[flyboy70]

Hi guys, i am responsible for our global technical datacenter design, and we are now opening an office in Vancouver. with nearly 200 datacenters worldwide, we have our standard infrastructure etc (single rack locations all the way to Tier 3 DCs), but in Canada, things seem to be VERY different -

"Telus" is dictating that their provider equipment MUST be mounted on a plywood backboard supplied via UPS power, and NOT rackmount.



This seems extremely outdated, and considering that all our rooms are at least rated to F90 including active fire suppression, and full electrical/static grounding etc, i simply cant understand this decision.



Can i ask any of you "Low Voltage" guys in Canada if this is a STANDARDS requirement, or simply that the guys dont know how to mount their equipment in proper racks? All of our racks are equipped with OM3/OM4 Fiber patch panels, Dual UPS systems with fully managed PDUs etc - so i dont know if i MUST comply with this request or do i have grounds to have it done "properly" ...



Also please let me know what equipment MUST be backboard mounted, and what CAN be rack mounted?



many thanks


Nigel.

 

[splatz]

I can't say how it works in Canada but in the US, that sounds normal for the telcos / carriers. As public utilities they get to set their own specs, you'd have to take it up with the state if you want to dispute them. Their specs are actually usually based on some pretty sound engineering so you'd have a tough time winning that one.

On the other hand you do occasionally catch their people making policies up as they go along that are NOT part of any spec, and you can call them on that and win.

In the US I think their Bellcore specs may require a 3/4" plywood back board with gray flame re-tardant paint. A lot of their equipment is made to wall mount, not rack mount.

In many facilities, the telco / ISP copper and fiber enters the building the same place as the other utilities. Some of the grounding and bonding requirements are a real hairball if you try to make a separate service entrance in the data center the demarcation.

What I seem to see is a backboard where the services enter in close proximity to the other utility service entrances, and the fiber extended to the data center.

Of course I wouldn't assume what I see is what's being done with the biggest bestest newest data centers.

There are IT guys that look at too much cable **** on reddit, they get super pissed at anything that messes up their IT gallery - you aren't one of those guys are you @flyboy70?

 

[flyboy70]

Thanks

Thanks - and no i am not one of those guys who get upset at the cabling - i just don't want to have vital business critical connections placed in a small difficult to get to area under a staircase, without electronic access control (where anyone can access), just because the providers don't want to install the "last mile" in our modern datacenter wall

 

[splatz]

Thanks - and no i am not one of those guys who get upset at the cabling - i just don't want to have vital business critical connections placed in a small difficult to get to area under a staircase, without electronic access control (where anyone can access), just because the providers don't want to install the "last mile" in our modern datacenter wall

A building I did a couple years ago had a pain in the ass setup. There is a room on one corner of the building for all the service entrances. That room is actually pretty nice, but it has a separate outside entrance and the tenants don't have a key, they have to make arrangements with the property management company to get in there.

I recommended building a wiring closet on the other side of the wall, and putting the carrier demarcations in that closet, and extending everything from there to the server room, but that did not fly. It wasn't the money, they wouldn't part with the space. So, short outages sometimes become long outages. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[flyboy70]

A building I did a couple years ago had a pain in the ass setup. There is a room on one corner of the building for all the service entrances. That room is actually pretty nice, but it has a separate outside entrance and the tenants don't have a key, they have to make arrangements with the property management company to get in there.

I recommended building a wiring closet on the other side of the wall, and putting the carrier demarcations in that closet, and extending everything from there to the server room, but that did not fly. It wasn't the money, they wouldn't part with the space. So, short outages sometimes become long outages. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Just strange that we generally don't have these issues, in all other countries - from europe, asia to south america - just the northern neighbors of central america seem to "do it differently" hihi

 

[wcord]

"Normally" the demark location is in the main electrical room. The telecom equipment is mounted on a piece of plywood. ( supposedly painted with fireproof paint). From their main termination point, the cables can go to whatever equipment you have, rack or wall mount.

I guess the plywood is a hold over from way back when telecom equipment was all wall mount and they needed something secure to screw to.

I have a condo project starting where the telco wants a 4'x4' piece to mount 1 piece which measures less than 12 inches :surprise::surprise:

 

[908Eng]

"Normally" the demark location is in the main electrical room. The telecom equipment is mounted on a piece of plywood. ( supposedly painted with fireproof paint). From their main termination point, the cables can go to whatever equipment you have, rack or wall mount.

I guess the plywood is a hold over from way back when telecom equipment was all wall mount and they needed something secure to screw to.

I have a condo project starting where the telco wants a 4'x4' piece to mount 1 piece which measures less than 12 inches :surprise::surprise:

And CATV won't share a plywood backer with Telephone. Neither will share with security / surveillance / I/T.

Around here Telus won't pull anything through a conduit unless it is 4" or larger.

BUT....

If the TELCO or CATV are potentially looking at gaining customers in something like a condo building, they'll take whatever tiny closets, conduits, or backers that we give them regardless of size. They get a little grumpy but ultimately they always cave. Their unbreakable specs are pretty flexible if they are trying to edge out the competition.

I've even heard that Shaw will rough-in coax for free to each suite if you call them at the right time.

 

[Navyguy]

A typical spec is to have a 4 x 8 sheet mounted horizontally at 12” off the floor. Most large buildings and all government installations will have a separate room for provider equipment referred to as the “Entrance Room” (ER). Sometimes the “Main Terminal” (MT) and the ER are in the same room, but not often.

https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/biens...telecommunications/immobilieres-real-eng.html

Cheers
John

 

[flyboy70]

thanks to everyone for your feedback.