Data centre infrastructure: Ready to meet all needs

After a year of preparations, construction started in July 2024. When fully developed, the data centre should cover an area of 2,000 square metres and provide space for 28,000 customer servers. A total of 40 million euros will be invested in the project. The aim is to create a highly functional data centre that combines security, reliability and sustainability and sets new standards for digital infrastructure in Lower Saxony.

The security concept includes state-of-the-art air conditioning technology, fire prevention and round-the-clock monitoring at an internal control room, together with multiple redundant connections to the fibre-optic network. This project is expressly geared towards companies with extremely exacting requirements in terms of data security and reliability and operators of critical infrastructures, such as municipal utilities or hospitals. That is why the operator is also aiming to obtain a range of security certifications, including the second-highest security level set out in the European data centre standard.

To address sustainability-related issues, the facade will be planted with vegetation, thereby also ensuring natural air conditioning. What is more, the power supply will consist entirely of renewable energies, including from the facility's own solar power system, while preparations have been made for a waste heat extraction solution.

The provided data centre services extend from the reservation of dedicated rack solutions through to private areas in the access-controlled server cage.

This new construction project on a greenfield site made it possible to integrate state-of-the-art technologies and concepts in the planning – something which is not possible in retrofit projects, in which existing installations are further developed and existing topologies have to be taken into account.

However, this does not mean there were no challenges to overcome. One of these related to the flexibility required from the internal cabling. This is because it is difficult to assess customers’ needs in advance, in particular in the case of customers who want to use server cages. As a result, the infrastructure had to be planned in a way that catered for the widest possible range of use cases without the need for any significant modifications. In this area, the partners in the project were able to call on the experience gained by envia TEL in the construction of Data Centre II in Leipzig.

The 19-inch panel system is available in a number of variants with different port counts and configurations in 1, 2, 3 or 5 HU and depths of 200 or 300 mm. The system includes distribution panels that can accommodate all types of factory-assembled cables, as well as splice panels. These stand out for having a low fire load due to their reduced plastic content and they can be adapted quickly and flexibly to new requirements. The hybrid use of both fibre-optic and copper cables is also possible.

Thus, for example, the PreCONNECT^® SMAP-G2 SD only takes up 2 HU. The top half of the connections are protected by a silver blank panel until the point when the ports are needed for a further extension. This protection can then be removed without the need for tools thanks to the two captive fast-locking mechanisms. After that, all that has to be done is to route the other trunks into the panel.

Installation and service activities are simplified by both the modular design and the PreCONNECT^® square interface, which permits tool-free fixing of the trunk cables. There are also a large number of easily replaceable back planes that can be used to provide cable support.

If the switches need to be swapped for devices with a different connector face as part of a future technology update, then it is not necessary to remove the patch distributor. Instead, the part front plates with brush plates can be replaced by plates with SN connections. The trunks can also continue to be used with patchcords, meaning that the technology installed here not only reliably safeguards the initial investment but also permits easy, low-cost conversion.

In addition to compliance with all occupational safety regulations, the customer also attached particular importance to the clearly defined planning of each stage of the works throughout the entire course of the project. This was essential due to the need to coordinate all activities with the other professions involved, for example for the installation of the air conditioning. Close cooperation with the Project Manager, envia TEL, and the prime contractor was therefore vital. The latter had to approve all decisions, meaning that delays due to other professionals running late could also be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.

Successful commissioning

All the acceptance procedures have now been completed and the infrastructure has been approved. As a result, the marketing of the white space areas was recently able to get underway and some of these are now occupied. Initially, a space of approximately 1,000 square metres is available. If required, this can be extended to a possible total of 2,000 square metres in a second construction phase – together with a proven cabling concept.