High-performance and space-saving solution
Datwyler Cabling Systems for City of Zurich Data Centres
2 aug 2012
The City of Zurich is using top quality Datwyler cabling systems in the conversion and construction of its data centres. Thanks to largely pre-assembled solutions TurnKey Communication AG has been able to implement quick, space-saving installations which will also allow reliable transmission of future applications. On the two data centre sites the installation teams created altogether around 10,000 fibre optic and 4200 copper links.
Zurich Organisation and Informatics (OIZ) is the city’s centre of IT expertise, responsible for the provision of basic IT services and interdepartmental IT projects. As part of the municipal IT strategy, which is based on standardisation and consolidation, OIZ has built a second data centre in the metropolitan area, in the industrial area of Hagenholz, for the redundant provision of key components in parallel to the data centre in Albisrieden.
At the end of August 2011 the city of Zurich awarded Maréchaux Elektro AG the contract for communications cabling to both data centre sites. This company commissioned TurnKey Communication AG to carry out the detailed planning and the cabling work for the project. Turnkey collaborated with Datwyler in selecting a new premium quality cabling solution.
The fibre optic (FO) system is a modularly expandable solution recently developed by Datwyler, allowing packing densities of up to 96 fibres per rack unit (U). It is based on sub-racks fitted with pre-assembled slide-in cassettes (FO modules). On the back of each of these modules are two MTP couplers, and they are cabled with MTP mini-trunks. At the front they provide OIZ with twelve LC Duplex or E2000 connections as required. The 10G-capable copper cabling installed in parallel consists of Category 7 type CU 7702 4P data cables and IEC Standard-compliant Cat. 6ARJ45 modules, pre-assembled to one end. The other end was terminated on-site.
The FO trunk variants used in the data centre sites include trunks with 12, 24, 48, 72 and 144 fibres, pre-assembled with MTP, LCD or E2000 connectors. In the central distribution racks the mini-trunks – almost all of them with bend-optimised OM3 multimode fibres – are lined up with 1500 FO modules in 270 sub-racks with 4U (including patch management tray) and in the server racks in 210 FO panels with 1U. For the termination of the copper cables Datwyler supplied 135 3U sub-racks with 1160 modular 6-port front panels and 285 1U panels with 24 ports. The scope of the delivery also included 13,300 FO duplex and 9100 copper patch cables for the connection of active devices.
Acceptance testing of more than 14,000 links in total was carried out on completion of each construction phase, most recently in spring 2012. Thanks to the MTP Elite ferrules and the very precise connector configuration used by Datwyler, the cables and modules achieved excellent insertion and return loss values which far exceeded the already high quality standards set by OIZ.
This is how Patrick Eggeler, Manager of Data Centre New Buildings & Operation at OIZ, summed up the experience: "The cabling installed in our data centres is a really top quality and comparatively economical system solution which will reliably transmit all our future applications. It was flawlessly implemented and handed over on time. We are also very satisfied with the planning support by TurnKey and Datwyler, and with the services rendered in relation to the installation."
