A Secure Solution

Some 1100 workers in Northwood now use an upgraded, state-of-the-art and secure IT system, networked via some 40,000 metres of  Volition fibre optic cable and 3,000 Volition colour coded and keyed VF-45 small form factor fibre connectors. Ian Atherton, the DCSA DII Installation Design Authority for Northwood, said “Although the individual users do not realise that the choices made in cabling were critical to the success of the IT infrastructure’s upgrade, the resulting benefits to the MOD have proved to be substantial, not least because the entire project realised significant cost savings.  Equipment racks and electrical loads have been halved.”

Atherton’s role within the MOD is to study the designs submitted by the main contractor, Fujitsu Services, which designs, builds and operates IT systems and services for the MOD, as well as checking that these conform to both MOD regulations and national standards for IT systems.

Back in 2004, Atherton attended a demonstration where the 3M Volition range formed part of the presentation. It was at that point he realised that the product could possibly resolve some of the problems the site was facing in terms of upgrading and modernising its IT systems, including dealing with space constrictions. 

Fibre in a tight space
“We needed to upgrade the IT system but we had real issues with room: space in the equipment rooms was limited and we were also short of space in the internal trunking. We had to upgrade the IT infrastructure from a single domain, single fibre network to a dual domain, dual fibre one, and therein lay the problem. To do this meant a substantial increase in the amount of fibre optic cable we needed to install and the space we had available to do this was extremely limited.

“We knew that all 3M systems either meet or exceed the requirements of international cabling standards, but what made this product stand out was the fact that, compared to a standard cabling solution, the Volition cable is much smaller in diameter.  The VF-45 small form factor connector, which can be used with both multi-mode and single-mode optical fibres, provides double the port density of the more widely used ST connector.”

Security
With the space issue resolved the next task was to address a number of security concerns that are part and parcel of any work carried out on MOD sites. “We wanted to put two security domains down a single cable thereby reducing the number of cables, something that had never been done before and which in itself was a major challenge,” explained Atherton. “So, for six months we worked on an ‘at risk’ pilot installation using the  Volition system at Northwood.  Following its successful implementation, we demonstrated the project and the benefits to the MOD security authority. Once they approved it, we were ready to roll out the solution across the rest of the site.”

Volition fibre cabling system for use in distributed and centralised network architectures is simple and cost effective,. Fibre optic cabling offers a number of significant benefits over traditional copper cabling, including: higher bandwidth, making it future-proof; longer link lengths; and immunity to electrical interference, so it is highly reliable.  It is also extremely difficult to ‘hack’ into fibre optic cabling, so it is very secure.

Although fibre is often perceived to be a more expensive option than copper cabling, installing the Volition fibre cabling system from 3M resulted in significant cost savings.  These came about because the reduced fibre and connector size meant the installation could be contained within the existing trunking and equipment rooms, which had limited space and in turn, this removed the need for expensive electrical and air conditioning installations.
Atherton explained. “While the cost savings were more than welcome, our prime concern was the space saving.  Following the installation, we now have half the number of equipment racks and we use around half the electrical load we would otherwise have required.  Our small equipment rooms are now kitted out in the most efficient way and the trunking in the corridors is more efficiently used.”

The project took around six months to implement across the site and was completed in 2005. Installing fibre can have some challenges, such as the need to avoid any particles of dirt on the fibre connectors and mis-aligning the fibre in the connector, both of which could lead to degradation in performance or even a failure of the cable.  However, the whole process went very smoothly.  The design of  Volition fibre connectors incorporate features such as a dust flap, which help to prevent any problems occurring during installation.

Another fundamental benefit to the site was the use of 3M keyed, colour-coded connectors, which means that users cannot inadvertently cross-patch from one domain to the other.  In other words, they can see at a glance which cable-end belongs to which service on the patch panel that ‘manages’ all the cables.

In fact, the same system on a smaller scale has been introduced at RAF High Wycombe and Atherton says he would have no hesitation in recommending its use at other MOD sites.

“Installing the Volition cabling system has meant we have been able to achieve everything we wanted: running two security domains down a single cable and managing space constrictions, together with cost savings.”