London Central Build Blog – Week 67 & 68

The past few weeks have seen lots of time spent on stabilising the migrated estate, so in terms of build progress there isn’t a huge amount to report. That said, there has of course been progress in a number of areas, as our efforts to bring the site to total completion continue.

First aid kits have been installed in various key locations around the facility

First aid kits have been installed in various key locations around the facility

A look at the first aid kit in the first data hall

A look at the first aid kit in the first data hall

Large headway has been made in fitting out the remaining doors with their furniture and door closers

Large headway has been made in fitting out the remaining doors with their furniture and door closers

A fourth layer of filtration has been added to the cold corridor, which acts as the first filtration point, catching large particulates on their entry to the building

A fourth layer of filtration has been added to the cold corridor, which acts as the first filtration point, catching large particulates on their entry to the building

To complete the reception entrance way, we had to raise the level of the entry floor to match the main floor

To complete the reception entrance way, we had to raise the level of the entry floor to match the main floor

After raising the level, we could lay our new hard wearing entry mat / carpet

After raising the level, we could lay our new hard wearing entry mat / carpet

Finishing thresholds fitted to the entry way

Finishing thresholds fitted to the entry way

A look at the completed entrance

A look at the completed entrance

London Central Build Blog – Week 66

We have now migrated our existing customer base across to the new site, which is a massive milestone for us. As you are probably aware from reading our blog, the site still has some finishing touches to be completed, and lots of system integration work to undertake, however as soon as the site was deemed ready to hold clients, we moved everyone across.

At this moment in time, many clients are still being housed in their Dell racks, as used in Sutton and in the temporary facility in Docklands. These will be swapped over to the new APC cabinets in the coming weeks / months.

This is a monumental milestone in the build project, as the site is now actively handling our live estate at full resilience.

A look down the first data hall, as our cleaning and decontamination team begin work on bringing the site up to scratch for the live environment, post build works

A look down the first data hall, as our cleaning and decontamination team begin work on bringing the site up to scratch for the live environment, post build works

Here you can see some of the Dell cabinets as rolled into the footprints of existing APC cabinets, until the final system migrations in the coming months

Here you can see some of the Dell cabinets as rolled into the footprints of existing APC cabinets, until the final system migrations in the coming months

A look at one of our empty pod locations with the anti-static floor polish applied

A look at one of our empty pod locations with the anti-static floor polish applied

Another look down the first data hall, with the completed anti-static coating applied to the floor

Another look down the first data hall, with the completed anti-static coating applied to the floor

A look at the front of the first pod, now completed

A look at the front of the first pod, now completed

London Central Build Blog – Week 63 – 65

We are now rapidly approaching readiness for initial occupation, with this week seeing completion of the power commissioning, and the deployment of the core network.

A completed mains bypass panel, ahead of a final output to the custom distribution boards

A completed mains bypass panel, ahead of a final output to the custom distribution boards

Three of the first four custom power distribution panels having their internal components fitted, ahead of wiring

Three of the first four custom power distribution panels having their internal components fitted, ahead of wiring

A look at the 16A and 32A commando sockets fitted to our laser cut and painted doors, ready for fitting onto the panels

A look at the 16A and 32A commando sockets fitted to our laser cut and painted doors, ready for fitting onto the panels

A look at the upper half of one of the 16A distribution panels ahead of any termination

A look at the upper half of one of the 16A distribution panels ahead of any termination

A look at the upper internals of the distribution panels with termination completed, with just the connections to the sockets left to complete

A look at the upper internals of the distribution panels with termination completed, with just the connections to the sockets left to complete

Earthing connections to the commando sockets installed

Earthing connections to the commando sockets installed

A look at the external louvred panels that will allow our dynamic cooling system to 'breathe' external air

A look at the external louvred panels that will allow our dynamic cooling system to ‘breathe’ external air

Our BMS interface in the electrical intake room, which will allow for instant facility status read-outs - there will be many of these around the site

Our BMS interface in the electrical intake room, which will allow for instant facility status read-outs – there will be many of these around the site

Custom lights fitted to our UPS bypass panels for immediate load status information

Custom lights fitted to our UPS bypass panels for immediate load status information

Temporary connections in place in the meet me room while one side of our network is configured by our network engineers

Temporary connections in place in the meet me room while one side of our network is configured by our network engineers

Network harnesses in place between our core and the distribution racks in each row

Network harnesses in place between our core and the distribution racks in each row

London Central Build Blog – Week 61 & 62

This next period of work has seen the cooling system reach completion, and final works start on the data hall side of the power commissioning.

