From Rack Space to Run-State: UAE Datacenter, Network, Telephony, Built at record-breaking time

At-a-Glance

• Client/Industry: Confidential / commodities trading
• Scope: Turnkey datacenter foundation (compute, storage, SAN, network, security), backup, Microsoft core services, email security, endpoint security management, plus unified communications platform
• Site: Etisalat Datacenter, Dubai, DIFC Office
• Delivery window: Planned activities span May – August 2022 with hardware lead-times driving staged execution
• Key outcomes: A production-ready virtualized platform with shared storage and structured backup, supported by detailed as-built documentation for handover and smooth operations

Challenge

Customer needed a complete datacenter environment delivered as a single integrated system. The constraints were practical and unforgiving: colocation had to be commissioned (cabinet, power, uplinks, IP block), hardware procurement carried multi-week lead times, and the platform to be built, secured, validated, and documented to a standard that operations could actually run.

On top of the infrastructure foundation, the environment also had to support core enterprise services (identity, DNS, email) and security controls (backup discipline, endpoint governance, email hygiene). This is the kind of project where failure is rarely a single misstep; it’s a cascade of small gaps between network, storage, virtualization, and security.

Solution Overview

NNTC delivered a full-stack build in an Etisalat datacenter footprint sized as a dedicated cabinet with a defined power envelope and network services (dual 1GbE ports, redundant IP allocation, VLAN services, and monthly transfer pack), enabling a clean handoff between facility layer and IT stack.

The deployed platform centered on:

• Compute + virtualization: Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 cluster running VMware vSphere with vCenter.
• Shared storage + SAN: Huawei OceanStor Dorado 3000 (all-flash NVMe) as primary storage, with dual Fibre Channel switching (HPE StoreFabric SN6010) and documented zoning/connectivity patterns.
• Backup tiers: HPE MSA 2060 as backup storage plus an HPE MSL 2024 tape library integrated into the backup architecture.
• Network core: Dual Huawei S6730 switches operating as a stacked L3 core with structured trunk/access design.
• Security perimeter: Check Point security gateways as the perimeter control plane.
• Core services: Windows Server 2022 infrastructure with Active Directory/DNS and Exchange Server 2019 deployed as a two-node DAG for mailbox high availability.
• Security operations tooling: Veeam Backup & Replication (licensed for a defined VM instance count), Trellix/McAfee ePO for endpoint governance, and Symantec Messaging Gateway for inbound/outbound mail security posture.

In parallel, NNTC deployed an Avaya Aura 10 Enterprise unified communications solution as a VM-based platform, integrated to an Etisalat SIP trunk, with defined licensing and an IP phone estate (J159/J179 models) and multi-year support.

Project Specifics

• Colocation as part of the architecture: Cabinet, power, uplinks, IP allocation, VLAN service, ATS support, and access rules were treated as first-class dependencies, not “someone else’s problem.”
• Shared storage done properly: All-flash primary storage with a dual-fabric FC design
• Three-host VMware foundation: A pragmatic cluster size that supports maintenance cycles and growth without turning the design into a science project.
• Email designed for uptime and control: Exchange 2019 deployed as a two-node DAG, with external mail flow routed via a dedicated email security gateway.
• Veeam Backup with structure: Disk repositories, defined job schedules and retention, and tape integration documented as part of a lifecycle plan, not an afterthought.
• Security managed as operations, not install: Endpoint governance via ePO with defined ports, sync approach, policy/tags, and maintenance tasks captured for repeatability.
• Voice and DC built to coexist: Avaya Aura deployed as VMs in the datacentre with SIP trunk connected to the same rack, documented component roles and sizing parameters, high-availability and security on the same datacenter foundation.

Project schedule

The schedule shows the real-world choreography: BoQ finalization, contract signing, staged order placement, early delivery of temporary/demo equipment to start build activities while target hardware lead-times ran in the background, then final recabling/migration activities, acceptance testing, and handover steps aligned to the arrival of target systems. That sequencing reduced idle time and kept risk bounded to controlled change windows instead of a single “big bang.”

As-Built Documentation

This project’s differentiator wasn’t only what was deployed; it was how it was recorded. The as-built package documents the environment end-to-end: rack layout, connection diagrams, network and switching constructs, SAN fabric and zoning, server and storage details, VMware configuration and VM inventory, Veeam backup structure and restore procedures, Microsoft infrastructure build parameters, and the operational configuration domains for security tooling (ePO and messaging gateway). The Avaya as-built adds a parallel, structured record of the unified communications platform (components, roles, and deployment model).

Result

CUSTOMER received a complete UAE datacenter foundation commissioned in Etisalat Hor Al Anz, with a virtualized compute platform, shared all-flash storage, structured FC SAN, redundant core switching, a Check Point security perimeter, layered backup including tape, and a documented Microsoft/email stack. The project closed with an unusually rigorous as-built handover that supports day-2 operations, audits, troubleshooting, and controlled future change.