Structured Cabling Helps i-Advantage Connect to the World
Cst-iAdvantage Selects Siemon for China Data Centers
Streaming video. e-Commerce. Voice-over IP. As you search the web, have you ever wondered where this data resides and who keeps it up and running night and day? Although many organizations host their own web sites, many are opting to lease broadband network services from internet data centers. This case study looks at one such data center and how it uses structured cabling to enhance its services.
An increasing number of hacker attacks and catastrophic disasters, such as the fire that devastated the Xizhi Dongfang high-tech Incubator Garden in Taiwan, have made headline news recently. In an era where the Internet and data networks have become the lifeblood of business, the impact of such a loss can be devastating. In the aftermath of such tragic events, enterprises are often haunted by questions - How could this have been prevented? Is there equipment or a service available that could have protected us? Could our IT staff implement and maintain the solution? How much would it cost?
Unfortunately, there are more than external perils to worry about. As businesses begin to take full advantage of the Internet applications - e-commerce, multimedia content, and IP voice/data communications - anticipating and managing traffic demand is becoming increasingly more complex and costly. Spikes in site traffic can bring a network to its knees as quickly as a security breach or a natural disaster. Again more questions - How to best manage site traffic? How to provide bandwidth on demand? Will the network be scalable to handle future demands?
For many customers the answer is often a data service center that leases network resources to clients. Cst-iAdvantage, located in China, is one such data service center. The company is a joint venture between the Computer Network Information Center of the China Academy of Sciences and Hong Kong iAdvantage, Ltd.. Hong Kong iAdvantage, one of the member companies of SUNeVision under Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., is a premier data service provider with experience managing three large-scale data centers with a total floor space of over 56,000 square meters. The Computer Network Information Center of the China Academy of Sciences manages one of the four major Internet Service Providers (ISP) in China, namely the CSTNet, and brings a wealth of technical expertise to the partnership.
Cst-iAdvantage operates two data centers - one in Beijing in the Sun Dong An Plaza and the other in Shanghai in the Central Plaza. Each facility occupies some 2,000 square meters of floor space and is centrally located in a prime business district. Equipped with the most advanced networking technology and a support staff consisting of some of China's strongest IT professionals, Cst-iAdvantage provides comprehensive end-to-end data solutions to a wide variety of clients - from ISPs and Internet content suppliers to commercial, educational, and governmental organizations.
Due to the critical nature of its business, Cst-iAdvantage built its two facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, stringent security, and protection against natural and man-made disasters. Mr. Zhao Ming, System Operations Manager of Cst-iAdvantage, describes the first data center in Shanghai, "To meet the needs of our customers, we have employed some of the most advanced network configuration sciences and technologies available. Our facility features Cisco Gigabit Ethernet backbone network equipment, Lucent bandwidth distribution equipment, Mitsubishi backup Diesel electric generators, Socomec ups electric power source, a Hiross air-conditioning system, security and surveillance systems (e.g., FM200 fire-extinguishing system, fingerprint identification system), all designed to provide 24/7 uninterruptible services."
To meet the demands of different clients, the leased cabinets can be divided into 1RMS, 2RMS, 1/4 rack and 1/2 rack units. "The services we currently provide our clients include server leasing, machine room leasing, bandwidth leasing, network flux reporting, monitoring service of implementation systems, and value-added services such as analytic reporting on web site traffic statistics," adds Zhao.
For their structured cabling system, Cst-iAdvantage selected a high performance cabling system from The Siemon Company. Modular MAX® patch panels were configured with a combination of category 5e and fiber ports and installed in each server cabinet. Each cabinet contains 12 standard 10/100MBPS access ports which can link the client equipment directly to core switching equipment. The number and type of wiring ports can be configured with remarkable flexibility to meet the space constraints of the cabinet and the lease requirements of the client. The performance of circuits meets Cst-iAdvantage's current requirements for Fast Ethernet based applications and will easily support Gigabit Ethernet in the future. In up-link circuits and backbone circuits, optical fiber cable is used — providing reliable, redundant Gigabit Ethernet transmission.
"Our clients demand fast and reliable broadband applications support 24/7. The Siemon Cabling System provides the high-performance network infrastructure we require to satisfy our customers needs," said Mr. Zhao Ming. "Its flexible modular configuration, convenient cable management accessories, and many installer friendly features along with the superior performance, quality and excellent local support help us provide the world's best systems and services to our clients," Zhao said proudly. "Today, well-known Internet enterprises from both home and abroad such as Alibaba, Beijing Capital Networks, and many others are taking advantage of Cst-iAdvantage data centers."
Today, Cst-iAdvantage has facilities in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Singapore, and is one of the ten largest data centers in the world. With plans to expand to other Asia-Pacific countries and eventually the U.S., Cst-iAdvantage hopes one day to serve customer in markets around the globe.
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