DATA CENTRE CONNECTIVITY

CENELEC EN 50173-5

How the physical infrastructure is changing

Data Centre Design Requirements

Correct management of the data center’s physical layer infrastructure can have a direct impact on network operation and facilities

Advanced cabling solutions that allow for adaptive design of the physical infrastructure to meet unique data centre requirements is the key to success

Solutions that provide data center’s with a flexible solution that will extend the life of the cable plant, reduce obsolescence, and offer a clear upgrade path to future applications

Challenges of a Data Centre

Managing Downtime – Planned or OutagesAssessing remote back up requirements

Company Technology RoadmapCurrent & future technology requirementsMainstream or early adopter

Environmental Control / Fire PreventionUse of high-density storage & server technologiesIncreased demand for power and coolingVentilation – “Hot Spots”

Challenges of a Data Centre

Redundancy and diversityFor HVAC, electrical, water, etc.

Tiered SecurityPush-button entry pads, electronic swipe cards, advanced biometric scanning devices

EN50173-5 Data Centre Cabling

IT Cabling only as an extension to the main EN 50173 standard

Approval expected Mid 2006

EN 50173-5 Standards Referenced

EN 50346Information technology

Cabling installationTesting of installed cabling

EN 50310Application of equipotential bonding

and earthing in buildings with informationtechnology equipment

EN 50174-2Information technology

Cabling installation: Installationplanning and practices inside buildings

EN50174-3Information technology

Installation planning and practicesoutside buildings

EN 50174-1Information technology

Cabling installationSpecification and quality assurance

EN 50173-5Information technology

Generic cablingData Centres

EN 50173-1Information technology

Generic cablingGeneral requirements

EN 50173-5: Data Centre Cabling Overview

EQP

ENI MD ZD LDP EO

EquipmentCabling

Maindistribution

Cablingsubsystem

Zone distributionCabling subsystem

NetworkAccessCabling

subsystem

Distributor in accordance

with EN 50173-1

Generic cabling systemENI: External Network Interface LDP: Local Distribution PointMD: Main Distributor EO: Equipment OutletZD: Zone Distributor EQP: Equipment

Hierarchical structure of generic cabling

EO EO EOEOEOEO EO EO EO EO

LDPLDPLDPLDP

ZD ZD

MD

ENI ENI

Distributor in accordance with EN 50173-1

Network access cabling subsystem

Main distribution cabling subsystem

Zone distribution cabling subsystem

Optional cables

EN 50173-5: Data Centre Cabling Overview

Class E minimum performance balanced copper channel plus Alien Crosstalk requirements

Physical length of channel shall not exceed 100 metres, 90 metre fixed cable length shall depend on the length of cords used.

When using an LDP these should be positioned at least 15 metres from the ZD.

When 4 connections are used in a channel the physical length of the network access cable should be at least 15 metres

Recommended patch cord length extended from 5 to 10m

Optional links allowed between LDP’s for added resilience

EN 50173-5: Data Centre Cabling OverviewIndustry standard duplex SFF connector for use at ENI

» telecom services require >55dB return loss for Singlemode» LC connector expected to be used in majority of cases

Industry standard duplex SFF connector for use at EO» either LC or MT-RJ connectors may be used

OF-300 (OM2 or OM3) minimum performance fibre channel

RJ-45 Cat 6 connector adopted for use at EO with 4 pairs

Terra & RJ-45 Cat 7 connectors for use at EO with 4 pairs

Wish to support up to 8 optical connectors per channel

Critical Considerations for Physical Infrastructure

Security• Safe from external and internal attacks• Reduce risk: likelihood, frequency & impact of loss events

Reliability• to meet required service levels• more critical applications

Management• reduce operating costs• provide a “complete”

view if the networkScalability• reduce capital expenditure• ease expansion• support new applications

Data Centre Connectivity Requirements

Network Efficiency - High performance, reliable, stable, high density (low profile) solution. Effective overall operation.Manageability - Increased control of the data centre infrastructure.Flexibility - Quick and easy moves and changesScalability - Fast and easy provisioning of connectivity equals a more efficient deployment of system equipment. Scalable bandwidth 10/100/1G/10G

Ventilation “Hot Spots”

COLDAISLE

HOTAISLE

Area of a data center where heat builds up due to one or more contributing factors such as heat dissipation from equipmentor a poor cooling design

Equipment layout- Front to front on cold aisle w/perforated floor tiles blowing cool air – dissipated w/equipment fan

