Capabilities of container data centers: a ready switching node in Myanmar for 50 days

Building a telecommunications infrastructure is a difficult task when there are neither conditions, nor experience, nor specialists for this. However, in this case, you can use ready-made solutions, such as container data centers. In this post, we describe how the data center Campana in Myanmar was created, which today is one of the main switching nodes in the region and provides a connection for submarine cables coming from different countries. About how it works and how to create a data center - read under the cut.

When it comes to building a new data center, the customer expects to receive the entire solution entirely from a single supplier, and also wants to secure guarantees that all this will work without complaints.

In such cases, we use container data centers. They can be brought directly to the customer’s site and assembled in the shortest possible time, locating equipment according to previously prepared schemes, and also taking advantage of the solutions originally put into place.

Campana MYTHIC Co Ltd. today is a major telecommunications operator in the region. In fact, this is the first private company in Myanmar that serves international traffic - it provides support for gateways, signaling, IP address translation and so on. Campana provides a competitive mix of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia online spaces, as well as traffic exchanges with India. The company needed a reliable data center that requires minimal maintenance, and in the shortest possible time. That is why it was decided to use ready-made infrastructure based on Delta solutions.

Training

Since there were not enough specialists in Myanmar to test and deploy the infrastructure, all preliminary work was carried out in China. Employees of the company prepared all the equipment and carried out not only its initial configuration, but also testing for compatibility and docking of the containers themselves. Agree, it would be a shame to bring the containers to another country, but to face inconsistencies, lack of fasteners or other troubles. For this, a test assembly of a container data center was held in Yangzhou.

When the container trailers arrived in Myanmar (the city of Yangon), they were unloaded and collected at the site of constant operation. For the installation of containers, a special column foundation was prepared to raise the data center above ground level, at the same time providing the possibility of ventilation of the data center from below. Testing, delivery and installation of the structure took only 50 days - that was how long it took to build the infrastructure on an almost empty site.

Full data center

The data center Campana has 7 containers, which were combined into three functional areas. In the first room, consisting of two combined containers, is CLS (Cable Landing Station). It houses switching equipment that provides routing of incoming and outgoing Internet traffic.

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The second room, also composed of two containers, is the power room. Here are Delta distribution cabinets connected to 230 V and 400 V power supply networks, as well as uninterruptible power supplies that provide autonomous operation of loads up to 100 kW.

The third room is designed to accommodate the IT load. Campana also provides Colocation services for customers in the region. As a result, those who have placed their workloads in the new data center receive the fastest access to international traffic exchange channels.

Equipment placement

To cool the CLS cable station, five Delta RoomCool air conditioners were used, each with a capacity of 40 kW. They were installed at different ends of the zone to provide efficient air cooling for switching equipment. The layout of equipment in the CLS is as follows:

Considering the problems associated with instability of power supply (which are typical of many regions), a lot of batteries were installed in the power zone: six 12V batteries per 100 A * H, as well as 84 batteries at 200 A * H and 144 batteries with a voltage of 2V and power 3000 A * H In the center of the room are installed distribution systems, and on the edges - batteries and uninterruptible power supplies.

The room with the server equipment is divided into two zones, between which the same 40 kW RoomCool air conditioning systems are installed, as in the CLS. At the first stage, two air conditioners are enough for the Campana data center; however, as new racks with servers are added, their number can be increased without changing the hall topology.

To control the entire complex, Delta InfraSuite software is used, which allows operators to control the temperature of each rack with equipment, as well as changes in power consumption parameters.

Result

In less than 2 months, a data center was built from containers in Myanmar, which today is the main traffic exchange platform in the country. At the same time, given that we are talking about a country with a hot climate, where it makes little sense to apply concepts like FreeCooling, we managed to achieve the PUE (Power Usage Efficiency) parameter at 1.43. This became possible mainly due to adaptive cooling for all types of loads. Also, the presence of built-in ventilation systems made it possible to regulate the flow of cold air and the discharge of hot air through the rooms.

A short video about the construction of the data center can be viewed here .

Such a container data center can be created in any other region, including in Russia. However, for the middle band and the northern regions, the PUE level may be even lower due to the colder ambient air.

The typical design of a modular data center in a container involves placing similar loads and power systems, and also makes it possible to place IT systems with a capacity of up to 75 kW per container — that is, up to 9 full racks. Today, Delta container data centers can meet Tier II or Tier III requirements, as well as be accompanied by a room with generators and fuel for 8–12 hours of operation. Versions with anti-vandal protection are available for installation in remote areas, which do not require any external infrastructure other than incoming cables.