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.

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.

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.

Focus over the last two weeks has generally centred around finalising any preparation works ahead of the main envelope installation. This is now booked in following a number of final on-site meetings in week six, which saw the last survey completed, with production on the steel work now underway.

Weekly overview

The main areas of change seen since the last update have centred around the installation of our warehouse-side storage mezzanine, our NOC kitchenette, along with various smaller tasks and behind the scenes work to enable heavy construction to begin in the coming weeks.

Our warehouse mezzanine will enable far more effective use of our on-site loading bay area, providing masses of secure storage for spares and client deliveries. We make great use of the loading bay area at London Central, which is something we will be carrying through to all future Netwise facilities.

The new kitchenette is situated at the entrance to the office / NOC, provided for our on-site engineers, and anyone else working at this site during normal operation. We’ve already decked out this new space with another top-spec Jura coffee machine to match NLC – something our current engineering team very much enjoy! This will be the first of two new kitchenette areas installed at NLE, the second of which will be found inside the large customer break-out area.

The NOC itself has also seen some minor evolution, with the first row of engineer desks now sited in their final position, including all workstation hardware, and some colour-matched upstands to protect our new grey NOC screen wall.

As you can see, updates are still very much focused on pre-technical. We’re hoping to have some more technically-focused updates for you in the coming weeks, which are naturally of most interest to our readers.

Within the next two to four weeks, we’re hoping to have fully completed all pre-technical works, which will enable the main envelope to be installed, while our engineers continue with supplementary operations. Beyond this, we will begin populating spaces with the main technical components, which is where the real fun begins!

What’s else has been happening?

Aside from business as usual, helping various new and existing clients with deployments and expansion inside our facilities, we’ve also been hard at work on other specialist projects.

Our large deployment in Frankfurt completes this month, along with a specialist deployment in Kuwait. We’re very excited to bring these locations online, following a long deployment schedule due to the current state of play.

We’ll also be rolling out our new core POP in CLL this quarter, adding to our ever-growing metro network. This will be another exciting milestone, with a range of clients already lined up to co-POP this space with us.

Our new van is also here, but we’re keeping that one close to our chest for now – it’s going to look rather special once all additions have been fitted!

What’s next?

The next couple of weeks are going to provide ample time to complete any outstanding tasks ahead of the main mezzanine and associated envelope installation. These include small tasks, such as additional security integrations and work inside the NOC, along with larger tasks like the perimeter compound fencing and turnstile.

We certainly have another transformative few weeks ahead of us!

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.

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:

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:

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.