Back to back on hot aisle w/solid floor tiles using fan exhausts

Eliminate Hot Spots

Fibre Cabling in Today’s Data centreLAN/SAN Environment

h

G

6

S

G =S R N = D

SDPROLIANT 1850R

SDPROLIANT 1850R

SDPROLIANT 1850R

SD

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

10/100 BASE TX

1 2

3

5411 Enterprise Switch

POWERMGMT

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 11

22

33

33

3RR

1000 BASE X

AMBER = GREEN =

FLASHING GREEN =

ACTIVITY LINK OK DISABLED

SD

Catalyst8500

Power Supply 0CISCO YSTEMSS Power Supply 1

SwitchProcessor

SERIES

SD

Cisco 1720

BRIS/T

CONSOLE

AUXWIC 0 OK

OK

B2

B1

WIC 1 OK

DSUCPU

LNK100FDX

S3

LOOP

LP

SD

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

10/100 BASE TX

1 2

3

5411 Enterprise Switch

POWERMGMT

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 11

22

33

33

3RR

1000 BASE X

AMBER = GREEN =

FLASHING GREEN =

ACTIVITY LINK OK DISABLED

SAN Server Cabinet MDA

SAN Switch

Storage

Edge Switch

DistributionSwitch

Router

Server(s)

SAN

LAN

LAN

Structured vs. Unstructured Cabling Solutions

Server racks The cabling starts with a few connections . . .

Storage

• No defined cable paths

• Changes made at active equipment

• Problem determination difficult

• System growth can be impacted

• Mess under the floor

And this is how it ends up . . .

Switch racks

Star Topology Back to MDASAN Server Cabinet MDA

SDPROLIANT 1850R

SDPROLIANT 1850R

SDPROLIANT 1850R

SD

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

10/100 BASE TX

1 2

3

5411 Enterprise Switch

POWERMGMT

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 11

22

33

33

3RR

1000 BASE X

AMBER = GREEN =

FLASHING GREEN =

ACTIVITY LINK OK DISABLED

SD

Catalyst8500

Power Supply 0CISCO YSTEMSS Power Supply 1

SwitchProcessor

SERIES

SD

Cisco 1720

BRIS/T

CONSOLE

AUXWIC 0 OK

OK

B2B1

WIC 1 OK

DSUCPU

LNK100FDX

S3

LOOP

LP

SD

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

10/100 BASE TX

1 2

3

5411 Enterprise Switch

POWERMGMT

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 11

22

33

33

3RR

1000 BASE X

AMBER = GREEN =

FLASHING GREEN =

ACTIVITY LINK OK DISABLED

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19 20 21 22 23 2413 14 15 16 17 187 8 9 10 11 121 2 3 4 5 6

43 44 45 46 47 4837 38 39 40 41 4231 32 33 34 35 3625 26 27 28 29 30

19 20 21 22 23 2413 14 15 16 17 187 8 9 10 11 121 2 3 4 5 6

43 44 45 46 47 4837 38 39 40 41 4231 32 33 34 35 3625 26 27 28 29 30

19 20 21 22 23 2413 14 15 16 17 187 8 9 10 11 121 2 3 4 5 6

43 44 45 46 47 4837 38 39 40 41 4231 32 33 34 35 3625 26 27 28 29 30

19 20 21 22 23 2413 14 15 16 17 187 8 9 10 11 121 2 3 4 5 6

43 44 45 46 47 4837 38 39 40 41 4231 32 33 34 35 3625 26 27 28 29 30

Equip Distribution

Equip DistributionEquip Distribution

Equ

ip D

istri

butio

n

Cabling/Access

Structured vs. Unstructured Cabling Solutions• Value Proposition• Value Proposition

200 Jumper Cables200 Jumper Cables 3 Trunk Cables3 Trunk Cables

Point-to-PointJumper Cable InstallationPoint-to-PointJumper Cable Installation

Structured Optical Cabling SolutionStructured Optical Cabling Solution

Source: IBM

Careful Planning of Data Centres

Careful Planning is essential

All components used should be designed to work together

Flexibility is key to ensure future requirements are met

Poor planning can lead to extra costs when changes are required

New Challenges for the “Heart” of the Enterprise New and retro-fit designs• Cooling, power, and grounding become even more critical • Cable management in “premium space” • Rack space “conservation” - BIG hardware• Security is “top of mind”

– Bullet-proof glass– Biometric authentication– 24x7 video surveillance– Redundant generators (90 day fuel supply)– 50k sq. ft. bunker for 25 megaton nuke blast

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING