Data Center Wiring Methods & Tips | Data Center Cabling Management Guide

In addition to considering the introduction of buildings and high-performance, high-efficiency equipment when designing a data center, cables also play an essential role in the cabling of the data center. This article will introduce basic knowledge and tips regarding wiring management for data centers, cable wiring design, and installation locations.

Wiring Standards For Data Centers

A high level of cable performance must be maintained to ensure security and construct integrated cable infrastructure. What these standards have in common is that they optimize the functions and services provided by the data center through the adoption of a layered model (subsystem) according to the construction requirements.

Data Center Cabling Methods - Choice Of Wiring Route & Installation Location

Wiring routes are important physical infrastructure in a data center network, and it is clear that they not only clarify the routing routes and support the cables, but also protect the cables. Therefore, it must be routed to the appropriate cable route. This section describes the design of the routing within the server room.

Underfloor wiring

Underfloor wiring is the premier method most commonly adopted by data center operators in Japan. Colocation services used by multiple users in the same area have excellent security because the cables are hidden under the floor and cannot be seen.

In addition, in the case of underfloor wiring, access to the cable cannot be performed unless the free access floor (a floor that can store power supplies, wiring for communication, and equipment such as air conditioning equipment under the floor) is removed, so a third party can prevent wiring without permission. This makes it suitable for critical lines and trunk cables that do not change much.

Overhead wiring

Recently, the number of data centers that adopt overhead wiring is increasing due to the number of data centers that do not have space under the floor and the influence of air probes due to underfloor wiring. Since the overhead wiring is suitable for the operation of the company's own dedicated system, it does not matter if the cable is in the field of view. Overhead wiring is also workable to add wiring between racks. As a result, overhead wiring is widely used in hosting services, cloud services, etc.

Layering Wiring

The cables used for horizontal wiring in the server room are roughly divided into power cables, twisted pairs, and other cables, and fiber-optic cables. By layering each type of electric wire (power supply system, twisted pair, optical cable), it is possible to improve safety, workability, and manageability such as preventing interference between the power supply and communication wires.

Delicate fiber optic patch cords also simplify the wiring between racks by using dedicated line members such as cable trays. In the future, along with the development of communication speed, the utilization rate of optical fiber cables by layering wiring can be improved.

Features of Each Data Center Wiring Method

Wiring routes in the server room are mainly overhead or underfloor wiring. Which one do you choose, what are the limitations and considerations when working? The characteristics of underfloor wiring and overhead wiring are shown in the following figure.

Various factors must be considered, including structural limitations, security, frequency of work, and skill of the operator. If you don't have any further ideas, you'll leave the wiring routes to the discretion of the data center operator.