Colocation Scenario @ MIX

Colocation Scenario @ MIX

INTRODUCTION This white paper describes the colocation scene for ISPs interested to connect to MIX. The intended audience is network operator peering coordinators that have been referred to MIX by friendly IXPs, who are linked together in a cross promotion initiative. The colocation scene in Milan is quite different from those in many of the other European countries, where the existence of Neutral Colocator Providers partecipated in the topology of Internet Exchanges. The absence of neutral colocation facilities in Milan and, more generally speaking, in Italy, forced MIX to build its infrastructure adopting its own colocation facilities. Here we give you an overview of the Milan colocation scenario and an overview of MIX datacenter, born for hosting MIX members routing equipment in a neutral site. Information contained is current as of May 2009. OVERVIEW In year 2000, when MIX started, there were not neutral datacenters in Milan like in the rest of Italy: any operator used to implement its own data center able to host its PoPs and also available to host others operators PoPs. In the years this didn t change so much and, with a couple of exceptions, the situation is still the same. For historical reasons, the Caldera Campus in Milan was chosen as a good place for creating datacenters becoming soon the heart of the telecommunication systems of Italy. Today Caldera Campus hosts MIX datacenter and several other colocators and Network PoPs, Because of the lack of neutral colocation facilities and the need of providing a real neutral service to its customers, MIX has born within its own data center, differently from the almost totality of other Internet Exchange. To make the datacenter sexy for ISPs interested to peer at MIX, during the years MIX has spent a lot of resources in enlarging the presence of multiple carriers able to provide connectivity to MIX, and today inside our datacenter we count more than 30 between Telcos Operators PoPs and other operators optical termination boxes. All ISP s joining MIX have the possibility to install their network and peering equipment inside MIX premises, and this is a significant part of the services portfolio provided by MIX. MIX datacenter is considered one of the most reliable in the Milan panorama and it s classified as a Tier IV datacenter.

For those interested in other colocation facilities than the MIX one, we are available to help in giving a list of ISPs having their own datacenter in Milan or inside the Caldera Campus. In case the candidate is applying to MIX as an Access/Transit provider or as an Hosting provider, they must also be affiliated as a LIR to RIPE or other equivalent RIR. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MIX DATACENTER The datacenter is spread over about 300 sq.mt., divided in four functional sectors each covering different services needs: Blu Area: powered at 220V AC, it is dedicated to MIX members network equipment hosting. This area is completely settled-up by MIX, providing rack cabinets (600x600-600x800-800x1000-1000x1200), redundant power supply and structured cabling (certified copper and fiber) system (see the electrical system details below for a full explanation of how the resilience is ensured in MIX). Red Area: powered at -48V DC, it is designed to host Telcos and Carriers transmission equipment. This area is equipped with two -48 power supply stations in a master-slave configuration referring to its own additional UPS systems able to ensure 6 additional hours of works in case of electrical failures. Green Area: equipped with cabinets and optical MIX patch panels (for an easy interconnection meet-me-room inside the datacenter), it is built over the underground intra-campus channels and it is dedicated to host the optical fibers terminations of carriers ending their optical geographical rings in MIX. There are two Green Areas, providing two different entrances in MIX to the external circuits.

Orange Area: powered by mixed current (AC and DC), it is dedicated to ISPs and Carriers with peculiar requirements and needed of as alternate and direct current for their devices. This area is open to host operators racks that, due to the area s scope, are not provided by MIX. The datacenter is refrigerated by 7 cooling systems and is equipped with fire/flood/burglar prevention system, video monitoring and access control systems. ELECTRICAL PLANT DETAILS The datacenter has four separate switchboards completely independent both for the power supply and for the uninterruptible power sources. Any couple of switchboard is a logical section in the system and is powered by its own electrical line (you may see A and B in the schema) coming from different sections of the external medium voltage box of the City Electrical Network, and this logical section is connected furthermore to two separate uninterruptible power systems. In any section, one switchboard is dedicated to the aerial electrical cabling system, the other one is connected to pavement cables serving a defined area. As a matter of fact, from the electrical equipment point of view, the data centre has been divided into four different areas: two aerial cabling systems and two pavement ones. In this way, any section is supplying an aerial plus a pavement area, both crossed into the two main rooms of the data centre: for example, the line A supplies a logical

section with two switchboards, one of them is linked to the electrical aerial bars in the old zone while the second one supplies the ground bars of the new zone. In other terms, all dual powered devices are connected both to pavement and to roof wiring in their electrical zone, and this latest one relays on distinct switchboards; consequently both power supply lines (A and B) are working for the same doubled-powered equipment. Moreover any electrical panel is linked to its own UPS, and any logical section uses distinct generators for its two UPS; such entirely doubling the uninterruptible power architecture. In the very moment a complete lack of external power would happen and, in the worst case, a component of one power supply chain should fail, all redundant powered devices are still connected to the second chain; this architecture can assure from the risk of single points of failure in the system. This architecture is applied to both 220V powered equipment and to -48V ones; besides, these latest generators are equally connected to their own UPS, gaining a further assurance.