A look at the wiring of a supply fan inside one of our custom cooling stacks

A look at the wiring of a supply fan inside one of our custom cooling stacks

The completed internals of a cooling stack control unit

The completed internals of a cooling stack control unit

A completed cooling stack control unit with all covers fitted, ready for operation

A completed cooling stack control unit with all covers fitted, ready for operation

Completed A-side cooling power distribution board

Completed A-side cooling power distribution board, ahead of additional stacks being added modularly in the future

A look inside the now fully commissioned electrical intake room, ahead of future additions when needed

A look inside the now fully commissioned electrical intake room, ahead of future additions when needed

Completed termination on site-wide networking, with a temporary patch visible to liven up our front door access control until proper patching begins shortly

Completed termination on site-wide networking, with a temporary patch visible to liven up our front door access control unit until proper patching begins shortly

A look at in-progress fit out of the custom cooling stack control cabling as it enters the main containment backbone before heading back to the control units

A look at in-progress fit out of the custom cooling stack control cabling as it enters the main containment backbone before heading back to the control units

A closer look at one of the louvred panel actuators

A closer look at one of the louvred panel actuators

One of the water supply actuators with cabling run back to the control unit

One of the water supply actuators with cabling run back to the control unit

One of the multiple environmental sensors fitted - in this case an extract air temperature sensor

One of the multiple environmental sensors fitted – in this case an extract air temperature sensor

A look at a wired extract fan inside of its custom duct work

A look at a wired extract fan inside of its custom duct work

A completed extract fan, safety grill and sensor assembly - more of these will be added modularly as additional stacks are introduced

A completed extract fan, safety grill and sensor assembly – more of these will be added modularly as additional stacks are introduced

Duct access hatch frame fitted for access to stack supply fans

Duct access hatch frame fitted for access to stack supply fans

Ceiling void recirculation ducting installed to feed recirculation chamber, which helps to regulate air temperatures inside of the facility in the winter

Ceiling void recirculation ducting installed to feed recirculation chamber, which helps to regulate air temperatures inside of the facility in the winter

Flexible duct work to link ceiling grills with the recirculation chambers

Flexible duct work to link ceiling grills with the recirculation chambers

3-stage high-pressure sealant applied to all duct work

3-stage high-pressure sealant applied to all duct work

Supply-side louvred panels fitted to cold corridor for external air supply

Supply-side louvred panels fitted to cold corridor for external air supply

Custom modifications made to APC Maintenance Bypass Modules for our UPS systems

Custom modifications made to APC Maintenance Bypass Modules for our UPS systems

One of the modified bypass switches mounted in one of the distribution racks

One of the modified bypass switches mounted in one of the distribution racks

Inlet / outlet glands fitted to UPS panels, including red EPO gland and smaller control/comms cable gland

Inlet / outlet glands fitted to UPS panels, including red EPO gland and smaller control/comms cable gland

Commissioning works in progress on the UPS systems

Commissioning works in progress on the UPS systems

London Central Build Blog – Week 56 to 60

Major advancements have been made this week on the generator and UPS systems, which brings us ever closer to having clients online at the new facility.

The past few weeks have been spent finalising the electrical intake room, which has allowed us to commission most of the power-side systems (generators etc), as well as re-energising the facility in its final state, ready for initial occupation. As such, our office has been offline, which has meant no updates to the blog (other administrative jobs took precedent while under limited access).

This post contains a large number of images from works undertaken over the past 3/4 weeks.

