InterviewOctober 2016

Container Buildings & IT The Lego Principle for Networks

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Modular container designs for construction sites and office buildings enjoy great popularity these days. They come in various shapes and sizes; their use, location and appearance may vary widely, but they are all built from containers, be it a warehouse, a sanitary facility or a market hall. Such living and working spaces have a modular design based on stacked or joined shipping containers and are used either as temporary buildings or as high quality representative housing for of-fices and apartments. Meeting the challenges of container architecture there are modern IT solutions which are flexible enough to enable high performing and scalable infrastructures on the go.

Nexans talked to Frank Fuerstenau, DATA-NET-ONE Product Director with CANCOM, a German IT System Integrator, about temporary buildings, IT-infrastructures for construction sites, modular networks and current trends in architecture and construction.

About.FrankFuerstenau:

DATA-NET-ONEProductDirectorwithCANCOM,Inventor 50yearsold,happilymarried,3sons Specialisation: VOIP,NAS,Microsoft,TCP/IP,SecurityApplications, CloudMobile,SAPR3,ManagedServicesMr. Fuerstenau, what is a Container Building?Theterm‘ContainerBuilding’isusedtorefertoabuildingwhichisbuiltfromcontainermodules.Thesecontainermodulesmaybegroupedtogetherorstacked,joinedsidebysideorerectedontopofeachother.Itisdesignedinsuchawayastoallowpeopleoveracertainperiodoftime,e.g.fromafewdaystoseveralyears,tostay,workandlivethereinacomfortableandconvenientway.Thebuildingusuallycomesequippedwithupandrunningutilities(includingwater,sewage,electricity,heating,cooling,ven-tilationandlightingsystemsaswellastelecommunications)andisproperlysealedandinsulatedagainstfireandcondensationrespectingstrictenergysavingregulations.Itiseasierandquickertoobtainabuildingpermitforsuchabuildingastherearereducedrequirementsandlessemissionsincludingnoise,dustanddirt.Thesizeofacontainerbuildingcanvarybetweenindividualstandalonecontainersandlarge,multistorybuildings,whichareusuallythreeorfourstoreyshigh.

Why are Container Buildings so widespread at construction sites?Thesetupoftheconstructionsiteincludesnotonlyconstructionoffices,butalsorecre-ationroomsandsocialspace,toilets,storageunits,cookingfacilitiesandsoon.Thebiggestproblemfacedherebytraditionalconstructionofficesisthelackofuseablespace.Containerbuildingsaretemporarybuildings,theyhelptosolvethisacutespaceshortageandevolvealongwiththeconstructionprogress.Theyaremodularandmobi-

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le,flexibletomodify,andcanbesetupveryquickly,justasifyouplayedaroundwiththebuildingblocksofaLegoconstructionkit.Complexofficeswithhigh-endequipmentoraccommodationwithcombinedliving,showering,sleepingandcookingfacilitiescanbebuilt,forexample,inafewdaysorweeks,accordingtoindividualneedsandexpectationsoftheusers-bothfromtheinsideandfromtheoutside.Regardlessoftheirfunctionality,allthecontainerbuildingscomewellequippedtoliveuptomodernrequirementsforsafety,engineering,comfort,designandhygiene.Afterthesitedis-mantlingtheycanbeusedelsewhere,forexample,atnewconstructionsites,butalsoforbuildingrenovation,modernisationorextensionpurposes.So,theseareflexiblesolutionsthatareextremelyversatile.Suchturnkeycontainerbuildingsincludingcom-pletetechnicalequipmentcanberented,purchasedorleased.

Nowadays nothing goes without IT, it is a must have in nearly every building. What are the solutions on the market to enable a high-perfor-ming, reliable and secure network in container buildings?

