It’s time for a rethink on data centre cabling: why hyperscalers best practice lights the way
The data centre market is booming. As AI, edge, and cloud computing drive up demand for compute capacity, operators are scrambling to respond. Yet in the rush, many forget the importance of high-quality data cabling. Cabling is an overlooked, but vital element of every data centre. Mistakes or cut corners can greatly impact performance and how often refreshes will be required.
Without quality cabling in place, even the most ambitious projects may be built on quicksand. Data centre operators seeking best practice guidance in this area need look no further than the hyperscalers. They’re getting cabling right, with a focus on standards , and early planning. Hyperscalers understand that it is important for cabling solutions to go beyond general standards to give them the headroom needed to support several updates or generations of retrofits. By following their example, other data centre operators can futureproof sites for years to come.
What is bad cabling?
High-quality cabling is the foundation of data centre connectivity. Get it wrong, and facilities won’t be able to support bandwidth needs for any longer than a few years, forcing costly rip-and-replace projects. Poor cabling has the same impact on the data centre as it does in the typical smart home—degrading performance, throughput and connectivity, corrupting data and causing downtime.
Cabling is an area in which hyperscale data centre operators excel. They invest in advanced cabling installation and skilled teams to ensure performance and reliability. Their extensive experience enables them to design efficient layouts that minimise latency and maximise airflow. Standardisation across facilities simplifies maintenance and reduces errors. In contrast, some operators often face budget constraints and lack the same expertise or infrastructure, making achieving the same precision and efficiency harder.
These budget constraints occur because cabling is typically last in line. Data centre budgets are often stretched by additional costs or variations that crop up along the way. By the time it comes to cabling, the budget may have been depleted. Designers also don’t recognise the total cost of ownership when it comes to good, futureproofed cabling, putting in too low a figure in the budget. While cabling may only equate to 1% of the budget, it’s the first thing that gets cut back on.
The result is bad cabling, with poor last-mile patching and material quality, improper cable labelling and bend radius, loose connections, poor installation and mixed copper/fibre cables. Some operators may also opt for older cabling unsuitable for faster connectivity. If a project doesn’t have sufficient budget or know-how to install high-quality cables, it risks chance of a costly future upgrade and not delivering on the site’s goals.
Lessons from the hyperscalers
However, by learning from the innovators there are changes other operators can make to improve how they do cabling. Here are four pieces of hyperscaler best practice.
1. Develop detailed cabling standards and avoid copy and pasting between RFPs
Hyperscalers follow a detailed set of cabling standards for every data centre build. These comprehensive, granular documents cover cabling standards on everything from cabinets and containment to testing and earthing. Detailed drawings, site plans and specifications include data labelling and information on what connections should look like once complete. These also include a detailed design plan calculating the entire cabling system—including cable lengths and cable trays—to optimise performance, minimise clutter and streamline installation and troubleshooting. In most cases, these will have been created from a BIM model.
2. Early engagement is key – don’t leave cabling until last
Hyperscalers plan, plan, plan. Because data centres are usually built to a “just-in-time” delivery model, exhaustive planning and preparation are required to get things right the first time and avoid delays. Cabling is one of the last trades to go in but is a crucial part of the installation. Hyperscalers ensure early engagement on cabling because they recognise cabling and connectivity as being the lifeblood of their site. They also know that the timescales for competition will be aggressive, and so can’t afford to get things wrong later down the line.
Early and detailed engagement is critical to ensure that data cabling infrastructure is fully coordinated with third-party experts on security, ops, power, cooling and more. This will mitigate the risk of bottlenecks and that cabling standards are fully adhered to.
3. Create a detailed database that can help with patching and future retrofits
Hyperscalers also maintain a detailed database of OEM guides, 3D models, 2D drawings, rack layouts, labelling and cut sheets to help with patching and future retrofits. The cut sheets are particularly important helping to create a “digital footprint” detailing their cabling masterplans to show overall cable connectivity and unique source and destination references. This record-keeping is vital for seamless hardware refreshes and site updates.
4. Think of cabling as a means to futureproofing sites
In August 2024, vacancy rates in Europe’s top five data centre markets dropped below 10%. To keep pace, operators must adapt and/or extend the life of data centres, replacing hardware more regularly.
Hyperscalers consider cabling vital to futureproofing sites to adapt to changing demands. This is because cabling is the critical connection to enable modular infrastructure that enables the seamless upgrade to hardware to cater for future workloads. Hyperscalers design for tomorrow, so leave space to grow and invest in high-quality cabling. This enables higher performance capabilities as technological enhancements push the bandwidth and latency capacity of the network.
But it’s not just the cables hyperscalers are investing in. They’re keenly aware of the specialised skills needed to install, maintain and replace equipment. That’s why they’re training the next generation of cabling engineers with a mix of competencies ranging from cabling standards, testing and troubleshooting, to installation and maintenance.
Adaptability is the key
Given its criticality, cabling and connectivity should be top of the priority list. However, problems often start in the design phase, where the focus is on power, cooling, and what goes into the building rather than what happens on day two and beyond. Skimping on cabling today is a false economy, guaranteeing nothing but expensive maintenance and upgrades tomorrow. It’s time to follow the hyperscalers’ lead and plan for success –
Key to this will be strong partners that become an extension of an operator’s team, helping manage data centre projects and day-to-day operations. The hyperscale experience that partners bring is critical to operators that need to up their cabling game, helping to anticipate future demand, show how sites will need to adapt, and the impact on infrastructure.
