Rows of equipment cabinets in a controlled technical environment

01 / Capability · Data & IT Infrastructure

Data Centres

In-building data halls — power, cooling, containment, cabling and access planned as one environment.

In-building data-centre design — power, cooling, containment, cabling, security and monitoring.

02 / The foundation

A data centre is an engineered environment before it is a room full of racks. Power, cooling, containment, access, monitoring and cabling all have to be designed together — decisions taken in one discipline constrain the others.

Zentrum designs data-centre infrastructure alongside the MEP consultant so the environment behaves as one coordinated system.

Part of Data & IT Infrastructure.

03 / System anatomy

How the infrastructure is put together.

Power, cooling, containment and cabling are decisions that constrain one another. Getting them right requires coordinated design with the MEP consultant from the start; changing them after commissioning is disruptive and expensive.

  1. 01 /

    External connectivity

    Carrier entry, demarcation and the space reserved for it while the building is still on paper.

  2. 02 /

    Main equipment environment

    Core switching and main distribution, with power, cooling and access planned around maintainability.

    • Core switching
    • Power
    • Cooling
  3. 03 /

    Fibre backbone

    Riser and inter-building fibre with counts and grades sized for a later refresh, not only for day one.

  4. 04 /

    Distribution

    Floor or zone cabinets holding patching, PoE switching and the labelling that keeps the plant legible.

    • Patch fields
    • PoE switching
  5. 05 /

    Network services

    Segmentation, addressing and capacity separating guest, staff, building-system and management traffic.

    • Segments
    • Capacity
    • Management
  6. 06 /

    Endpoints

    Access points, workstations, cameras, readers, displays and control devices sharing one plant.

    • Wi-Fi
    • Security
    • AV
    • Controls

Outcome /

One backbone every other system can depend on.

Documented, labelled and tested, so future work extends the infrastructure instead of duplicating it.

Conceptual network backbone diagram: external connectivity enters a main equipment environment, a fibre backbone reaches distribution cabinets, network services segment the traffic, and endpoints across Wi-Fi, security, audio visual and controls share the same infrastructure.

04 / Design principles

What we hold the installation to.

  • Rack and containment layout

    Rack rows, hot/cold aisle arrangement and containment planned against the load.

  • Power distribution

    PDU arrangement and power distribution across the space, sized for the equipment.

  • Cooling coordination

    Cooling strategy coordinated with the containment and equipment density.

  • Access and security

    Physical access control, monitoring and observation planned for the operating model.

  • Structured cabling

    Cabinet layouts, patching, cross-connects and pathways engineered for change.

  • Environmental monitoring

    Temperature, humidity, leak and access monitoring integrated with the operating tools.

01 /

Redundancy tier target — N, N+1 or 2N

02 /

Ambient conditions and heat rejection strategy for UAE climate

03 /

Growth headroom vs day-one CAPEX

05 / Applications

Rooms built to stay predictable.

Workplaces and headquarters

Offices where the systems are judged on how little attention they need day to day.

Explore

Also delivered in: Corporate headquarters · Mixed-use developments · Education and research · Larger commercial developments.

06 / Coordination and delivery

How the package runs.

  1. 01 /Understand the equipment profile and how the room has to grow.
  2. 02 /Design racks, containment, cabling, power and cooling as one coordinated set.
  3. 03 /Coordinate with the MEP consultant on the mechanical and electrical services.
  4. 04 /Install, integrate and commission the environment together with the equipment brief.
  5. 05 /Hand over documentation and monitoring the operating team can maintain.
  • 01Row and cabinet layout with hot / cold aisle containment
  • 02Power distribution, UPS and generator coordination
  • 03Precision cooling and environmental monitoring
  • 04Physical security, access control and CCTV within the DC envelope
Turnkey delivery →Assessment and support for existing systems →

07 / Related systems

What connects to this.

Data & IT Infrastructure
The cabling plant inside the data centre is engineered for change.
Electronic Security
Physical access and CCTV are part of the room's design.
Building Automation
Environmental monitoring interfaces with the building operating tools.
Safety Systems
Detection and suppression are coordinated with the room design.

Technology ecosystem /

Schneider Electric logoDell logo

Next step /

Send us the drawings.

Planning network infrastructure for an office, residence or hospitality project?

Back to Data & IT InfrastructureDiscuss a project