New Data Centre at Cranfield University

With many staff and students working in a hybrid way, Cranfield University wanted to upgrade its data infrastructure to increase capacity.

The University identified a building on its site, previously leased to Santander Bank that would make the ideal location for a new data centre.

The project involved stripping out the old bank, upgrading the building electrical supply and installing all the necessary lighting and power required.

Data centre specialist Keysource specified and supplied the switchgear standby generator and uninterrupted power supply for the project ready for SJD to install the wiring to their specification.

Double measures

With all IT hardware needing to be protected from power outage, the data centre was designed to house duplicate, back up equipment for each installation.  SJD fitted the data racks, all with a dual power supply (N+1+1 contingency) ensuring the systems were resilient in the event of a component failure or power outages.

20 racks in total were installed in two rows of ten and with all the equipment, and duplicate back up hardware, working space became limited.

Data servers generate heat and therefore temperature control equipment with full air conditioning, cooling and climate control systems are crucial. A detailed intelligent control system was also included in the scheme along with installation of maintenance lighting, with backup for this equipment. Keysource, then came in to connect and commission the server racks.

SJD also installed the power and electrical scheme for a specialist contractor to install fire, access, CCTV and security equipment.

Infrastructure upgrade

Cranfield has a busy campus, with lots of activity throughout the day so careful planning was required to ensure safety and minimise disruption.

Major groundwork was necessary to install the new cabling route.  Once installed, and with the data centre itself completed, the final connections were made and the centre finally energised and commissioned.  

SJD has been liaising very closely with the University’s electrical engineer, Derek Cooney for the last six years. He says SJD has worked on many projects of varying sizes over the years mainly because they provide a very cost-effective service, have an exemplary attitude to safety and are reliable:

“We have strict expectations of our contractors regarding adherence to our safety and security procedures, and it also helps if our contractors are familiar with the site.

“I can rely on SJD to be ECS gold card holders so we can issue a permit for them to carry out the work. And of course, not everyone from SJD is a fully trained electrician, there are often apprentices, but they are always supervised by a qualified gold card holder.”

Derek added: “SJD has been very supportive over the years. We have buildings dating back to the 1940s to newly constructed spaces and they accommodate such a broad range of functions from aircraft hangers to student accommodation and admin buildings through to hydrogen plants, each has its own particular technical and safety requirements so SJD’s familiarity and knowledge of the site has proved invaluable.”