An advanced cabling system from the Amp Netconnect business unit of Tyco Electronics forms the heart of the internal communications system at a new data centre for Fidessa group, a major international supplier of financial markets trading solutions.
The system, designed and installed by Maxima, an approved Amp Netconnect partner, includes both Category 6 UTP (unshielded twisted pair) copper and OM3 multimode 50/125 fibre-optic cabling, and is housed in a new purpose-built facility known as Sentrum IV on the outskirts of Woking, Surrey.
Fidessa group is a supplier of multi-asset trading, portfolio analysis, decision support, compliance, market data and connectivity solutions for firms involved in trading the world's financial markets. Headquartered in London and with regional operations across Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East, Fidessa supports over 24,000 users across 730 clients, serving a broad spectrum of customers from major investment banks and asset managers through to specialist niche brokers and hedge funds.
The nature of the company's business means its data-centre capabilities and the associated communications infrastructure are of vital importance, and the Sentrum IV facility is the latest and most advanced of these centres. In selecting the main contractor for the new centre, it was natural Fidessa should turn to Maxima, who have worked with Fidessa over a number of years – most recently on the company's GS2 data centre in London.
"The Maxima team has detailed knowledge of our requirements and the design and installation practices that we expect from our suppliers", comments Mark Brewer, production services manager at Fidessa: "Not only do they ensure that project installations always run smoothly: they are also willing and able to offer innovative solutions that relate specifically to the needs of our industry."
One of the specific requirements for the Sentrum IV data centre relates to the fact that Fidessa will use it as a showcase facility for existing and potential clients. This meant the public areas needed to be as clean and tidy as possible, with any cabling hidden away beneath floors or in purpose-designed cabinets. Maxima designed the sub-floor cable support system to ensure cable capacity was not compromised.
The installation proposed and implemented by Maxima includes a total of 125 APC server, communications and switch cabinets incorporating 250 intelligent power units, along with sixteen Amp Netconnect cross-connect central patch frames. The fully ISO/IEC 11801 compliant Category 6 copper and OM3 fibre cabling system includes over 9500 Category 6 AMP SL connections and over 6300 OM3 LC AMP connections.
The Class E/Category 6 UTP copper cabling system uses low-smoke zero-halogen sheathing, along with 24-port Hi-D angled patch panels with SL jacks to provide full RJ45 connectivity. To provide a degree of resilience, copper cabling is routed from each panel in groups of 12 cables and follows diverse cable routes. The copper cabling is housed in a containment system under a false floor. The use of pre-manufactured Tyco Electronics harness assemblies between the network switch cabinets and the Hi-D angled patch panels is an important factor in ensuring warranty compliance.
The OM3 fibre cabling system also uses low-smoke zero-halogen sheathing, and takes the form of individual 12- or 24-core cables linking 24- or 12-way duplex panels. As with the copper cabling, the fibre cables are diversely routed between cabinets.