With the co-location data centre market a significant area of growth for Siemon and an increasing number of clients outsourcing their equipment and data into co-location facilities, Intelligent CIO spoke to Prem Rodrigues, the company’s Director of Sales and Marketing for the Middle East, India and SAARC, to find out more about the sector.
How important is speed of deployment for co-location customers?
Within the data centre environment, especially within switch-to-switch backbone links to the core and to the storage area network (SAN), there is immense pressure to handle extreme data volumes. To process this data, switch-to-switch optical fibre links are rapidly migrating from 10 Gb/s to 40 and 100 Gb/s and beyond.
Large co-location and hyperscale data centres where backbone links often exceed the 100-metre (m) maximum link length supported by multimode equipment are looking to deploy optimised-reach (i.e 500 metre) singlemode data centre solutions as a singlemode deployment could turn out to be their most cost-effective option while offering the high speeds they require.
What advantage can co-location providers gain from Siemon’s global infrastructure?
Siemon understands that the needs of colo providers are significantly more complex than those of an enterprise data centre, and meeting customer demand for immediate service is critical to guaranteeing SLAs.
Part of Siemon’s WheelHouse Advanced Data Center Solutions, Siemon’s innovative data centre design services, pre-terminated cable assemblies and V-Built preconfigured data centre cabinets, value-added logistics and project management programmes allow co-location customers to work with Siemon’s technical team to understand the colo and end-user’s needs to determine the bill of materials and offer cost savings with custom kitted data centre networking, server or storage cabinets.
These cabinets can be equipped with pre-terminated copper cable assemblies, and/or plug and play fibre cabling infrastructure, pre-installed patch panels, fibre enclosures, cable management and power distribution units (PDUs) that are ready for active equipment. These value-added programmes, offered as a complimentary service by Siemon, will help speed deployment time and maximise efficiency for a fast and reliable service.
How can Siemon support clients undertaking ‘roll-outs’ to multi-tenant facilities?
Siemon’s V-Built preconfigured data centre cabinets are ideal for rolling out a multi-tenant facility. These cabinets are preloaded with Siemon components such as fibre or copper connectivity, PDUs, cable management or other accessories.
The cabinets are pre-assembled and packaged at one of Siemon’s manufacturing facilities, arriving on site ready for final connections to be made and active equipment to be installed.
Rather than receiving several different components and needing to locate and install each one in its specific cabinet, preconfigured data centre cabinets speed data centre deployment, reducing the labour and time required to go live.
What advice would you give to providers of co-location data centres looking to upgrade: (A) Cabling products (B) Fibre optics (C) Cabinets?
(A) Cabling products
For data centre switch-to-server connections, Siemon recommends deployment of Category 6A balanced twisted-pair copper shielded cabling supporting 10GBASE-T. With cabling channel lengths supported up to 100 metres, Category 6A is well suited to support a variety of architectures for these connections, including top of rack, middle of row and end of row configurations.
In addition, interconnect assemblies support ultra high-speed point-to-point applications in the data centre. Siemon’s SFP+, QSFP+ interfaces, high density CXP and hybrid assemblies, for example, support up to 100 Gb/s across an array of application standards.
(B) Fibre optics
When we look at multimode and singlemode fibre applications, the foreseeable future will be dominated by 2- and 8-fibre solutions. While most of the MPO connectors on the market today are 12-fibre connectors, the use of 12-fibre MPO solutions for 8-fibre applications means that four fibres or 33% of the optical fibre goes unused.
Co-location providers looking to upgrade their fibre infrastructures are advised to deploy 8-fibre MPO solutions (Base 8) which provide a much more efficient and cost-effective method to support current and future duplex and 8-fibre applications without wasting any fibre and eliminating the need for conversion cords or modules.
8-fibre MPO solutions support current 8-fibre 40 and 100 Gigabit applications such as 40GBASE-SR4 and 100GBASE-SR4 and also provide an easy migration path to next generation 200 Gb/s and 400 Gb/s applications.
