Practical approaches to implementing efficient installation projects

Installation projects in data centers require precise planning, the highest technical standards, and efficient execution. A central element in this is cabling – it ensures stable connections, high performance, and long-term operational reliability.

In an interview with Samuel Premkumar, Senior Executive for Services at Rosenberger OSI, we discuss how standards, testing, and performance verification ensure the success of installation projects.

Table of contents:

• What cabling solutions are typically used during data center installation?
• What role do preassembled plug-&-play solutions play in ensuring efficiency during installation?
• How do you make sure that the cabling meets the required performance standards?
• What statutory and industry standards have to be taken into consideration during a data center installation?
• How is fiber-optic cabling tested and documented?
• What tests are performed after the installation to ensure that the systems function correctly? How is the IT infrastructure checked for errors prior to commissioning?

We make use of various cabling solutions during our data center installation activities depending on the customer’s specific requirements and instructions:

• Rosenberger OSI products: Rosenberger OSI products are an important element in our cabling solutions.
• Third-party products: We also use third-party products whenever this is necessary or requested by the customer. For example, these include plastic duct systems and metal ducts, which are important for guiding and organizing the cables. PDU’s (Power Distribution Units) and IT hardware such as Rack & Stack racks are also used depending on the project requirements. These solutions are often needed in order to create a flexible, scalable infrastructure.
• Finally, we are also guided by the customer’s specifications when it comes to choosing the right cabling solution that not only meets the technical requirements but also responds to the project’s practical constraints.

Preassembled plug-&-play solutions play a decisive role in improving efficiency during installation. Thanks to these solutions, there is no longer any need to splice or painstakingly join cables on site, because these have already been assembled and are ready for immediate use. This means considerable time savings for the installation teams, since they no longer have to worry about complex preparations and adaptations.

In many projects, these preassembled products have now become very common and are offered as standard. The cables and connections arrive at the project in the required form, thereby simplifying and speeding up the entire process. In particular, the task of splicing, which used to take up a lot of time, is now eliminated, making on-site assembly considerably faster and more efficient.

During a data center installation, we must make sure that we comply with all the relevant statutory and industry standards in order to ensure both security and the long-term operability of the infrastructure. These are the most important standards that we take into account:

EN 50600: This standard is relevant for the planning and operation of data centers and covers a range of aspects, such as building structure, energy efficiency, climate control and security requirements. This standard may play a vital role depending on the project requirements.

EN 50173/74: These standards apply to the cabling structure for communication systems and define the specifications for the data cabling and its installation. They are particularly important for the correct planning and implementation of networks and communication systems in data centers.

German Construction Tendering and Contract Regulations (VOB): It is necessary to respect the provisions of the German Construction Tendering and Contract Regulations with regard to structural or infrastructural aspects such as extensions to existing spaces or the installation of ducts and cables. This standard is particularly relevant with reference to tendering and the award of contracts.

Additional standards or special requirements may also apply depending on the type of requirement or invitation to tender. We make sure that all relevant provisions are fulfilled in order to guarantee a trouble-free, standards-compliant installation procedure.

A number of important steps are involved in the testing and documentation of fiber-optic cabling. First of all, measurement reports are produced ex works as standard in order to ensure the quality of the fiber-optic cabling. Following installation, the cabling is checked again on site, generally using a so-called pointer that permits an optical inspection of the cabling to ensure that it has been installed correctly.

If requested by the customer, it is also possible to perform acceptance measurements using special equipment such as an OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer) or an attenuation tester in order to obtain detailed measured values. In the case of copper cabling, cable analysers such as the Fluke DSX 8000 are used to check quality and compliance with standards.

The measurement reports are usually made available in electronic form, but can also be supplied as hardcopy if required. As far as the documentation of the cabling is concerned, panels and the entire infrastructure are carefully labelled so that the role and function of each element is clear. Finally, the cables and their positions are documented and made available either in the customer’s systems (for example, DCIM) or in the form of Excel tables in order to ensure seamless traceability.

Following installation, the systems undergo extensive functional testing to make sure that everything is working correctly. The material supplied by Rosenberger OSI is already measured ex works before it arrives at the customer’s premises – this is the case for both fiber-optic and copper connections since these are plug-and-play systems. This provides a guarantee that the underlying quality and correct functioning of the cabling were inspected prior to installation.

The dual-monitoring principle is applied throughout installation in order to guarantee the quality of the work. This means that the installation work is always monitored and inspected by two people in order to identify errors at an early stage.

At the customer’s request, further special tests can additionally be performed on-site, although this incurs additional costs. These measures include, for example:

• Optical inspection of the connector front faces using a video microscope to make sure that the connectors are not damaged or dirty.
• Use of a pointer to check the light path through the fiber-optic cables in order to make sure that there are no interruptions to or interference with the signal flow.
• ODTR measurements (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer) performed on-site to measure the attenuation and state of the fiber-optic connections.
• Attenuation measurements performed on-site to ensure that the optical and electrical signals are transmitted correctly and that no faults are present.
• Cat 7 measurement for copper trunks. This checks the performance capabilities of the copper connections and ensures that they meet the requirements for high transmission speeds.

These additional tests help identify potential sources of error and make it possible to check that the IT infrastructure is free from any anomalies prior to final commissioning.