Weworkverycloselywiththeleadingmanufacturersofmobilecontainers,forexamplewithAlgeco,aGermanybasedcompany.TheAlgecocontainersolutionscomeequip-pedwithspecialholdersthatenablearapid,discreetinstallationofadvancednetwor-kingandtelecommunicationssystems.TheseholderswerespeciallydesignedtohousethecablechannelmodulenamedDATA-NET-ONE.Themodulecontainsallthatisneededforamodernworkplaceenvironment:poweroutletsandnetworkingandtele-communicationconnections.TheinstallationofthemoduleisPlug&PlayfollowinganindividualplanningbyCANCOM.Themodulescanbeinstalledhorizontallyorverti-cally.Amoduleisinstalledwithinaminute!Aleasedconstructionofficebuiltfrom100containerscanbenetworkedwithintwodays.Todoitinthetraditionalwayitwouldtakeuptofourweeksandneedaboutsixelectricians(e.g.formeasuring,drilling,cablepulling,screwing).WithDATA-NET-ONE,thisisatwo-manjobthatneedsonlyattachingandsnapping.Theoutcomeisfastercommissioningandtheearlierstartof

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regularoperations.Itreallymakessenseifyouwanttospeedthingsup!

TheDATA-NET-ONEmodulehasamodulardesign.Itisrecyclableandenergyefficientandhasprovenitselfinmultipleprojectsovertheyears.TheconceptallowstobuildnetworksjustlikewithLego.

Which Network Topologies come into question for Container Buildings?Duetothespecificityofmodularcontainerbuildingstheconventionalstarconnectivityisonlyconditionallysuitable.Whenthebuildingreachesacertainsize,thecablingvolumeandfireloadbecomearealchallenge.Soweoptformodernfibreoptictech-nologybasedontheFibretotheOffice(FTTO)conceptforafast,reliableandsecuredatatransmission.FTTOimpliesanITinfrastructurewithfibreopticcablingrightuptotheworkplace,whereonlythelast3-5metrestoenddevicesarebridgedbystan-dardRJ�5patchcords.Thankstoopticalfibre,minimalcablingvolumeisachievedinconjunctionwithringtopologyandadvancedredundancy.Asaresultyougetaverylowfireload.Sometimesitispossibletoreducethecablingvolumebyupto90%.Justimagine:onemodulehousesonlytwothinopticalfibres!Theclientissatisfiedbyacleancablemanagementandgetstopmarksforworksafety.

And what about technical rooms and floor distributors?Withoursolution,therearesimplynofloordistributorsandnoneedfortechnicalrooms!Indeed,thenetworkisverysimple,itshierarchyisreduced.Thereareonlytwolevels,theonewiththecentralcoreswitchinthedatacentreroom,andtheswitchesinDATA-NET-ONEmodulesinstalledateveryworkplace,veryclosetotheuser.Thenetworkisreliable,redundantandsecure.DevicessuchasPCs,laptops,IPphonesornetworkprinterscanbeeasilyconnectedviaRJ�5tothepre-installed,buteasilycustomisablenetworkintheDATA-NET-ONEmodules.Thesystemisexpandableatanytime,andnewusersorapplicationscanbeconnectedveryquicklyandeasily.Ofcourse,CANCOMguarantees��/7serviceandcompliancewiththehighestsafetystandardsthroughouttheuseoftheDATA-NET-ONEcablingmodules.

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What providers specialise in FTTO technology?Since�009wehavebeenworkingexclusivelywithsystemsfromNexansbecauseweareconvincedoftherobustnessandreliabilityoftheirFTTOsolutions.TogetconvincedoftheirqualitywetooksometimetotestNexansLANactiveswitchesextensively,evenininstallationsaboveheatingarrangements.Andindeed,overtheyearsthedowntimerateforLANactiveswitchesinDATA-NET-ONEinstallationsamountstolessthan�%.TheswitcheshaveaveryhighMTBFvalueandarerepeatedlyrentedaspartoftheDATA-NET-ONEsolution.

LANactiveswitchesarereliablehigh-techproducts.They‘remanaged,intel-ligent,robust,andsecure.ThankstotheirPoweroverEthernetfunctionality(IEEE80�.3afPoEand80�.3atPoE+),VoIPphones,wirelessAPsormodernIP-basedsecurityapplicationssuchasvideosurveillance,accesscontrolorfirealarmsystemscangettheirpowersupplydirectlyfromtheactiveswitch,whicheliminatestheneedforadditional

powersockets.What´smore,theFTTOswitchhasaverylowpowerconsumptionofabout3.5WthankstoEnergyEfficientEthernet(EEE)andECOmode.ThesystemsareagreatoptionforAllIP.

