Testing & Test Equipment

Ensuring resilience during the energy crisis

By Billy Durie, Global Sector Head for Data Centres at Aggreko It is no secret that Europe’s appetite for data is increasing year-on-year. According to Domo’s Data Never Sleeps 6.0, it is estimated that the average person creates 1.7MB of data per second. This rapid rate of digitalisation has in turn placed the onus upon service providers to ensure that this growth is supported, and that demand continues to be met. However, it is important to note that this has not been without consequence, as the cities housing Europe’s leading data centre markets - Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin (FLAP-D) - are now wrestling with significant grid strain. While it would be unfair to say that this is solely the fault of the data centre sector, it has undoubtedly been a major contributor to this challenge. In the Republic of Ireland, for instance, data centre electricity consumption has spiked by 144% in five years, with supplier EirGrid introducing stringent legislation around applying for new grid connections as a result. Factoring in the effects of the energy crisis, stability of supply has now reached an all time low for the data centre sector, reinforcing the need to ensure that facilities are able to effectively manage these challenges. Assessing industry challenges In an effort to assess how these issues are currently affecting data centre operators, Aggreko surveyed 253 industry professionals across the UK and Republic of Ireland as part of its latest report, The Power Struggle - Data Centres. Those surveyed occupied roles from junior manager up to C-suite executive, with the research taking place in April 2022. The headline findings illustrate the effect that the combination of grid strain and the energy crisis has had on stability of supply. Over 70% of UK businesses cited power security as either ‘a concern’ or ‘a major concern’, while only 6% said it was not. The former figure rises to 80% where the Republic of Ireland is concerned, illustrating the severity of grid strain in this market. Moreover, Aggreko’s survey also indicates that 65% and 60% of UK and Irish businesses respectively have experienced power outages in the past 18 months. With this in mind, it is clear that these concerns are not unfounded. Given that industry standards dictate that downtime is expected to be kept to under 28.8 hours per year, these challenges are evidently creating an unsustainable position for the data centre sector. Comprehensive stress testing With the consequences of a possible outage in mind, there has never been a more crucial time to ensure that facilities are able to function effectively, even under the effects of grid strain. Given that rising rack densities are driving electricity consumption in data centres ever higher, this consideration is more important than ever. This is achieved through loadbank testing equipment before facilities are brought into operation, which takes place over five key stages: Factory acceptance testing: determining whether equipment has been built and operates in accordance with design specifications.Site acceptance testing: ensuring equipment meets specification criteria and is inspected for damage before it enters the facility.Pre-functional testing: verifying the functionality of the equipment, which includes determining whether each device is properly installed, wired, torqued and Megger tested prior to initial energisation.Individual system testing: detecting hotspots or weak components in the equipment, allowing for it to be replaced before the facility is put to work.Integrated system testing: ensuring that all equipment responds appropriately to varying loads, staged machinery failures and any potential utility problems. Through undertaking comprehensive loadbank testing in line with these steps during the commissioning phase, and then annually afterwards, operators can ensure that their facilities stay on top of rising demands while minimising power outage risks. Exploring alternative approaches Loadbank testing is the most effective method of assessing the capabilities of a data centre before the facility goes live. However, it is also important to address the long-term causes for the instability of supply in the first place. With this in mind, it may be time for data centre operators to look beyond their traditional grid connection for power procurement. A possible alternative here could be Energy as a Service (EaaS) or Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), wherein users generate their own energy on site by way of decentralised energy solutions, paying their supplier by kWh. This allows facilities to reduce reliance on their increasingly unstable grid connection without the need to invest in new equipment. The EaaS concept has grown in popularity among data centre operators in recent years, with 51% and 49% of respondents to Aggreko’s survey in the UK and Ireland respectively considering generating their own energy. Yet drawbacks exist in the form of fixed term pricing, with some operators being subject to one or two-year contracts. Given the volatile nature of the current energy market, it is easy to see how this could be counterintuitive. This is especially concerning given that some operators even issue penalties for excessively high usage. www.aggreko.com