(C) Cabinets
Co-location providers are looking to accommodate as many tenants as possible in their facilities but available floor space is often a limiting factor. A careful choice of cabinets can help maximise existing space within the cages and when looking to upgrade, Siemon recommends deployment of wider cabinets such as the VersaPOD instead of smaller width 600mm cabinets.
Siemon’s VersaPOD cabinets feature zero-u vertical space between bayed cabinets for cable management and shorter patching, freeing up critical space inside the cabinet for active equipment. When this vertical zero-u space can be shared between bayed cabinets, the equipment in both cabinets can share the connectivity and PDUs mounted in this space.
In this scenario, PDUs and networking connections only need to be installed in every other cabinet, essentially cutting the number of PDUs and patch panels in half. This ultimately reduces stranded power outlets by 75% and results in a 46% cost savings due to fewer cabinets, PDUs and patch panels and the ability to use shorter patch cords.
At the same time, wider cabinets allow for higher power allocation per cabinet, reduction in the number of VersaPOD cabinets needed compared to 600mm cabinets, reduction in stranded PDU power outlets that can support a larger number of servers, helping tenants grow vertically within their confined spaces.
Being that Siemon supply cabling products, fibre optics and cabinets, how can the company ‘bring together’ these products for customers?
Siemon offers V-Built preconfigured cabinets, that are predesigned with copper and fibre connectivity, cable management, PDUs and even thermal accessories like blanking panels, brush guards and fans to meet the specific needs of the customers. V-Builts bring together Siemon components to deliver a preloaded cabinet that can be designed based on function or application, or designed based on capacity, such as 5kW or 10kW cabinets.
Siemon offers ‘turn key’ products. What are the advantages of these?
With its WheelHouse advanced data centre solutions, Siemon addresses critical aspects in the data centre environment including manageability, flexibility, density and thermal efficiency for energy savings. Siemon’s pre-terminated twisted-pair copper and fibre cabling systems, for example, are factory terminated for guaranteed performance levels and help reduce installation time by up to 75% compared to field-terminated links.
With its comprehensive Base 8 and Base 12 pre-terminated fibre systems, including LightStack, Siemon provides ultra-high density cabling solutions and the innovative LC BladePatch connector with push-pull activation enables easy access in high density patching areas. Siemon’s full line of cabinet solutions has been designed with design flexibility, space and cost savings in mind – from the core and distribution area, to the customer cage.
How can Siemon help customers with packaging waste after deployment?
V-Built preconfigured cabinets are ideal for reducing waste. With preloaded components, there is no need to unpack dozens of boxes, which makes V-Built a greener option. In fact, today’s co-location data centres are banning the presence of cardboard in the whitespace altogether, requiring a separate staging space or off-site location for unpacking and mounting of components. Pre-terminated copper and fibre assemblies also reduce on-site waste as any scrap from the termination process is recycled by Siemon.
Is the co-location data centre market a growth area for the company?
The co-location market is a significant area of growth for Siemon. Siemon is seeing an increasing number of clients outsourcing their equipment and data into these facilities. This is an area of strength for Siemon as they have been experts in the data centre space for many years and can add value to both the co-location market and our clients making the move to these facilities.
Siemon has built a team exclusively for the specialised needs of hyperscale, co-location and services providers. What can you tell us about this?
Siemon’s technical experts and hyperscale champions work directly with hyperscale, co-location and cloud data centre providers to ensure they have access to the cabling solutions they need to succeed. These customers have direct access to Siemon’s technical team to collaborate on selecting components or designing customised and kitted solutions with fibre type, performance level, hybrid, staggering, colour coding and custom labelling and packaging options.
What benefits do co-location data centres bring to enterprises seeking data centre services?
Most enterprise customers aren’t in the data business, but it is a required cost of doing business. Making the move into a co-location facility offers a significant number of advantages – moving from a capex to an opex model, security and compliance, speed of deployment, and being more agile as your business needs change. Co-location facilities have the expertise to help with as much or as little as an enterprise customer would like. This allows a business to focus on using their employees in other aspects to drive revenue for their organisation.
