London East Phase 3 Development Update 1

Our significant expansion of Netwise London East (NLE) is now well underway, which is Phase 3 of development at our flagship data centre.

This will result in the addition of two new data halls, alongside a range of additional amenities and site features. Works began in December 2024, and will continue throughout 2025, with various completion milestones at multiple stages along the way.

The main focus at this stage is the installation of the new mezzanine, as this forms the basis of the entire internal sub-structure, around which we build our facilities (as seen at our London Central site, and also the current footprint at London East).

Here are some photo updates from the early stages of Phase 3:

Exterior
Some of the earliest works centred around a full internal and external renovation of the new unit, including a significant amount of work on the roof
Exterior
The exterior cladding of the building also enjoyed a full refinish, which will become evident in later photos
Exterior
This is the view across to the expansion project within the new unit, from the existing facility entrance / footprint
Interior
The inside of the new space also required significant refurbishment before our main works schedule began
Interior
The front-of-house areas also got completely ripped out ahead of a total refurbishment
Interior
We’ll be adding further office and administration spaces in this new side of the facility, and the existing upstairs office also saw a full strip-out ahead of refurbishment
Exterior
This is the main frontage of the extended footprint after the completion of the initial refurbishment, ahead of our main works schedule commencing
Office Prep
This space will become a second / extended NOC and operations space, after the initial refurbishment, and with the new carpet covered ready for the next phase of work to begin
Office Prep
The site has been fully prepared for our main work schedule here, including all protective covering of newly installed surfaces, and the various required temporary site boards and signage in place
Signage
The temporary signage extends to all areas of the site
Office Prep
One of the existing ground floor spaces has become the on-site canteen and break room, ready for the various contractors that will be working on-site in the coming months
Site
One of the early stage jobs, beyond our initial laser survey of the space, is to laser plot the main column locations for the new mezzanine sub-structure
Site
With such a high degree of accuracy required for the installation of the mezzanine, collaboration between engineers, project managers and installers is key
Site
A view across the main space, as column locations are marked up according to the installation plans
Site
Here are some of the many heavy-duty custom steel columns as delivered, ahead of installation
Site
A view across the main space, following the initial refurbishment, as the main work schedule begins
Site
Another view across the main space, following the initial refurbishment, as the main work schedule begins
Mezz
The mezzanine sub-structure is a surprisingly quick component to install, with much of the work front-loaded during the planning and engineering phase
Mezz
The mezzanine is installed in bays / sections, and progresses across the space from the initial column locations
Mezz
A view of the mezzanine progress from the rear corner of the new space
Mezz
We have an installation timelapse of the mezzanine install, which we’ll be making available in the near future – 19,000 photos in total!
Mezz
Here we see part of the structure standing in isolation, ahead of the installation of the purlins that will make up this particular bay
Mezz
This is the underside of a partially complete bay
Mezz
Here we see further progress, as the temporary safety netting is installed to the underside of the mezzanine ahead of installing the top surface
Mezz
The main beams are partially assembled on the ground, ahead of lifting into place
Mezz
A view of progress as the mezzanine structure continues to take shape
Mezz
A view of the underside of the structure, as top surface boards begin to be positioned
Mezz
The boards are fixed to the structure, and will form the initial face upon which the next stage is built, which will be the main envelope
Mezz
Here we look down from the partially completed half of the structure, which will continue across this span to the far side of the space
Breach
Despite the expansion project taking place within an adjoining unit to the existing live footprint, the two spaces will be combined into a single facility – as part of this, we will be breaching between the two units; we have installed temporary dust and fire barriers, ahead of the cut through process
Breach
Here we can see the initial breach of the outer skin of the envelope within the ground floor corridor
Mezz
Progress continues with the mezzanine installation
Mezz
The view here is taken from what will eventually be the cooling plant area for Data Hall 6 – the two halls within this new expansion will be larger than those within the current footprint, each housing three containment pods
Mezz
The final columns being cross-checked after installation, as the mezzanine continues towards completion
A view back across the mezzanine structure, as works progress
Mezz
The scissor lifts work in conjunction with our forklift in getting components to the correct height for installation
Mezz
The view looks across the area that will make up Data Hall 6 on the ground floor of the new space
Mezz
This view is from the approximate eventual location of Pod 3 within Data Hall 6
Mezz
All parts of the steel structure are now complete, with only the remaining top surface installation to go
Mezz
The view here looks across to the outside face of the facility, which will house offices, a new meeting room, and supporting electrical infrastructure for the new data halls
Mezz
This is the view from the top surface as it continues towards completion – this is taken from the eventual first floor corridor, looking into the area that will house Data Hall 5
Mezz
The top surface installation continues here
Mezz
Members of the Netwise team undertake regular inspections as part of the installation process
Mezz
This view sits on the edge of what will become the B-side UPS and switchgear room for the two new data halls, and the associated cable access corridor (a new cable handling methodology that we’re deploying as part of the expansion) – the new meeting room will be directly above this
Mezz
Here we see the underside of the completed mezzanine structure
Mezz
Another view of the completed mezzanine, as viewed from the eventual location of Pod 3 in Data Hall 6, looking towards the eventual location of the UPS rooms and cable access corridors
Mezz
The completed structure, as seen from the new loading bay area, with temporary barriers in place until the envelope is installed
Mezz
The next action on the underside of the mezzanine structure will be the column encasements
Mezz
Here we see the top side of the new structure, as some minor additional works begin on the sky lights
Mezz
This is the view from the eventual location of Pod 3 within Data Hall 5, looking across to the eventual location of the new offices and meeting space
Mezz
Our scaffold tower is being used for roof-level access now that the top surface is complete
Mezz
The insulation and closure of the sky lights can be seen underway here
Mezz
All of the sky lights above the data halls will be insulated and closed off as part of the pre-envelope works, which replicates the setup in the existing live data halls
Mezz
Our facilities team are undertaking this work, ahead of the next major contractor stage – the envelope
Mezz
The view down into the new loading bay, as viewed from the edge of the mezzanine, where the access corridor will be located – there will be level loading capabilities here, as with the existing loading bay

