New machine room in the legendary MMTS-9

In December 2017, along with the snow, I was brought to Moscow, where I was able to visit a place where all the telecommunication routes converge - in the legendary MMTS-9 building. So, so pathetically, I decided to start this little story. The purpose of the trip was to take a personal look at the new MSK-IX data center, which was put into operation only in the spring of 2017. Under the cut report from there. Catch

Before we begin, let's go back a few decades ago. Moscow is preparing for the Olympics, which implies the availability of high-quality long-distance and international telephone communications. In 1978, Moscow Long-Distance Telephone Exchange No. 9 (MMTS-9) was commissioned. In the 80s, three ARM-20 type automatic stations with a total capacity of 6890 channels were responsible for switching long-distance telephone communications. Later, in the line-hardware building of the MTS-9, the equipment of the K-3600 transmission system was set up. Since then, MMTS-9 has been successfully operating in the communications services market. Subsequently, communications in the USSR and in Russia developed at a rapid pace. At the beginning of the 90s, two powerful digital international communication systems AX-10 were introduced at the Nine.

In 1995, the main Moscow Internet providers: Demos, Relcom, MSU, INP MSU (Radio-MSU), FREEnet, RELARN Association and Rosprint entered into an agreement on creating an IP traffic exchange point, which was motivated by the desire of operators to optimize traffic routes, reduce delays in the transmission of network packets and reduce the loading of expensive international communication channels. The location of the exchange was chosen just MMTS-9.

Today, Nine is probably the most powerful telecommunications platform in Russia. Such well-known companies as MSK-IX, MTS, Beeline, Megafon, TTK, Orange Business Services and many others “live” here.



From the Moscow streets “nine” looks impressive. Its area is more than 40 thousand square meters. Of these, almost half occupy 11 engine rooms.



MMTS-9 has an interesting feature. The building consists of two blocks, built at different times, but interconnected. In both blocks, the number of floors is differently numbered, which creates confusion because the floors on the same level have different numbering. This leads to regular confusion among those who stay here infrequently.



"Nine" - a building with the highest level of protection. Just do not get here. To pass through the turnstiles you need to have an electronic key or a temporary pass. Entrances to all areas of the building where critical equipment is located are equipped with access terminals using HID proxy cards. The entire perimeter of the building is monitored by a video surveillance system, which includes TRASSIR video cameras equipped with motion detectors and the possibility of digital video recording. The remote control of all systems of the engineering and technical safety of the facility operates around the clock.

The MSK-IX nodes are located in three machine rooms of the MMTS-9. We came to look at the newest data center launched in spring 2017. To miss and accidentally pass by, it was simply indecent for us, because everyone who rises to the floor is greeted with a pointer like this:



M9.PLUS is located in a spacious hall, which is divided into several isolated rooms. In the first room, data center employees monitor the stable operation of equipments using a special monitoring system.



We move on, but first you need to change shoes.





The room is protected from fires with the help of a special system based on freon.







By the way, the whole frame of “nine” is fixed by special beams. This is done taking into account possible earthquakes.



The power supply of the process equipment is carried out exclusively by three-beam schemes. The distribution of electricity is made of 10 MSB (main switchboards), located in the common room of the basement.

The M9.PLUS hardware room is equipped with a UPS with batteries that allow the equipment to operate in an autonomous mode for up to 1 hour. Batteries and uninterruptible power supplies are located in different isolated areas.









Each room has a fire extinguishing system.





Power supply in the server room is provided by four independent transformers.









Directly in the machine room, in each rack there are two independent beams of power supply.





You can get into the hall only with the help of an electronic key.



Directly hall with machine racks around the perimeter is equipped with air conditioning, which maintain a comfortable temperature here, both for equipment and for humans.













It can accommodate about two hundred telecommunications racks. In M (.PLUS, clients receive a number of very interesting services. First of all, this is renting a telecommunications rack and placing equipment in it. MSK-IX personnel will provide a full range of equipment monitoring services. You can also connect to the peer-to-peer network MSK-IX by becoming a member of a traffic exchange network in which more than 500 companies are participating, in addition, it is possible to receive a personal VLAN and become a participant in the Mediallogistics project, thereby obtaining access to a package of 100+ television signals through the MSK-IX port.











The keys to each telecommunications rack are unique and are given to all tenants in their hands.



In M9.PLUS, everything is provided so that employees of tenant companies can work comfortably with their own equipment located in the data center.



In M9.PLUS, air circulation is based on the principle of a cold and hot corridor.







Raised floor is laid around the perimeter of the server room. Using a special device with suction cups, you can pick up any tile and see what is going on under the floor. This can be done at any point in the server room, which, of course, facilitates installation or the search for any faults.





The video surveillance system in the server room is designed in such a way that each telecommunications rack is under the control of the “big brother” watchful eye. Each opening between the racks is watched by a separate video camera.







Well, actually, that's all. See you soon on the pages of our blog.