Asyoucansee,withDATA-NET-ONEbasedonNexansswitchingtechnologyCANCOMcanofferaholisticdesignapproachfornetwork,telephoneandelectricityconnectivityintemporarybuildings-withminimalsetuptimesandextendedreliability.

Which benefits can be expected from the modular network design on the basis of DATA-NET-ONE??

Wedeliverfullytested,pre-fabricatedcomponentssothattheconnectionerrorsonsitearevirtuallyexcluded.Sincethewholesystemismodularanddecentralised,networksarealsofastertoinstallortodismantle.Basedonourestimates,onecansavefrom�0to�0%onTCO(TotalCostofOwnership)withthemodularnetworkapproach.Theresultisgreaternetworkflexibility,scalabilityandenhancedmanageability

coupledwithminimisedoperationalanddepreciationlosses.

Ourcontainersarefullyequippedwithmodernofficeandnetworktechnology.Theconceptisgoodforcustomersasitisbasedonrenting/leasing.Thisreducestheinvest-

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mentriskandsparesthecustomer´sliquidity.Socustomerscantestthesystemsunderrealoperatingconditionsbeforetheyactuallypurchaseorrentthem.SomecustomerslikeitsomuchthattheyoptforthemodularnetworkconceptwithDATA-NET-ONElateroninthesolidbuilding.Do you believe that modular buildings are a good investment?ModularspacesolutionsmeettheZeitgeist.Theyaregainingpopularity,sincethetrendistowardsfastercommissioning,greatercomfort,andall-inclusiveservices.Thefuturewilldefinitelybeshapedbymodularbuildings,eitherofsteel,concrete,modernplasticorwood.Weseethatfastandflexiblecontainersolutionsareindemandnotonlywithconstructionsiteoffices,temporarybuildings,storagefacilitiesandeventve-nues.Theyattractanincreasingnumberofadministrativeandrepresentativeofficesaswell,includingcorporateheadquartersofcompanies,banksandinsurances,schools,churches,kindergartens,hospitalsandsocialhousingproviders.Evenmanufacturingplantscanbebuiltfromcontainers!Everythingcanbeexecutedinthemodulardesignandfinishedoutwithhighqualitymaterials,bothinsideandoutside.Withtheincreasingcomplexityofthetechnicalrequirementswealsoseeariseinthepopula-rityofmodularnetworksolutions.WithDATA-NET-ONEbasedonNexansLANactiveswitchesyoucanhaveasimpleandefficientnetworkingsolutionthatenablesafast,reliableandsecureITnetwork.

Installing DATA-NET-ONE modules

0s 10s

15s 20s

Step 1: Prepare the DATA-NET-ONE module

Step 3: Slide up the covering profiles to the wall Step 4: Connect the power plug to the socket

Step 2: Hang up the module on the holders

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About CANCOM.

CANCOMisaGermanybasedcloudtransformationpartner,systemintegratorandmanagedservicesproviderwithawiderangeofITservicesforcompanies.Theservicesincludeplanninganddesignofhigh-performingandsecurenetworkinfrastructures,networkinstallation,analysis,operationandmaintenance(incl.real-timemonitoring,proactivesupportservices,administrationofroutersandswitches,monitoringoffirewallsandothersecuritycomponents,etc.).

Offices

Advanced Networking SolutionsBonnenbroicher Str. 2-1441238 MoenchengladbachGermanyTel: +49 2166 27-2220Fax:+49 2166 27-2499

Nexans Cabling SolutionsAlsembergsesteenweg 2, b3 B-1501 BuizingenBelgiumTel: +32 (0)2 363 38 00Fax: +32 (0)2 365 09 99

Nexans Cabling Solutions UK 2 Faraday Office ParkFaraday Road - BasingstokeHampshire RG24 8QQ

Great BritainTel: +44 (0)1256 486640Fax: +44 (0)1256 486650

www.nexans.com/LANsystems info.ncs@nexans.com

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