As you can see, we’ve been able to make quite an impressive start to the project. To have the mezzanine complete in the first week of January sets up our work schedule incredibly well, allowing for the envelope to begin later this month.

We have also now started a range of other preparatory works ahead of this, including the insulation and closure of the skylights, encasement of the columns with fire protection, and some of the breaching works for interconnecting the units and other internal areas.

We have more updates coming as part of Phase 2 soon also, so watch this space for plenty more build content throughout Q1 2025 and beyond.

Team in focus: Josh Carvalho

We’re very excited for you to meet our Engineering Manager, Josh Carvalho.

Josh joined us back in late 2023, from the demanding world of electrical engineering, having spent the formative years of his career garnering extensive experience across all facets of electrical system design and implementation.

With a passion for powering the future and an impressive background in the design and installation of critical power systems, Josh brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge to our ever-growing team. His arrival marked another pivotal moment in our journey, as we continue to strengthen our position as a world-leading data centre operator.

As our Engineering Manager, Josh plays a crucial role in shaping the future of Netwise and its deployed assets. His leadership, technical acumen, and commitment to excellence has undoubtedly resulted in another ‘level up’ to our in-house capabilities, as we continue to expand our suite of services.

JC
Josh can be found working his magic across all areas of our data centres, keeping them in top-tip shape around the clock for our clients
UPS
Electrical engineering sits front and centre of any data centre operation, so having Josh head this up internally for us is a major operational advantage

Josh’s arrival has tangibly demonstrated our unwavering commitment to providing only the very highest quality of service to our clients, with limited reliance on any third parties.

You can expect to see Josh in a design and implementation role across our core infrastructure, as well as in the field, getting hands on with the systems responsible for keeping your business online 24×7.

