Multi-tenant data centers (MTDCs) are the hubs where businesses and service providers connect, forming the network of connections that allows information to flow to users across the internet. While rent for space and power accounts for 85 to 90% of MTDC revenue, the heart of the MTDC is the meet-me-room (MMR) where the interconnections take place.
MTDC operators face a number of business challenges. According to the former CTO of one of the leading MTDCs some of the top challenges include the fact that disconnects hog up fiber cable trays, provisioning time is longer than desired, the speed and cost of reprovisioning is high, and the concern for disaster recovery. Much of the issues stated above are attributable to the fact that fiber interconnects are still provisioned manually. All these concerns can be solved by automating the provisioning of cross-connects in the MTDC meet-me-room
Figure 1: Notes from a meeting with the former CTO of a large MTDC operator
Fiber runs from customer cages to the data center's meet-me-room are contained and organized using overhead raceways. As new interconnections are ordered by customers over time, fiber optic cables are added on top of the pre-existing fibers in the cable trays. When a connection is deprovisioned, the unused fiber may be buried under a year's worth of new cables, making it nearly impossible to remove. Over time this causes the overhead cable trays to become full and overflowing. Because MTDCs frequently have numerous data halls on a single site to allow development, the issue of overflowing trays also affects the fiber ducts between buildings. These also become full, creating a need for new and expensive ducts to be constructed between data halls.
It also takes time to manually provision interconnections. Typical service level agreements for provisioning are from 3 days to a week or more. While the actual technician time in front of the manual patch panel may be only an hour or two to perform and test the cross-connect, there are multiple steps in the process to get this set up, scheduled, implemented, and recorded. In fact, one MTDC is reported to have a 17-page checklist to execute each cross connect. While cross-connects can be performed in 24 hours or less for expedited service, this can be very expensive for customers who need this capability.
While much of the discussion on interconnection focuses on the initial set up of the cross connect, the disconnection and re-provisioning aspect may be even more critical to smooth operation of the MTDC. While a new cross-connect brings revenue to the MTDC, removing a cross-connect is a cost with a loss of revenue. For this reason, minimal effort is made to remove the physical connection and often a disconnect is only recorded in the billing module. This can cause problems in the future when a new connection is desired at the patch panel port, since the technician may not know if the port is active or not. Minimal effort on the disconnect process also leads to inventory errors that compound over time, creating additional problems in the MMR.
Finally, MTDC operators commit to service level agreements that state a very high operating percentage with penalties for extended outages. MTDCs must have a disaster recovery plan to meet these high SLAs even in the face of power outages, weather incidents or other issues. Clearly having the ability to remotely test and dynamically re-connect fibers will be critical for disaster recovery.
Telescent has designed and built a large-scale, low-loss robotic cross-connect that can solve the challenges listed above. The Telescent Network Topology ManagerTM (NTM) allows connections, reconfigurations and disconnections to be handled remotely while offering ultra-low loss and latching performance just like a regular fiber patch panel. The Telescent system also includes a power monitor as well as optional equipment such as an OTDR so the fiber can be tested prior to completing a cross-connect and also monitored and diagnosed remotely in the case of a customer concern. Use of the Telescent robotic patch-panel also eliminates human mistakes, meaning the correct connection is made every time, Tx/Rx connections won’t be flipped, and the inventory will be 100% accurate. The Telescent system has been certified to NEBS Level 3, has completed many customer trials simulating a 10-year lifetime, and has over 1 billion port hours in live traffic operation, which is important for remote operation in critical functions. The Telescent NTM has full API control and can easily be integrated into existing SDN control of network functions.
Reconnection with the Telescent NTM is accomplished by modifying the fiber connections within the Telescent system while keeping the external fiber connections the same. This eliminates the requirement for external fiber connections to be replaced, preventing overflowing cable trays and the need for new conduits between data halls. The Telescent system can provision a new cross-connect in minutes rather than days, while also automating the other record-keeping tasks. With simple commands delivered to the Telescent NTM, disconnecting and reprovisioning cross-connects is a breeze. In the event of a power outage, the Telescent system provides latched connections to maintain connectivity with remote diagnostic capabilities to remotely test the cross connects afterward.
Contact Telescent today to learn more about how the Telescent robotic patch panel with built-in diagnostic equipment can improve your operations and address the challenges facing MTDC operators.