Designing, planning and testing edge data centres

By Carsten Ludwig, Market Manager, Reichle & De-Massari Edge data centres provide computing power on the periphery of cloud and Wide Area Networks, relieving these and improving performance. They are located as closely as possible to points where data is aggregated, analysed, or processed in real-time. Popular content and applications, for example, can be cached closer to less densely networked markets, improving performance and experience. Let’s examine some considerations when designing, planning and testing edge data centres. Location Edge providers may operate dozens or hundreds of edge data centres concurrently across urban and suburban locations, which can be hard to reach and work in, so edge data centres need to be exceptionally robust and secure. Proximity or direct connection to fibre optic links and network node points is imperative. Edge data centres need redundant, synchronous fibre hyperconnectivity in all directions: to the cloud, cellular phone networks, neighbouring data centres and users. These factors pose a significant challenge for planners and design engineers. For planning purposes, edge providers require a tool that reflects all the above-mentioned demands and preconditions. The quality of planning can be improved, if drawings and data for further material sourcing comes from a single tool. Testing in this stage would be recommended for the fibre links, to ensure these are working correctly and delivering the promised performance. The tested quality of the components used determines the performance and functional reliability of the optical links. Technical requirements Edge data centres often have to cope with a lack of space and harsh environmental conditions. They need to be positioned in protected, discrete, dry places and the following must be provided: Interruption-free power supplyFire protectionAir-conditioning and coolingSound, dust and vibration protectionLocking and access control A professional approach to securing high performance from the outset would be using preconfigured and assembled modular systems. These could consist of pre-terminated panels, sub racks or complete racks, if logistics and site design allow. Preconfigured equipment can be delivered by the OEM with relevant test certificates, ensuring a high level of quality and vastly simplifying installation as no testing is required on site. This approach requires a professional installation performance and capability from the service team. Properly configured and tested modules increase quality, reduce the risk of failure significantly and reduce the workload on site. High density and port capacity Afcom's ‘2022 State of the Data Centre’ study noted a significant density increase at the edge. In 2021 the typical respondent implementing, or planning edge locations reported an estimated mean power density of 7kW. In 2022, this was 8.3kW. Edge data centre fibre hyper connectivity requires space for high count fibre cables under floors and in cable ducts. For edge networks moving content such as HDTV programmes closer to the end user high density of more than 100 ports per rack unit is essential. Traditional 72 ports per unit UHD solutions won’t suffice. Current high-density fibre solutions for data centres generally offer up to 72 LC duplex ports per rack unit. However, this can introduce management difficulties.  Pretermination by the OEM would be ideal. Testing on site is possible with adapters required on test equipment to serve new connectivity solutions such as the VSFF connector family. Connectivity can also be secured using intelligent AIM systems for monitoring layer one performance. Besides the connectivity check ‘outside of the data stream’ edge providers have an overview of what’s happening within connectivity ‘inside of the data stream’. There are several ways of realising this, from a low budget approach using TAP modules to high-performing 24/7 signal analysers. Each edge location has a unique design and service to deliver, so the approach has to be selected accordingly. Testing To ensure quality and performance levels, testing is essential. In Reichle & De-Massari's experience, new data centre builds rarely go according to schedule. If part of the process is pulled forward or delayed, it introduces challenges related to component quality and performance. The installation of sensitive equipment such as fibre connectivity that needs to be 100% clean might have to take place in an environment insufficiently free of dust and moisture for example. It’s important to determine what tests can be done up front to avoid hassle on site. Optical connectors and adapters can be checked for insertion loss and other standard KPIs before delivery by the OEM. Even if equipment has been preconfigured, testing on-site in the event of schedule changes isn't just smart - it should be mandatory. That avoids issues, and therefore also delays and a lot of finger-pointing between involved parties. Management Cable management is key. Double check measurements, make sure terminations are top quality, test wherever necessary, label and colour-code, watch out for cramped conduits and make absolutely sure no cables or bundles rest upon others. Bad cable management can result in signal interference and crosstalk, damage and failure, resulting in data transmission errors, performance issues and downtime. Introducing Operation Management systems provides a seamless 24/7 performance status for each location. As these locations are distributed in line with the nature of the new network architecture, the performance management should not only focus on standard applications such as power, cooling and access reports: every aspect of data connectivity needs to be covered. Solutions that monitor data flow (such as TAP modules) are mandatory. Because an edge provider’s service team doesn’t work on site, remote control of all relevant aspects at each location is mandatory and a precondition for customer-relevant performance. Remote control needs to cover all edge locations in one system. On one hand, this helps monitor status of all relevant dimensions such as power supply, temperature conditions, data access, data flow, and security. On the other hand, current and upcoming installations at the edge site are monitored by a single system, giving insight for asset and capacity management and serving as a basis for further extensions and new/changing customers at each site. www.rdm.com