London East Phase 2 Development Update 6

It’s been a while since we last published a Phase 2 update from Netwise London East (NLE), so we thought it would be a good time to update everyone on the current state of play.

We’ve been remarkably busy with both the ongoing expansion works at NLE, alongside the closure of Netwise London Central (NLC), which was retired from active service in early June.

Data Hall 4 went live in May, and quite remarkably, it’s already a touch over half full, despite opening to new clients just a couple of months ago. This is in large part thanks to the absorption of our customer base from NLC, which we migrated over the course of eight evenings in May, however we have also welcomed a host of exciting new clients into our latest data hall.

Let’s take a look at what’s been happening. We start with updates from back in mid-April, before jumping ahead to current day:

Cooling
As part of commissioning the primary cooling system in Data Hall 4, a number of adjustments were made to the global cooling control system, as we implemented a new hot air extraction methodology
Cooling
Here we see the early stages of the air intake louvres being cut into the rear fabric of the building, ahead of the first filtration layer frames being installed
Power
Commissioning the power delivery system inside of DH4 formed the latter stages of the deployment schedule for this room
UPS
We commissioned UPS systems for both DH4 and the forthcoming DH3 at the same time, to front-load some of the later commissioning works for the final hall deployment in Phase 2
UPS
Bringing UPS’s online is a major part of any data hall commissioning schedule, enabling the delivery of power to end user racks
UPS
Here we see the rear of the fully-completed and commissioned UPS arrangement in LV Room B
UPS
This is a view of the fully-completed and commissioned UPS arrangement in LV Room A
LOTO
We showed you our LOTO board in the last update, but here’s another look at the customised board, which is used extensively as we continue to deploy capacity at NLE
LOTO
Here’s a closer view of one of the locks used to safely lock out a circuit which is pending commissioning, or under maintenance
Rescue
In addition to the LOTO board and accessories, we also have rescue boards in each of the LV Rooms – we’re adding some additional exciting electrical safety features in the coming months, which haven’t yet been seen in UK data centres, so watch this space for more news on that
Core B
Here we see the core network upgrade as deployed on the B-side of the network at NLE – this was part of our full network-wide upgrade, which happened across several months in Q1/2, a six figure investment in our network as it continues to grow rapidly
DH4
This is the view across Data Hall 4, a few days before racks would begin landing for our new client waiting list, as well as the first racks migrating from NLC
DH4
This is another view across DH4 as we prepared the space for imminent client move in dates
DH4
Here we see the first racks being positioned, based on the initial requirements within the space – the containment systems for Pods 1 and 2 were then constructed around racks after the first wave of new client installs and rack migrations from NLC
DH4
Another view of early staging works in DH4
Now we jump ahead to DH4 as it stands today, in July 2024
DH4
Here we see both pods within DH4 at around 50% capacity, ahead of the glass door vinyl’s being applied
DH4
A view across DH4, with a crash cart in use – we have these Ergotron models deployed in each hall
DH4
The hall is now under heavy use by new and existing clients – we now move onto the deployment schedule for DH3

It’s fair to say that this summer has already been one of our busiest periods on record. Deploying a new data hall at NLE is no small task in itself, but to deliver this alongside the decommissioning of NLC – which also involved the in-house planning and execution of an entire facility migration – leaves us feeling incredibly proud of the team we have driving Netwise. The complexity of successfully realising a multi-faceted project like this cannot be understated, and seeing these tasks result in tangible improvements to service for our clients is always incredibly pleasing, particularly after making seven figure investments in our future here at London East.

But as with any operation of this nature, these are just the headline deliverable outcomes that have been worked on over the past several months. We’ve undertaken plenty of additional projects in tandem over the last quarter, which may be of interest to our readers.

We completed our full core network upgrade in May, with the final upgrade – and the most major works list – happening at our HEX/LD8 node. This involved a full conversion of this location to our Supernode architecture, which in this case required a full cabinet swap to accommodate. This type of thing requires considerable planning, however our team were able to complete the entire works list within the four hour maintenance window, which was an impressive feat. We also undertook a minor upgrade to our core node in Redcentric Shoreditch (formerly CLL), which brought the entire network upgrade project to completion. This comes as demand on our network grows rapidly, delivering world-class connectivity to clients across all of our on-net locations.

