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The McLean data centre in Virginia is a tier-one
facility located in a building that provides well above 2.5 gigabits (OC-48) of bandwidth per second via fiber-optic connections. Inside the facility, telco-grade racks and wiring
are used as well as reliable power backup and industrial-grade cooling facilities.
 All servers, lines and network equipment are as safe as possible from accidental or intentional harm. Entrance to the rack McLean room/collocation facility is possible only through
one secured location, with security officers on-duty 24 hours a day.
The equipment rack room is situated in a physically secure building location, with industrial cooling systems augmenting the room's air conditioning for heat reduction. The node
room is where the core routers, switches, and DSUs are housed. All equipment is mounted on industrial CableTalk racks. Dimensions are 19 in. x 76 in. The racks themselves are highly
insulated and impervious to electrical surges up to direct lightning strike shocks.
Data Centre Topology
Fig. 1 Data centre Network Topology |
The data centre is designed in a robust LAN architecture to facilitate the ease of maintenance and hands-on support while providing high-speed,
low-latency connections.
Our high-speed servers are connected via 10 Base-T or 100 Base-T Ethernet to a core Cisco Systems Catalyst 5500 switch. The core switch is
directly connected via Gigabit Ethernet to high-end Cisco 7500-series backbone IP routers, which lead to multiple clear-channel 45 Mbps T-3, 100 Mbps FDDI or fiber OC-3 lines
to the Internet. |
The data centre also makes use of intelligent switches and Layer-4/Layer-5 advanced switching gear to provide Quality of Service
(QoS) services. There are on-site technicians available 24 hours a day to ensure the smooth running of the servers.
Only Cisco's premier high-end platform of multi protocol routers, the 7500 series of routers are used. These systems combine Cisco Systems' proven software technology with
exceptional reliability, availability, serviceability, and performance features to meet the requirements of today's most mission-critical inter-networks. The Cisco 7500 series
provides information system professionals with the flexibility they need to meet the constantly changing requirements at the core and distribution points of the inter-network. |
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About the routers & switches
Fig. 2 Cisco 7500 series routers |
The Cisco 7507 and Cisco 7513 feature dual high-speed Cisco Extended Bus (CyBuses). Network interfaces reside on modular interface
processors, which provide a direct connection between the CyBus and the external network, and support any combination of ATM, channelised T3, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, FDDI,
IBM channel attachment, multi-channel E1 and T1, HSSI, synchronous serial, Token Ring, and Packet OC-3 interfaces.
The Cisco 7500 series runs the industry-leading networking software, Cisco IOS software. Cisco IOS software assures robust, reliable inter-networks by supporting both LAN
and WAN protocols, optimising WAN services, and controlling inter-network access. In addition, Cisco IOS software allows centralized, integrated, and automated installation
and management of inter-networks.
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Fig. 3 Cisco Catalyst 5500 switches |
For its Data Centres, ServInt uses exclusively Cisco Catalyst 5500 switches. Cisco Systems' flagship Catalyst 5500 switches are the
industry's most powerful switching solutions for high-performance LAN networks.
The series features a Gigabit Ethernet and ATM-ready platform offering users high-speed trunking technologies including Fast EtherChannel( and OC-12 ATM. The Catalyst
5500 also features a redundant architecture, dynamic VLANs, complete intranet services support, and media-rate performance with a broad variety of interface modules. |
New functionalities in the Catalyst 5000 series support multi protocol NetFlow Switching for scalable convergence of Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching,
adding the benefits of multi protocol, multi layer switching and other Cisco IOS network services. Interface modules for the Catalyst 5000 series support switched 10BaseT
or 100BaseT Ethernet; flexible 10/100BaseT Ethernet, fiber-based Fast Ethernet, and Fast EtherChannel; Token Ring; CDDI/FDDI; ATM LAN Emulation (LANE); the Route/Switch
module (based on the Route/Switch Processor for the Cisco 7500 router series); and future Gigabit Ethernet. Unique to the Catalyst 5500 platform are the ATM Switch
Processor and ATM switch interface modules and port adapters. |
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Power redundancy
Fig. 4 PC DP340E mainframe battery |
The data centre uses two levels of redundant power supply to ensure that its Internet services are not disrupted by electrical outages.
In this manner, the data centre can provide power for its services indefinitely in the case of a severe power outage.
The first level of power redundancy support is an APC DP340E mainframe battery that activates in less than one tenth of a second
after power loss. This battery, with an output of 40 kW/40 kVA at 3 x 280 volts, can by itself provide power to the McLean Data Centre for more than three hours.
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Fig. 5 SD060 liquid-cooled gas generator |
The data centre's main line of defence against outage is an external SD060 liquid-cooled gas generator, a three-phase electrical
generator operating at 225 amps. Within minutes of the APC battery activation, our generator is activated.
The combination of our APC mainframe battery and SD060 generator give the McLean data centre essentially unlimited power
capacity. The generator's gasoline tank is 80 gallons, and can be refilled while running. The generator, with fuel re-fillings, can run for approximately 12-14
days before its oil and oil filter need to be changed. Battery power can be used during the approximately 1-2 hour process of the generator oil change, and the
generator can then be reactivated. In effect, this gives the data centre unlimited uninterrupted power supply capability in its data centre. |
Fig 6. Challenger 3000 Liebert |
The data centre is cooled by Challenger 3000 Liebert air conditioning units, which offers 5 tons of cooling capacity in less than
7 feet of floor space. With 21 different installation configurations that provide maximum air conditioning flexibility, the Liebert units easily augment the
building-controlled and auxilary air conditioning already in place in McLean's NOC facilities. |
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Network Equipment 