Internals of the generator-side control units reaching completion

Internals of the generator-side control units reaching completion

Internals of the generator-side power distribution with earthing in place

Internals of the generator-side power distribution with earthing in place

Internals of the generator-side power distribution reaching completion

Internals of the generator-side power distribution reaching completion

Custom control cable junction boxes for generators reaching completion

Custom control cable junction boxes for generators reaching completion

Custom control cable junction boxes for generators reaching completion

Custom control cable junction boxes for generators reaching completion

UPS battery modules containing their brand new cells fitted and on the data hall floor, ready to fill out to first 3 UPS's

UPS battery modules containing their brand new cells fitted and on the data hall floor, ready to fill out to first 3 UPS’s

Legacy electrical systems being removed ahead of total re-distribution and commissioning

Legacy electrical systems being removed ahead of total re-distribution and commissioning

Intake room wall being re-clad ahead of fit-out, much alike the opposite wall which contains the generator control and distribution systems

Intake room wall being re-clad ahead of fit-out, much alike the opposite wall which contains the generator control and distribution systems

First of our new main distribution panels fitted -which will be the B side - along with our custom monitoring system flanking either side

First of our new main distribution panels fitted -which will be the B side – along with our custom monitoring system flanking either side

A look at the monitoring which runs either side of the main power distribution panels

A look at the monitoring which runs either side of the main power distribution panels

A closer look at our power monitoring system, which will total 24 screens when completed on both A and B sides

A closer look at our power monitoring system, which will total 24 screens when completed on both A and B sides

New cable containment allows for multiple routes both in and out of the facility distribution cabinets

New cable containment allows for multiple routes both in and out of the facility distribution cabinets

A look at the earthing bars in the intake room, ahead of completion

A look at the earthing bars in the intake room, ahead of completion

Progression as earthing in the facility runs back to the earthing bars here

Progression as earthing in the facility runs back to the earthing bars here

Facility power distribution having the various breakers fitted

Facility power distribution having the various breakers fitted

Progress shot as the facility distribution panels are wired

Progress shot as the facility distribution panels are wired

The completed facility power distribution panel (A side), which powers facility-wide systems such as lighting and sockets

The completed facility power distribution panel (A side), which powers facility-wide systems such as lighting and sockets

The B-side main distribution panel fitted with its breakers, which feed the UPS systems on the data hall

The B-side main distribution panel fitted with its breakers, which feed the UPS systems on the data hall and at the core

Distribution panels for the facility-wide systems completed in the centre here, ahead of the A-side primary panel being installed

Distribution panels for the facility-wide systems completed in the centre here, ahead of the A-side primary panel being installed

A-side distribution being installed, along with flanking monitoring columns

A-side distribution being installed, along with flanking monitoring columns

Containment basket fitted, ready to take large input power cables between cabinets

Containment basket fitted, ready to take large input power cables between cabinets

A look at additional cable containment and control above the primary distribution panels, and up the wall to reach the mains incomers

A look at additional cable containment and control above the primary distribution panels, and up the wall to reach the mains incomers

A look at cable runs being installed between the power distribution panels and the B-side of the mains failover system

A look at cable runs being installed between the power distribution panels and the B-side of the mains fail-over system

Stage one cabling complete for power systems feeding first floor data hall

Stage one cabling complete for power systems feeding first floor data hall

Mains output feeds on the B-side supply, which feed into the B-side throughout the site

Mains output feeds on the B-side supply, which feed into the B-side throughout the site

A look at the inlets atop the generator control and distribution cabinets

A look at the inlets atop the generator control and distribution cabinets

A look at the internals of the B-side AMF panel, which has its termination in progress here

A look at the internals of the B-side AMF panel, which has its termination in progress here

The completed internals of the B-side AMF panel

The completed internals of the B-side AMF panel

A look at the primary breakers for the generator supplies

A look at the primary breakers for the generator supplies

The AMF panel control unit powered and ready for configuring

The AMF panel control unit powered and ready for configuring

From here on out, updates will be less based on weeks, and more on tasks, as we push to get the site ready for initial occupancy.