by Matt Seaton

London Central Build Blog – Week 71 Onwards

Further finishing touches have gone into the site over the past two weeks, while primary efforts are focused on deploying new systems and configuring various elements of our infrastructure management.

New parking signage to ensure our private bays are kept for the exclusive use of our staff and customers

New parking signage to ensure our private bays are kept for the exclusive use of our staff and customers

More signage governing the dedicated customer entrance along the roadside of the facility

More signage governing the dedicated customer entrance along the roadside of the facility

Custom flags for the exterior of our building

Custom flags for the exterior of our building

One of the new flags being installed

One of the new flags being installed

Both flags installed to the front of the facility

Both flags installed to the front of the facility

Our on-site NOC screens being tested after some initial systems integration

Our on-site NOC screens being tested after some initial systems integration

Fully restored lighting over our main / reception entrance

Fully restored lighting over our main / reception entrance

This post signifies the end of our regular build blog series. Whilst the site will always have on-going works, particularly as new modules of the facility come online, the initial build can now be considered complete.

As such, we will now only put up new build blog posts during specific projects, or at the end of further system installations, to give our readers an insight into new developments.

We thank all of our avid readers for following the project – it has been a very long and at times difficult task, but our London Central site is now online and operating at full steam!

by Matt Seaton

London Central Build Blog – Week 70

There were some delays this week, due to on-going configuration works on various systems, however the access control system is now complete and operational, along with progress in other areas of the site.

A look at the outward facing access control cluster on the customer kitchen door

A look at the outward-facing access control cluster on the customer kitchen door

A look at the access control hardware inside the customer kitchen area

A look at the access control hardware inside the customer kitchen area

A look at the control unit setup inside of the cold corridor

A look at the control unit setup inside of the cold corridor

The inbound access control unit for entering the customer kitchen, in its powered, operational state

The inbound access control unit for entering the customer kitchen, in its powered, operational state

A look at the new signage ready to be fitted throughout the facility

A look at the new signage ready to be fitted throughout the facility

A look at the new signage ready to be fitted throughout the facility

A look at the new signage ready to be fitted throughout the facility

One of the small door signs fitted, which are grey vinyl applied to frosted perspex, mounted on satin-finish signage standoffs

One of the small door signs fitted; the signs are made of grey vinyl applied to frosted perspex, mounted on satin-finish signage standoffs

by Matt Seaton

London Central Build Blog – Week 69

Progress has been made on a number of areas again this week, most notably the installation of our access control systems.

The backup / redundant cooling in the meet-me room has had a new condensate pipe fitted

The backup / redundant cooling in the meet-me room has had a new condensate pipe system fitted

The backup / redundant cooling in the meet-me room has had a new condensate pipe system fitted

The backup / redundant cooling in the meet-me room has had a new condensate pipe system fitted

The electrical intake room as its new hung ceiling is installed

The electrical intake room as its new hung ceiling is installed

A look at the ceiling grid being installed in the electrical intake room

A look at the ceiling grid being installed in the electrical intake room

A look at the completed ceiling, complete with lighting, fire detector and cable entry / exit points

A look at the completed ceiling, complete with lighting, fire detector and cable entry / exit points

A look at our cooling stacks with their new bag filters fitted to the exterior of the wet boxes, taking our total number of pre-data hall filtration layers to 4

A look at our cooling stacks with their new bag filters fitted to the exterior of the wet boxes, taking our total number of pre-data hall filtration layers to 4

A look at the access control units being installed, in this instance to the first floor data hall entrance

A look at the access control units being installed, in this instance to the first floor data hall entrance

A look at the components which make up one side of the customer kitchen / reception entrance, one of the more complex doors to fit out in this facility

A look at the components which make up one side of the customer kitchen / reception entrance, one of the more complex doors to fit out in this facility

A look at one of the exterior biometric and RFID units

A look at one of the exterior biometric and RFID units, this one for the out of hours customer entrance

The internal control and exit hardware for the out of hours customer entrance and exit

The internal control and exit switching hardware for the out of hours customer entrance and exit

by Matt Seaton

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

by Matt Seaton

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