes to mixing in our backup generator sets, however in the interest of total transparency, we thought it of interest to explain exactly how this system works in real-world scenarios.
We have enough backup generator capacity on-site to cover full load in the facility on two sets, reserving one as a swing set. This can be called into service should one fail during emergency operation, hence giving us our N+1 resilience.
There are two main invocation scenarios in a facility with A+B mains power systems, which are:
A single side power failure, either A or B (the most common)
A full blackout of both A and B (less common)
The computer systems that control our generator logic (both inside the generators and as part of our Automatic Transfer Switches) handle each case slightly differently, depending on what has happened.
A single side power failure
As expected with any mains power issue, our UPS systems take load immediately to ensure faultless operation while the generators are instructed to start up. We have a minimum run-time on our UPS’s of 10 minutes, though most have more than 20 minutes in reality.
All generators as part of our system are kept on hot-standby, with all oils and pumps kept warm ready for the immediate firing of engines. In this state, the generators are known as ‘At Rest’, and available for service.
During a single side failure, two of the three generators will be instructed to fire, which will then startup, self-test, and synchronise with the sister unit.
If for any reason one unit fails to sync, the remaining swing set will be called up and take over, placing the other into a cool-down state.
Once online and synchronised, which takes around 60 seconds, the ATS’s will switch through the load, allowing the generators to take over from the inline UPS’s.
If the load is at below 60% of a single unit’s capacity, the system will then allow for the load to be taken up by a single generator, placing two units back into the swing pool, to be invoked again if required.
We’re then running on generator for as long as required, with 48 hours of fuel on-site, and refuelling contracts with two separate entities for refuelling within 2 hours.
Once the mains feed is seen to be restored by the system, it will hold on generator for another three minutes to ensure stability, before automatically switching back to the mains feed for load.
The online generators then enter into a three minute cool-down cycle, before dropping back into their ‘At Rest’ state, ready to be called up again if required.
A full blackout of both A and B
Although this is a less common real-world scenario, it is one of our test simulations, and invokes the generators in a slightly different manner.
Should this occur, most actions as above remain the same, however in this case, all three generators would fire as part of stage one, rather than just two.
They will then test and sync together, and again have a set fall away to become the swing unit once the system is spun up and ready to take load.
In this way, the backup system is always able to both take load, and provide a swing set for resilience should there be an issue with a unit during emergency operation.
The entire system enjoys a rigorous testing schedule, which is incredibly important for a backup power system. Sets are test fired every two weeks and allowed to run warm for five minutes, checking for any running issues. We also complete on-load tests every month, to ensure the sets can take full load; an important step missed by many facility operators.
The system is also fully maintained by Shenton Group, the organisation responsible for the build, supply and initial testing, ensuring our units are in tip-top operational condition year-round.
What’s next?
That’s not the only upgrade coming as part of our backup generator system. The investment in this critical area continues in Q4, as we introduce a brand new mixing enclosure in our Electrical Intake Room, which will improve and update what is in place at present, finalising developments in this area in the mid-long term.
The new internal enclosure will allow for the use of next generator smart rotary breakers, something not presently in service as part of the current enclosure panel.
This summer, we’ve been hard at work taking the high-tech cooling system in Data Hall 1 to its final specification, ready for full capacity.
Our entire facility follows a modular build methodology, which includes our unique evaporative cooling system. Everything is installed in A+B resilient pairs, which includes the cooling stack design employed at our London Central data centre. These act as the lungs of our data centre, breathing cool air into the overhead plenum.
Until now, we’ve had lot’s of headroom on the existing two stacks, comprised of four wet box units. Last summer, we rolled out a fully-integrated AC system to supplement this evaporative units, both for added operational resilience, as well as further cooling capacity should it be required.
Each of our stacks have intelligently controlled intake fans and active damping
We’ve now added the final two stacks to the system in Data Hall 1, taking our cooling capacity to maximum load. This further improves resilience on the system as a whole, and also provides a great deal of additional cooling as we continue to welcome new customers into our world-class data centre.
Our unique, highly-efficient cooling stack design
Part of this additional capacity includes the tripling of available extraction outlets, which gives us greater control over the pressure differential between hot and cold aisles.
At full speed we are now able to move 208,000 cubic metres of four-times filtered, climate controlled air through Data Hall 1 per hour. That’s a lot of air, creating a flow of freshly tempered air which refreshes hall-wide every 45 seconds (on average).
Our extraction capabilities have been heavily bolstered
We now have nine high-powered extraction fans
Further to this, we’ve also installed a new probe matrix overhead, meaning we now have temperature and humidity mapping capabilities across the entire data hall floor. This both feeds into the control systems which manage the cooling system, as well as our own monitoring and management systems for greater insights into heat and flow control.
Later this year, we’ll also be adding in further granular monitoring on the circuits which feed our cooling systems, which will allow us to see our PUE as it dynamically adjusts in real-time.
The cooling system in Data Hall 1 is now at full capacity, which is fantastic news as our ever-growing roster of clients continue to deploy new systems in our facilities.
