by Matt Seaton

London East Build Blog – Weeks 7 and 8

Another busy couple of weeks are now concluded on-site at NLE, as we reach the end of month two. Phase one is certainly coming along nicely.

Weekly overview

Given where we’re up to with regards to the full build timeline, we continue to predominantly push ahead with supporting works on-site, with the main envelope set for installation in early July.

We’re also still very hard at work behind the scenes, pulling together all final adjustments to the many plans and schematics that make up the entire project. This will of course continue throughout the project, however with many of the larger components of the construction phase now at a critical ‘bake-in’ point, this is of keen importance at the moment.

In terms of visible changes on-site, focus has been on the storage mezzanine and racking in the loading bay / warehouse, closing stage works in the NOC, and the NOC kitchenette. Alongside this, there have also been further integrations on security and core systems.

Floor Tile Swatches
Final review of raised floor tile sample swatches
Mezz 1
A look at the main structure of the small storage mezzanine as it reaches completion
Mezz 2
A closer look at the storage mezzanine staircase, ahead of final cut-down on hand rails
Mezz 3
Test-fitting the new finished floor on the storage mezzanine
Mezz 4
Storage mezzanine finished flooring surface cut in and nearing completion
Mezz 6
Spacing test of new heavy-duty storage racking
Mezz 7
Further spacing test of new heavy-duty storage racking
CCTV 1
Custom CCTV mounting brackets for additional external PTZ cameras
CCTV 2
Additional PTZ cameras have been flown on the exterior of the building and integrated into our NOC
Logo Signage
Matching company brand now flown in the NOC to match NLC
Logo Signage Lights
Kreon lighting installed for washing our logo, to match the setup at NLC
Kitchenette 1
Splash-back installed in NOC kitchenette
Kitchenette 2
Kitchenette installation complete for NOC area, with Jura coffee machine to match NLC

We’re very happy with the continued progress at NLE. While we are naturally most excited for the heavy works to begin, which is where the ‘data centre’ elements will really begin to show, we’re still very glad to see such fantastic progress this early on.

What’s else has been happening?

Our new core POP in CLL is now almost completely deployed. All Layer 1 links for this location are now connected, with the final onlining of our routing layer to complete next week.

CLL MUX 1
The new CLL MUX infrastructure is now in place across all inter-connected POPs
CLL MUX 2
We’ve already begun populating waves for clients and on-net services at this new location

We’ve also nearly completed our large deployment in Frankfurt, with most carriers now online, servicing the nodes installed for use there. This has been a large and complex project, so our team will be very happy to see this reach total completion.

What’s next?

We will continue to push ahead with the final stages of preliminary works, ahead of the main envelope installation now scheduled for July. The next 3 to 4 weeks will provide an excellent on-ramp to this next phase, as various smaller tasks reach completion.