Whitestar Solutions doubles productivity with TREND Networks

Whitestar Solutions has doubled productivity since replacing its existing cable certifier fleet with LanTEK IV testers from TREND Networks. In 2020, the company’s fleet of testers were due for renewal. Upon finding a superior and more cost-effective solution in LanTEK IV cable certifiers, Whitestar Solutions opted to update its fleet by partnering with TREND Networks over its previous supplier. “The first job we used the LanTEK for was for the London Business School,” says Gavin Atkins, Project Supervisor for Whitestar Solutions. “There were over 4000 data points to be installed, but with LanTEK on our side and helping us through, the job ran smoothly and was a complete success.” LanTEK IV is easy to use, with a responsive touchscreen and simple user interface. Moreover, it saves significant amounts of time as it enables the user to test and save a Cat6A link in just seven seconds. “We now have the LanTEK certifier, capable of testing within seven seconds, which is twice as quick as anything we have ever had before. That means our productivity on site has literally doubled overnight,” says John English, Managing Director for Whitestar Solutions. Gavin continues: “When you’re testing thousands of data points, every second counts and that combined with the VisiLINQ reduces the time spent on any job.” VisiLINQ Permanent Link Adapters enable technicians to work smarter, not harder. They make it possible to initiate testing and view the results, all without needing to carry or touch the tester.  Users simply press the VisiLINQ test button and wait for the coloured light to indicate the result. “When you’re testing in a noisy environment you can see the green light flash and, without having to waste time looking down at the screen, you know that it has passed and you can go on to the next project,” says Gavin. Another productivity boosting feature which has benefitted Whitestar Solutions is the TREND AnyWARE Cloud, the fastest cloud test management system in the world. Project managers can also pre-configure all project information in the TREND AnyWARE Cloud for field technicians to download, helping improve accuracy. “Before the cloud, our engineers would be responsible for inputting their own test IDs, which on occasion, a mistake could happen,” explains John. “One digit out, could mean that a 1000-test project would need to be manually changed in the office, which would add time to the project.” John continues: “With our previous supplier, when it came to issuing test results, we either had to send the testers back to the office, or the engineers saved test results to the USB stick, both of which were very time consuming from an admin point of view. But now with LanTEK, the results are seamlessly synced to the cloud, and our project managers can issue test reports to the clients on the day the project is completed.” Even if Whitestar Solutions’ technicians do not have access to Wi-Fi, they can easily connect the LanTEK cable certifier to their phones. This means that wherever they are working in the country, they can transfer the test results to the office to be signed off with minimal fuss. “Working in the education sector, time and speed are of the essence. With our previous supplier, when we had a tester go in for calibration, we could sometimes be a tester down for one to two weeks,” says John. “With TREND, the tester goes in one day, and we’ve got a loan unit the next. Downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.” TREND Networks also provides a lifetime support promise, to offer calibration and repair for the LanTEK IV cable certifier for as long as it is in use. Technical support is also available globally, with a two-hour response time promise, to further help maximise productivity. “Our previous supplier wanted the large investment all in one go, whereas with TREND Networks they were buying into our beliefs, which was building a partnership and providing that financial flexibility,” concludes John. “We are planning to grow over the next three to five years and we’re confident that we can depend on TREND Networks to come on that journey with us.” www.whitestarsolutions.com www.trend-networks.com

