New Cisco development and testing lab in Israel yields flexibility and cost savings while reducing environmental impact.
Labs for developing and testing IT equipment typically require large amounts of space, electrical power, and air conditioning—all with associated high costs and environmental impact. A new Cisco lab in Netanya, Israel is changing this model with several innovative principles for design and operations.
Controlling Lab Costs and Enabling Flexible Use
The need for a new lab emerged from the lack of space in existing engineering and customer-testing labs at the Netanya site. Cisco also faces increasingly complex demands for the resources and services provided by the labs.
For example, Cisco R&D work is often performed by multiple teams working in different locations. This globalization requires remote access to equipment over the Cisco network, as well as remote management of the lab’s resources and network links. Along with continued growth and change in Cisco’s development activity, remote access means a new paradigm for lab operations, one that is based on flexible allocation of shared equipment and other resources.
Power demand and costs are another growing challenge for Cisco labs. Increasing power use, virtualization, and functional integration of high-end servers and other IT devices place a significant strain on lab infrastructures. In line with a decision to provide full remote management, the lab was designed without traditional lab benches. This space-saving design means there is relatively more equipment per unit of area, and made energy efficiency a key design criterion for the new lab.
Providing adequate room and equipment cooling is another challenge with significant implications for costs and environmental impact. In a traditional data center or lab, a common practice is to avoid installing heat-generating equipment in the upper levels of an open rack because it is difficult to cool with the room air conditioning.
Lab managers in Netanya wanted to take advantage of the entire rack-height for better space utilization. The efficient design parameters accommodate more equipment, which means the 450 m2 (4600 square feet) area in the Netanya lab is equivalent to nearly three times the area in a traditional lab design. Preparation for future installation of liquid cooling systems was another unique requirement in the new lab design.
“Historically, Cisco labs were designed to meet the specific requirements of a single Cisco business unit,” says Chaim Bendelac, director of engineering at the Cisco Netanya site. “Now, as Cisco’s business is changing, we need to be able to reuse lab facilities and resources in very flexible ways. We need to share facilities and support remote lab access and management to take advantage of lower-cost locations. And, we need to reduce our environmental footprint in every respect.”
An Innovative Design for a Shared, Environmentally Sensitive Lab
A cross-functional team, called the Labs Joined Engineering Task Force, was formed to determine specific requirements for the new lab. Members of this task force included advisors from the Cisco Israel Engineering and Workplace Resources (WPR) groups, who collaborated to develop an innovative design for the Netanya lab. This design is based on four primary principles:
- Deploy lab resources in a way that allows shared use by multiple development projects and groups. Specific resource allocation is governed by defined processes and a three-tier governance authority.
- Design the lab for redundant connectivity, modularity, and wiring flexibility in anticipation of frequent operational changes and resource redistribution. Network links were deployed between the Netanya lab and other Cisco labs, allowing equipment to be shared among physically separate labs.
- Use energy-efficient and insulated equipment cabinets instead of traditional open racks to reduce cooling demand and increase space utilization. “Unlike traditional lab designs, we cool equipment, not the room. It’s like chilling milk in a refrigerator at home, instead of using the air conditioning to cool the entire kitchen,” explains Ohad Richberg, Cisco engineering manager/project manager.
- Design the lab with automation to allow full remote access and management for all elements, including individual devices. A custom Web portal, integrated with Cisco’s user access control procedures and software, aggregates all services and remote-access functions in single interface for lab users.
Another unique design element of the Netanya lab is the capability given to individual users to control the power use of their equipment. The development and test engineers can remotely turn off lab equipment when it is not in use, either automatically or at a scheduled time. Each lab user can see online how much energy was saved due to proactive equipment shutdown.
When an equipment cabinet is not in use, its cooling system can be shutdown and its air-intake opening can be covered for additional power savings and noise reduction. “In most data centers and labs, the room is very cold and the noise levels are very high because of the open racks. By using closed cabinets and placing fans under the lab’s raised floors, we can make the lab much quieter and more comfortable to work in,” explains Nir Tal, Cisco lab manager/project manager.
Collaboration Produces a Successful Lab Design
The lab’s design parameters were determined through extensive discussion and collaboration among Cisco facilities personnel, Cisco IT professionals, experienced lab administrators, and lab users. Electrical engineers, cooling experts, and other specialists were also involved in the lab design.
“Working with the various stakeholders, we designed a lab facility that addresses their needs in a shared lab environment,” says Bendelac. “We have extended this collaborative spirit to the lab administration for sharing resources among projects and even business units.”
The collaborative design process was also beneficial to the Cisco WPR group, which manages Cisco’s buildings. This group must accommodate the many different—and sometimes conflicting—needs of employees and activities at the Netanya site. For the new lab, the collaboration team gave WPR a single point of contact and answers for design discussions. “The collaboration process helped us to better understand the needs of the different groups involved in the lab and made it easier for us to support the lab’s needs,” notes Shuki Levi, a technical manager for Cisco WPR. “We were also better able to communicate the facility’s requirements and constraints to help the lab team understand important issues, such as reducing electrical power costs.”
Because the Netanya lab is designed to serve multiple projects and Cisco business units, a three-tier authority determines lab policies and governance for ongoing operations. Each tier has specific responsibilities and participants:
- The Cisco IT organization supplies connectivity to the corporate network and manages network security, allocation of IP addresses, and related issues.
- The Netanya lab manager allocates project resources, oversees lab use, and coordinates operations with the Cisco IT and WPR groups. The lab manager also maintains standards compliance (e.g., ISO 9000) and enforces site-wide policies.
- The project owner installs and maintains a project’s equipment in the lab.
The Netanya lab manager reports to the site’s governing board, which resolves prioritization issues and any conflicts that arise about lab use. The board is the highest local authority and ultimately the single point of contact for all of the parties involved in the lab operations.
“This three-tier authority has been critical to our ability to manage a shared facility among the different groups, and encourages resource sharing via a tremendously collaborative development environment,” says Richberg.
Reduced Costs and Environmental Impact
The Netanya lab began to deliver notable results upon its full opening in April 2008, including cost savings, reduced environmental impact, and flexible lab usage.
Capital expenses were reduced by using the closed cabinets instead of open racks, which significantly increases equipment density per rack. More efficient use of electrical power and cooling are expected to reduce the lab’s environmental impact and generate cost savings of at least 10 percent.
The real-time feedback about power savings increases user awareness, provides accountability, and encourages energy-efficient behavior by lab users.
The inter-lab connections allow more users to work with existing devices, which also reduces Cisco’s overall equipment purchases, energy costs, and space needs. For example, with remote access to a lab’s resources, engineers from different projects can easily share devices such as expensive packet generators.
Bringing New Design Benefits to Existing Labs
Based on the benefits projected for the new Netanya lab, existing Cisco labs are now looking to apply many of those design principles. Strategies such as replacing open racks with closed equipment cabinets reduce the need to add lab space while also making more efficient use of power and cooling. With its new lab design, Cisco is delivering on its commitment to innovation, efficiency, and more environmentally sustainable operations.
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