We also grew our fleet in spring, with the addition of an electric pick-up truck, and our own low-loader, which is perfect for rack migrations. The latter vehicle comes in a relatively rare specification for us, with extra height and a 750kg tail lift, which makes it absolutely ideal for the movement of fully populated racks – a game changer for most facility migration projects.

Fleet 002
The first addition was 002 – this is our electric pick up truck, which is perfect for trips between our various London PoPs
Fleet 003
The most recent addition to the fleet is 003 – this is our low loader with uprated tail lift, which makes for the perfect rack migration vehicle
These join 001 – our original van which is still our most utilised vehicles

As part of bringing Data Hall 4 online in May, we rolled out new cooling system architecture, which involved some adjustments to how the extraction side of the system works. We now have a twin-hall shared extraction plenum, with a centralised control system, which we believe to be the first of its kind for an evaporative system such as ours. This involved the expert design work of multiple teams, and will also be a part of the roll-out for Data Hall 3 later this year.

Further to this, we have additional cooling being deployed in all data halls in the next few weeks, through the modular installation of further evaporative coolers. Each room is growing from four CREC units, to six CREC units.


NLC closure and migration project

In May, we migrated all of the clients in our London Central facility to our new London East facility.

Read more about why we closed NLC here

This took many months of planning, however we were able to complete the physical migration process in just eight evening sessions – a real testament to our broad in-house capabilities.

All 126 enclosures were successfully transitioned to our London East facility (with a few landing in other on-net locations where required), with most racks moved in a fully-populated state. This allowed for minimal client disruption, and the fastest possible transition from one site to the other. The fastest migration window took just two hours, from power down at NLC, to being back online at NLE.

Here we have some photos of the now retired facility, which served our clients well for nearly a decade:

NLC
The main office and NOC at NLC, following strip-out and decommissioning
NLC
A look at Data Hall 1, following strip-out and decommissioning
NLC
A final look at the outside of NLC, following a full de-branding of the building

The end of an era, but the beginning of a truly special new chapter for Netwise, as we focus on our campus site, London East. We will be expanding this location significantly in the coming months – more on this very soon.


What’s next?

The biggest upcoming build work will be the onlining of Data Hall 3, the final hall in the current building at Netwise London East. Work will begin on this hall in the coming weeks. This will be the final component of Phase 2, before Phase 3 works begin in late 2024 / early 2025 – this will be a major development phase.

We hope to announce the next phase of works in an official capacity in the next few weeks.

Otherwise, we will continue to welcome new clients to our world-class facilities, along with the provision of assistance to existing clients looking to grow. This is an exciting time for Netwise, and we look forward to sharing more news with you very soon.

London East Phase 2 Development Update 5

It’s been another very busy stint of work over at Netwise London East, as we continue to deploy Data Hall 3 and Data Hall 4.

While we’ve taken a relatively lengthy break from the #BuildBlog since the last update, the same cannot be said for the development schedule itself, which has been continuing at pace without pause.

Let’s get straight to the photo updates:

