We have a contractor here today pulling a new fiber optic connection into the building and our datacenter. Initially we'll be using this new fiber for a dedicated connection to the Westin Building in downtown Seattle. Over this connection we'll connect our network to the Seattle Internet eXchange aka "The SIX"... we were SIX members when we were located in Bothell and are looking forward to the peering opportunities there again now that we've settled into our new facility in Seattle. More importantly however, this circuit will allow relatively inexpensive direct cross-connects for our valued clients who are seeking low-to-moderate bandwidth (10mb-300mb) at the Westin. Acquiring high-bandwidth (1Gb+) at our location is very cost effective, but the backhaul and loop costs can be prohibitive for smaller scale purchases. We're seeking to remedy that via this installation and provide our clients with more and better choices for direct connectivity.

Installing the fiber meant running a new 24-strand bundle from the vault out in front of our building up to the network core in our datacenter six floors above. The contractors arrived and found the vaults with a bit of water in them, not surprising due to our rainy climate. They ran a pump and removed the water so as to make working in the vaults less... wet. The water was pumped out onto the parking lot, where it ran down into a nearby storm drain.

Above: Looking down into one of the two fiber vaults in front of the building. Just a bit of water down there. The vaults are designed in such a way to keep the fiber conduits above the level of pooled water, but even so, the fiber itself is well-protected. Each strand is insulated and the whole bundle is encased in a weatherproof jacket seal, and then the bundles are run through plastic "innerduct".

Above: A view of the work from a balcony on our floor. The grassy area and shoulder of Tukwila International Blvd (SR 99) at the top of the frame is where virtually all the fiber optics that run southbound out of the Seattle metropolitan area located. This is the principal reason why the Intergate.Seattle datacenter campus was built here.

Above: Kevin from digital.forest holds the ladder while Kevin from the cable contractor opens up the fiber junction box at the top of the conduit run from the vault six floors below.

Above: Preparing to run the innerduct.

Above: Cable Installer pulling the innerduct through to the network core. He is standing up on our ladder racking, which is about eight feet (2.5m) above the floor. All our previous fiber optic cable installations are on the left. If it comes from outside the building it arrives wrapped in innerduct. If it comes from within the building it is inside a simple jacket. We have some multi-pair bundles, as well as a few single-pair runs to other parts of the datacenter (usually for storage area networks.) All of our connectivity from the core out to the datacenter for IP networking is on the right hand side. Don't worry, no cables are ever stepped on, and we rarely climb up on the racking.

Above: A view down to the parking lot where the first pull from ground level is going up.

Above: The fiber bundle has arrived at the junction box (you can see the cable pulling harness hanging out of the innerduct to the left of the installer. He is on a radio to the installer at the other end of each innerduct. They pulled the full length of slack to here next, then made the final pull to the network core.

Above: Starting the last pull. They use cloth tape, which is pre-installed inside the innerduct to pull the cable itself though.

Once the pull is complete they leave large slack loops at either end. On Monday another team will come and terminate the fiber into a panel here in the datacenter, and splice the other end down in the vault. You can see three Fiber Termination Panels just to the left of the installer's head. Another one of these will appear Monday.

The final step was tying down the innerduct to the ladder rack and labeling the install...

Stay tuned for an update on Monday evening.