Thoughts on the cabling form of server room

According to national standards, data centers are divided into three categories: A, B, and C. Data Centers of type A generally adopt the form of cabling, and data centers of type B adopt the form of cabling and cabling, class C data centers generally adopt offline cabling. Each wiring method has its own advantages and disadvantages. The key lies in the IDC requirements.

1. IDC cabling method selection

Large and hub data centers all adopt the form of cabling, such as the data centers of telecommunications institutions and the data centers of bank data centers. These data centers are A-type data centers. The reason they use the cabling method is that the advantages of cabling are beneficial to improve the reliability and availability of the data centers. Their main advantages include: facing A large number of cables, ease of maintenance and line adjustment; Ease of cable cooling, especially for power cables; because there are not a large number of lines and troughs under the floor, it facilitates air conditioning and air supply, making the temperature and humidity distribution in the equipment room more even, reduces air-conditioning load, and facilitates direct observation of open flames and smog, which is conducive to fire safety. The disadvantage of the online cabling mode is that the cost is high and there are requirements for the height of the data center, which may not meet the requirements of data center beautification. In addition, because the cables of the communication system often need to be adjusted, the operation is difficult. However, these problems are not the main concerns of A-type data centers, because such data centers are large in size and capital investment is guaranteed, and the reliability and availability of data centers are the main concerns, therefore, the personnel and equipment investment are sufficient, and the above problems are not difficult to solve.

At present, B-type data centers are also becoming increasingly popular in the form of cabling, such as the data centers of banking branches in various regions. This is because the availability requirements of the IDC room are greatly improved, and the problems caused by offline cabling are indeed difficult to solve. Therefore, the online cabling mode is gradually transformed. However, B-type data centers are not as adequate as B-type data centers. They are often severely restricted by factors such as the construction structure, cost constraints, and environmental beautification Requirements of the data centers, in this way, the online cabling of some data centers is not uncommon, and the advantages become inferior. For example, if some data centers emphasize the beauty too much, they can hide the cable trays on the ceiling. This not only eliminates the visibility advantages of the cabling, but also increases the risk. Because the lines in the B-type data center are frequently adjusted, it is difficult to adjust the lines that were originally going online. In this way, there is also an additional process for removing the ceiling, which not only increases the operation complexity, the ceiling is also deformed after multiple dismounting. At the same time, the possibility of dropping tools or other debris above the device is greatly increased due to the increase in operation tools and time, which poses a threat to the stable operation of the device.

Compared with data center A, data center B has more line adjustments as needed, and the total number of cables is relatively small. Some objective factors make line adjustment difficult, for example, the height of the data center is not ideal. If you must take the online cabling mode, it is very troublesome to perform operations such as threading, cabling, and cabling in a small space. In this case, we need to change the form of the bridge to alleviate the conflict, rather than simply following the engineering practice.

C-type data centers are of low importance and small scale, and investment in data centers is limited. Therefore, cabling is generally adopted. This wiring method features simple construction and low costs, allowing for more flexible control of the overall data center performance. However, fire prevention under the floor is a problem that needs to be paid attention to. There have been many fire incidents in the IDC room in China. After investigation, it is believed that the power-off line may cause fire hazards. For example, when the air conditioner leaks, it may cause short circuit, spark, and fire. National Fire standards also stipulate that when the floor clearance is greater than or equal to 300mm, fire alarms and fire gas nozzles should be set.