Cabling
Before Christmas, we pulled in the supply cabling for both Data Halls 3 and 4
Cabling
The ground floor corridor – as with the first floor corridor – functions as the main arterial route for supply power to each hall
Cabling
Another view of the underfloor supply cabling within the ground floor corridor
Cabling
Once all cables are in position and cleated to the cable ladder, it can make for quite a satisfying photo opportunity – this is why we place glass floor tiles in certain locations throughout our facilities!
Cabling
The planning for routes and access for cables such as this is an involved process, requiring input from several areas of the overall design process
Cabling
Once the sub-floor room supply cabling is complete, in-room cabling can begin – here we see some of the large supply cables which will feed the new busbar system being deployed in the new halls
DH4
Here we see some of the infrastructure within Data Hall 4, in position and being commissioned – this view predominantly shows the A-side ODF as the main harness fibre is run in
DH4
Here we see the B-side ODF, ahead of termination and the internal fit-out beginning
DH4
This wide view shows the position of the backup / supplementary AC systems, as well as our new distribution board designs, as part of the new power delivery system being deployed in halls 3 and 4
DH4
This is a slightly closer view of the A-side distribution board, as well as the A-side supplementary CRAC
DH4
Here we see some of the complex containment work as part of the sub-floor power delivery system, ensuring all cable routes are carefully contained and managed
DH4
This view shows the new busbar / track system which is being used in halls 3 and 4
DH4
Here we see the B-side distribution board, alongside the dual-fed mechanical distribution board
DH4
The primary cooling system can be seen here, ahead of final commissioning – this is our CREC system, which is largely responsible for our world-leading PUE figures
DH4
Some of the systems that sit outside of the hall itself can be seen under commissioning here – this is the fire control panel, as cabling is put away
DH4
The A-side ODF again pictured here, shortly before all internal infrastructure is installed
DH4
Underfloor cabling has progressed further in this shot, showing additional routes dressed into place, and terminations about to begin
DH4
This internal view of the bottom section within the dual-fed mechanical board shows the enclosure empty, ahead of internal commissioning
Elec Test
We’ve added to our in-house electrical testing kit, as part of our recent NICEIC Approved Contractor status – more on this soon
Metering
We deployed some custom metering enclosures across our live data halls in the closing stages of 2023, which have been serving us with a host of power metrics ever since
LOTO Board
We’ve had a LOTO board custom made, which now sits outside of LV Room A – this serves as an enhanced electrical safety measure, as we continue to bolster our in-house capabilities across the board

This all sits alongside a whole host of additional organisation-wide projects, which includes the full upgrade of our entire core network, across all on-net locations. This will see the staged upgrade of all routing assets on our core network, to cope with ever-increasing demand from our clients. Telehouse has already been undertaken, with our London East site to follow in the next couple of weeks. Equinix LD8 will follow shortly thereafter.

We’ve also had another major round of development work undertaken on our customer portal. This predominantly concerns the backend of the system, with a custom IPAM administration and deployment module now live. We also have additions to the client-side coming very soon, which will improve the booking, tracking and handling of deliveries.

We’re tantalisingly close to announcing some very significant expansion news, but we’ll have to hold back on that for a little while longer – keep an eye on announcements in the coming weeks / months.

Team in focus: Nathan Desmond

We’re thrilled for you to meet Nathan Desmond, our Technical Manager.

Nathan Desmond

Nathan joined us from a fast-rising career in critical technology for a major UK retailer (the one with the excellent, tear-jerking Christmas adverts!), overseeing their internal data centre operations. Nathan’s broad experience across multiple disciplines will assist in taking the customer experience at Netwise to the next level, as we continue to grow our dedication to true in-house expertise.

Nathan joined the Netwise family in late 2022, and has been making an incredibly positive impact on our operation ever since. His addition to the core Netwise management team came as expansion continued at our London East facility, taking Data Hall 1 to capacity, welcoming a single client to Data Hall 2, and building out Data Halls 3 and 4.

Nathan has already proven invaluable in the continued development of bleeding-edge technology in and around our world-class data centres.

We very recently deployed a major upgrade to part of our core network, at our Supernode in Telehouse North. Nathan naturally played an integral role in the success of this roll-out, from planning, to physical adjustments, through to completion.

THN Engineering
We fully replaced one of the core routers on our network, which included a chassis replacement and a full complement of new line cards
THN Router
This type of critical operation is never easy, so having an expert like Nathan in your corner is always welcomed

You can expect to meet Nathan busy working across all corners of our data centre estate, keeping your mission-critical data centre services in tip-top shape. You may even find his expert input on the odd support ticket from time to time depending on the issue at hand.