There are two data centers that house virtual server technologies supporting Windows, Linux and dedicated OSes, multiple AIX based clusters, a 10,000 user wireless infrastructure with multiple controllers and firewalls, storage from multiple top tier vendors, vendor touch only products, voice IVR systems and even recently a mainframe.
These facilities are located about 2 miles apart from each other and are currently connected with 3 pairs of leased single mode fiber that traverse a short path and 3 pairs that follow a longer path. One pair of this fiber connects a pair of Cisco Nexus 7000s with Cisco VSS 6500s with multiple Nexus 5548s and around 50 Fexes. Another pair uses Cisco CWDM muxes to provide fiber channel storage connectivity and redundant Internet connections between the data centers DMZ and Firewall perimeters. The third pair is used both as a spare pair and to connect to a building housing IT staff. There are approximately 50 remote locations using 2 carriers with capacities ranging from T1 to 1Gb optical with each data center linked to both carriers.
Stretched Layer 2 with GLBP and filtered HSRP gateways, Windows/AIX clusters, vMotion, heartbeat links, internal and external load balanced systems, BGP failures, Internet link capacities, 3rd party connections, five wired and wireless VOIP products and wireless roaming with a business partner sharing space near one of the data centers can make for an active environment on a good day.
One data center is old and suffers from electrical and cooling capacity issues, physical layout and total space limits, environmental issues such as water sprinkler lines running above racks and other shortcomings that are not possible to fix in place. The second data center is in a building with limited expansion options due to zoning and the space used by the data center and its connected offices looks attractive to the cube space planners.
About 18 months ago after another major outage occurred discussions were held to decide on building, buying or renting new data center space. The decision was made to lease underground space from one of a small number (2) local hosting firms . Along with this decision finding a fiber carrier who either had or would install fiber between the two existing facilities and also be able to provide the new facility with diverse entry pathways commenced. Being able to afford the carrier was an important consideration as well. Prices did vary quite a bit.
The desire to do a long term lease of dark fiber from a carrier was deemed desirable so that whatever transport services were needed; 4Gb, 8Gb or 16Gb fiber channel, 10Gb or 40Gb data, 3G/4G cellular offload backhaul services, T1/Pots voice lines, DMZ/Perimeter extensions modifying equipment in the data centers versus renegotiating and incurring additional costs was preferred. This also made selecting a carrier that had both large scale transport experience and end customer experience important.
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