A plan to find your security vulnerability before hackers do

By Keith Bromley, Senior Network Visibility and Security Solutions Manager, Keysight Technologies One of the top questions on the minds of network security personnel is "how do I reduce my security risk?". Even for smaller organisations this is important because every network has a weakness. But, do you know where you are the most vulnerable? Wouldn't you like to fix the problem now, before a hacker exploits it? Here is a three-point plan that works to expose intrusions and decrease network security risk: Prevention - reduce as many attacks from entering the network as possibleDetection - find and quickly remediate intrusions that that are discovered within the networkVigilance - periodically test your defences to make sure they are actually detecting and blocking threats Network security - it all starts with prevention Inline security solutions are a high impact technique that businesses can deploy to address security threats. These solutions can eliminate 90% or more of incoming security threats before they even enter your network. While an inline security architecture will not create a fool proof defence against all incoming threats, it provides the crucial data access that security operations (SecOps) teams need to make the real-world security threat load manageable. It is important to note that an inline security solution is more than just adding a security appliance, like an intrusion prevention system (IPS) or a web application firewall (WAF). The solution requires external bypass switches and network packet brokers (NPBs) to access and deliver complete data visibility. This allows for the examination of all data for suspect network traffic. Hunt down intrusions While inline security solutions are absolutely necessary to lowering your risk for a security intrusion, the truth is that something bad will make it into your network. This is why you need a second level of defence that helps you actively search for threats. To accomplish this task, you need complete visibility into all segments of your network. At the same time, not all visibility equipment is created equal. For instance, are your security tools seeing everything they need to? You could be missing more than 60% of your security threats and not even know it. This is because some of the vendors that make visibility equipment (like NPBs) drop packets (without alerting you) before the data reaches critical security tools, like an intrusion detection system (IDS). This missing data contributes significantly to the success of security threats. A combination of taps, bypass switches, and NPBs provide the visibility and confidence you need that you are seeing everything in your network - every bit, byte, and packet. Once you have this level of visibility, threat hunting tools and security information and event management (SIEM) systems can proactively look for indicators of compromise (IOC). Stay vigilant and constantly validate your security architecture The third level of defence is to periodically validate that your security architecture is working as designed. This means using a breach and attack simulation (BAS) solution to safely check your defences against real-world threats. Routine patch maintenance and annual penetration testing are security best practices; but they don't replace weekly or monthly BAS-type functions. For instance, maybe a patch wasn't applied or was applied incorrectly. How do you know? And penetration tests are only good for a specific point in time. Once a few weeks or months have passed, new weaknesses will probably exist. And crucially, were the right fixes applied if a vulnerability was found? For these reasons and more, you need to use a BAS solution to determine the current strength of your defences. While updating your security tools is great, constant vigilance goes a long way to security your organisation. This three-point plan can help you ensure that you are doing the most to make your security tools protect your organisation now and in the future. www.keysight.com

Is loadbank testing necessary for containerised data centres?

