We have not cut any corners in the design of our network. We are 100% Cisco powered and use only the top of the line Cisco routers. Our network is fully fault-tolerant with every part of our core network duplicated. Should any failure occur the network will automatically switch to the backup systems meaning we can provide 100% uptime.
When we decided to build our own data centre not only did we consider connectivity we also considered security. A majority of UK providers are based in London or Manchester and a big consideration for us was terrorism. If we rely on London connectivity and an incident disabled the core of the London network how would we deal with it? Our network has diverse fibre routes onto the internet via both London and Manchester meaning we have the resilience to stay online as we are not dependent on either location.
Dedicated servers
Pictured are some of our dedicated server cabinets, (lds and ldc products). As you can see we always try to install our servers in blocks of 8u, 8*1u, 4*2u etc. This makes it easier for us to plan how we are going to use the space and plan cable routes. Carefully planning cable routes and making cables to exact sizes means that cabling is always neatly bundled and are less likely to be accidentally damaged or snagged. This also means the cabinets are much easier to work in.
Only authorised Idaq staff are allowed to work inside our product and network cabinets with the exception of onsite engineers working on warranty repairs and in this situation they will be accompanied by an authorised member of Idaq staff.
CCTV Monitoring and Security
We will not be publishing every detail of our security for obvious reasons but we have invested heavily in the latest equipment to protect the data centre. Every part of the Idaq datacentre, both internally and externally, is recorded by CCTV 24hrs a day. Our CCTV is monitored locally and can also be accessed remotely by Idaq staff. Selected cameras also incorporate audio recording for additional security. Cameras may be individually programmed to react as a result of audio, movement and heat.
The building is protected by the latest in security and fire protection systems.
High capacity dual-circuit cooling systems
Our equipment cabinets are arranged in a hot aisle/cold aisle layout. This means that all equipment is installed so that cold air is drawn in from the cold isles and the heat generated is then blown out into the hot isles. Our air conditioning systems then draw the hot air into the cooling systems from the hot isles, filter any particles in the air in order to maintain a clean environment, chill the air and then blow the air out under the server room raised floor. Grills fitted to the raised floor allow us to then vent the chilled air to the optimum areas in order to maintain the perfect environment for the equipment.
Each server room is chilled by two cooling circuits, in the event that a fault develops in a cooling circuit the remaining circuit has enough capacity to maintain the optimum room temperature.
Constantly cooling the vast amount of heat generated can consume large amounts of energy, with some systems this can be as much as is used to power the equipment it is cooling. We only use the most modern and energy-efficient systems available, this helps us to keep running costs to a minimum and is also good for the environment.
Failsafe power
Without power, there is no service so our power systems have been designed to be available 100% of the time. All power is filtered by our online UPS systems so the power reaching our equipment is clean. For high availability, the UPS runs in n+1 configuration. n+1 means that should a ups power module fail a spare is instantly activated to maintain the supply. The UPS system will also maintain supply to the network and customer equipment in the event of a power failure for up to 20 minutes. Should the mains supply fail our changeover panel will detect this and send a signal to our backup power generator system. The backup will be running within 10 seconds and can maintain power indefinitely whilst mains power is restored. Once the changeover panel detects that the backup power is available it will switch the supply to the backup feed until a stable primary feed is available again.
We have qualified electrical engineers onsite to deal with any situation as it arises.
The Future
The Idaq Datacentre is constantly evolving and we are currently working to provide between 10Mb/sec and 1000Mb/sec low-cost direct connectivity to businesses throughout the UK. If you are based in the UK and would benefit from a high-speed direct connection to the Idaq Datacentre, any other UK Datacentre or directly to the internet please contact us for details