2. Suggestions for improving IDC cabling

Generally, cabling slots in the data room are lifted with several pairs of steel bars of about 8mm, and a pair of steel bars are set at an interval of about 2 meters. other materials are also used for hanging, but the form is the same. When such a hanging method is used to wire or take a cable, you need to remove the cable from the first pair to the end of each pair of hanging ribs. The cable must be put down or removed from the top of the cable trough, frequent operations are obviously unsafe and time-consuming. If you change the cable from the side of the cable trough to put or remove the cables at one time, the Cabling Process will be avoided, which will effectively reduce the difficulty of cable adjustment, as shown in figure 2. The Hanging band adopts angle steel of about 40mm sides. The above part of the ceiling is made into a stable support structure. The following part of the ceiling is made into an inverted T-shaped structure, and the cable trough is placed on the position shown and fixed. One side of the cable trough is unshielded, and the cables can be placed, sorted, and bundled on the ground. The cables can be lifted from the side and placed into the cable trough at one time. Of course, as the cable trough is in the air, the adjustment process of the ladder is inevitable.

In addition, trapezoid cable frames should be used for cabling on power cables, so do not mask them. This is because the power cable has a large calorific value, and the insulation skin is prone to aging cracks. When the load increases too much, the cable may smoke or fire. through direct observation, this can effectively prevent the accident from expanding. Because the power cables are rarely adjusted, the cables should be relaxed and neatly placed, which is conducive to heat dissipation and aesthetics. Communication Cable is adjusted a lot, it is also chaotic, and the heat is very small, can be placed in the closed galvanized cable trough, is conducive to the appearance.

Iii. Other IDC cabling considerations

The IDC cabling method is not independent and must be coordinated with other systems, such as power supply systems, air conditioning systems, fire-fighting systems, and integrated wiring systems, especially with air-conditioning systems, it is one of the important factors that determine the wiring form. Only by overcoming the constraints between systems can the ideal design effect be achieved.

The air-conditioning system of the data room is generally divided into two types: side air supply and underfloor air supply. Most Data Rooms with overhead floors are installed in underfloor air supply mode. This is because the underfloor air supply mode has the best cooling effect and efficiency. The space (clearance) under the floor forms an air-conditioning air supply channel (also called a static pressure BOX), and the air outlet can be reasonably configured on the floor to achieve balanced control of the temperature and humidity at each location of the data center. When the underfloor cabling mode is used, if the cabling on the floor at will cause wind resistance, resulting in increased air supply resistance, the cabling layout can only be installed around the ground of the IDC with a cross tooth structure, analyze the air duct direction to minimize the resistance to air supply. As the power cables are close to the ground, it is necessary to prevent the possible effects of air leakage and man-made damage to the power cables. When going online, if the upper layer space is insufficient and the layout is multi-layer bridge, the air-conditioning system's return path will be affected, resulting in a decrease in the return speed and a rise in the temperature (that is, an increase in the temperature difference ), this increases the load on the air conditioning system. This requires that the layout of single-layer cable trays should be used as much as possible, and the layout of equipment should be adjusted. Otherwise, a building with a higher floor must be selected as the data room to set up sufficient air return channels for the air conditioning system. Some data centers use a combination of online and offline cables to simplify the layers of the cable tray layout, so as to meet the air-conditioning return requirements. Such coordination problems are common in B-type data centers. Most of their air-conditioning systems adopt underfloor air supply, and the cabling mode adopts the combination of on-line or off-line according to the conditions; class A data center has basically eliminated restrictions. The air-conditioning system adopts underfloor air supply, and the cabling form is on-line. Class C data center generally adopts underfloor air supply, and multiple cabinet air conditioners are used for cooling by side air supply, avoid the restriction of the offline cabling.

Once the IDC wiring form is determined, it is necessary to strictly follow the specifications and standards of the Integrated Wiring, especially pay attention to the quality control of the optical fiber fusion link. Multi-mode optical fiber is widely used in the current data center, and its tensile strength is limited. Its material and precision determine that the optical fiber cannot be moved and changed frequently. Therefore, in addition to laying optical fiber cables according to specifications, the fusion quality at the end of the optical fiber is a key factor affecting the quality of optical fiber communication. The smaller the loss of the fusion point, the better. In practice, 0 or 0.01db can be achieved, which is generally not greater than 0.05db. Reasonable cabling planning and high-standard construction can lay a solid and robust foundation for Data Center Security.

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