By Paul Brickman, Commercial Director for Crestchic Loadbanks Typically housed within shipping containers, containerised data centres can be deployed easily, powered up quickly and scaled without delay in line with changing requirements. For the data centre sector itself, containerised solutions are widely used to accommodate surplus demand for data centres that need to grow but cannot yet do so, and often deliver a continuity of performance when a primary data centre needs critical maintenance or refurbishment. In other sectors they are equally as important. They provide 'pop up' IT and communication services for music festivals and sporting events, support office relocations and major construction sites, and are a staple resource for the military, as well as complex industries such as offshore oil and gas, where data and communications demands are often remote and temporary. Temporary by name, essential by nature The temporary nature of these data centres often results in them being commoditised and overlooked when it comes to the maintenance procedures and performance best practice that would be considered essential for a bricks-and-mortar data centre. But when in operation, these mobile data centres are just as much a necessity as their permanent counterparts, safe housing the same valuable data, and preventing the same financially catastrophic losses engineers so dread when maintaining their primary data centres. It is important to remember that a data centre is a data centre, whether that is a purpose built hyperscale campus, a colocation or a temporary solution in a shipping container, and that means the same risks apply, and the same preventative measures are required. No matter the type of data centre being used, the primary cause of unplanned downtime is power failure, something that the Uptime Institute calls “common, costly and preventable”. In fact, in its most recent Risk and Resilience Report, the Uptime Institute calculated that power failure accounts for around 36% of all outages. It is essential therefore that backup generators for containerised data centres are regularly tested, the same as permanent data centre facilities. Critical applications require guaranteed resilience Music festivals and sporting events aside, the vast majority of containerised data centre applications are critical. Military communications, major construction sites, data centre refurbishments and a temporary expansion of primary data centre capacity may all have a clear expiration date, but the situation is already fragile - risking a power outage in an already difficult environment could be catastrophic. Although mobile data centres are designed to provide facilities with the perfect mix of temporary generators, networking essentials, cooling equipment, servers and UPS, the fact remains that a single point of failure can immobilise the entire data centre. This is an important consideration when deciding which maintenance procedures to uphold, and which if any, can be overlooked. With power outages proven to be the biggest point of failure, correct loadbank testing should be maintained at all times to provide reassurance that if required, the backup power system is capable of accepting the required load and maintaining uptime in the event of a power failure. Understand the possibilities, prevent downtime If it is not the temporary nature of a containerised data centre that prevents the required maintenance, then it is often the location, and the assumption that access will be impossible. After all, these small, highly portable loadbanks are often located in areas that have not been specifically constructed for such essential kit. That said, leading loadbank manufacturers have created backup generator testing equipment that can meet the testing demands of containerised data centres.One example is Crestchic’s trailer mounted loadbank solution that combines the powerful testing capability of its traditional resistive-only loadbanks, with the flexibility of a heavy-duty trailer for applications that require exceptional levels of manoeuvrability. With loadbank testing still achievable for mobile loadbanks, the risk of downtime is, as the Uptime Institute puts it, preventable. www.loadbanks.com

Nokia selects Infovista to deliver cloud-based automated drive testing

Infovista has announced a global partnership with Nokia to accelerate the rollout and acceptance of 5G network deployments. The partnership will see Infovista deliver its cloud-based, automated testing solutions to support the verification, optimisation and benchmarking of new 5G and legacy networks deployed and managed by Nokia.  The complexity of 5G, magnified by the environments in which networks are being deployed, make multi-site testing a costly and time intensive overhead. Infovista’s cloud-based testing solutions enable Nokia to automate and centralise the management of testing routines, significantly streamlining backend reporting and freeing Nokia engineers and service companies from manual drive testing to focus on high value network optimisation tasks.  As part of the global partnership, Nokia will now be able to leverage innovative network testing solutions from Infovista such as the Automated SSV solution. The solution not only predicts where to drive and what tests to perform, but also which hot spots and critical areas should be tested and then autonomously conducting the network testing routine. This automation of network testing processes removes trial and error and significantly impacts the time to market and efficiency of Nokia’s network deployments. Infovista is delivering its TEMS testing solutions to Nokia. The cloud-based automation of network testing routines enables Nokia to centralise and automate reporting and real-time validation of testing, reducing the number of failed drive tests that must be repeated. The solutions remove the need for Nokia to maintain dedicated servers and redundancy, reuse of licenses globally and use commercial off-the-shelf devices, significantly increasing the efficiency of network testing. “5G network complexity combined with the proliferation of device types now requires a set of next generation testing solutions leveraging AI/ML, cloud and automation. For operators that are racing to deploy new 5G sites, while continuing to optimise and expand existing network coverage, this new network testing approach is a gamechanger,” says Faiq Khan, President Global Networks, Infovista. “We’re very pleased to be building on our long-standing partnership with Nokia, extending it from centralised reporting to deliver real innovation with cloud-based automation of critical 5G testing processes.” As part of the partnership, Nokia will have access to the latest AI/ML data-driven approaches and automation innovations in network testing, including Infovista’s patent-pending Precision Drive Testing solution, which powers use cases including network acceptance automation, fine tuning 5G planning propagation models, geolocated troubleshooting and proactive network health monitoring.  www.infovista.com www.nokia.com