Private Cage with kVA-Based Power

Private cages are built to order, with space assigned based on power allocations and cabinet quantity. They are interconnection-ready — enabling private, local, and virtual interconnections to clouds, services, and partners on Platform Equinix.

You can procure your cabinets to be installed in the Private Cage, or you can purchase cabinets from Equinix as an accessory. In either case, Equinix performs the cabinet installation.

Note: Cabinets are installed in the cage, and power circuits are installed in the cabinet(s).

Tip: To see information about your existing Private Cage deployments, refer to View Your Colo Assets in the Portal.

Private Cage with kVA-Based Power features include:

  • A private secure area within an IBX where you can install cabinets to hold your equipment

  • Standard height cage mesh or hard walls on all four sides

  • A locking door

  • Equinix-provided cabinets:

    • closed or open

    • with or without side panels

  • A demarcation point for interconnection / cross-connects

  • Ladder racking between the demarcation point and the first cabinet position (2-inch by 2-inch fiber raceway up to the first cabinet position closest to the entrance — up to 10 feet)

  • The ability to draw power up to a contracted draw cap (measured in kVA)

  • The ability to install and deinstall cabinets or power circuits as needed

Private Cages allocate approximately 20 feet2 (2 meters2) per cabinet position. Some cages have hard walls, but most cage walls are made of a steel, 2-inch (50 mm) metal mesh with a wire diameter of 0.15 inch (3.75 mm).

Note: Available power density options, demarcation types, cabinet/rack types, cage sizes, and cage wall materials may vary by IBX and by country.

Important: For Service Level Agreement details, refer to the Licensed Space and Standard Cross Connect SLA.

Flexibility

  • Equinix offers customizable cages to suit your requirements

  • Cages can support a large number of cabinets

Reliability

  • All Equinix IBX data centers are designed with a minimum N+1 configuration for power services and cage environmental services

  • Diverse and redundant uninterruptible power systems, including generators

Scalability

  • Global footprint with significant presence in North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, East Asia, and Australia

  • High power-density footprints

  • Economies of scale providing volume-optimized pricing

Security

  • Equinix enables you to safeguard mission-critical data

  • 24x7x365 security in most IBX data centers

  • Constant remote monitoring and IBX access control at all data centers

  • Equinix-monitored security camera and biometric hand reader access control options are available

Conditioned AC power is delivered to a cabinet inside a Private Cage via an AC power circuit.

Conditioned DC power is delivered to a cabinet inside a Private Cage via a DC power circuit.

Note: The available voltage and amperage vary by country.

You can contract for a single (primary) circuit, but for infrastructure resiliency. However, we encourage you to use a pair of redundant power circuits for infrastructure resiliency. A redundant power circuit pair is:

  • A matching pair of circuits (in both voltage and amperage)

  • Fed by diverse UPS systems

You can spread the power load across both circuits in the redundant power circuit pair. However, the load must be at most the capacity of a single circuit. This ensures that a single circuit can carry the entire load in case of a circuit failure.

The type of socket or receptacle used for each circuit is country-specific, voltage-specific, and amperage-specific. It is installed either above the cabinet or, in some raised floor IBX data centers, under the floor beneath the cabinet.

The maximum allowable draw on any one circuit equals the Circuit-Usable kVA, which varies by region:

Region Maximum Allowable Draw (in amps)

APAC

80% of the size of the circuit

EMEA

100% of the size of the circuit

AMER

80% of the size of the circuit (for 120/208V circuits)

100% of the size of the circuit (for 240/415V circuits)

Draw Caps

Every Private Cage with kVA-Based Power has a power draw cap, measured in kVA. A draw cap is the maximum power draw supportable by (and contractually allowable for) a cage.

Note: The draw cap does not limit on the number of power circuits that can be installed.

The draw cap is split into AC Power kVA and DC Power kVA, based on your expected AC and DC power draw in the cage. AC Power kVA plus DC Power kVA must exactly equal the cage’s draw cap.

Cabinet Ratings

Every cabinet installed in a private cage has a Cabinet Rating equal to the maximum power draw allowable in the cabinet (per the Global IBX Policies). The rating is also indicates the cooling resources necessary to support the cabinet.

A single private cage may contain cabinets with different Cabinet Ratings. The sum of the Cabinet Ratings of all cabinets installed in the cage must be less than or equal to the draw cap of the cage.

Note: The cabinet rating does not place a limit on the number of power circuits that can be installed in the cabinet.

A Cabinet Equivalent, or CabE, is a unit of measure equal to the total cage space needed to support one standard Equinix cabinet (and its associated hot and cold aisle space). For example, a 10 CabE cage is a space built to support 10 standard Equinix cabinets. In some cases, the size of the cage (in CabE) may not equal the number of cabinets installed; for example, a 10 CabE cage might be needed to hold 8 extra-wide cabinets.

The Average CabE Rating is used to determine the overall power density of a cage. The Average CabE Rating is equal to the quotient of the draw cap (in kVA) divided by the size of the Private Cage (in CabE).

Example: For a 10 CabE Private Cage with a 45 kVA draw cap, its Average CabE Rating is 4.5 kVA (45 kVA ÷ 10 CabE = 4.5 kVA).

Where should you start with fitting out your private cage? Use our Smart Build Accessories Ordering Guide (link below), where you can find a catalog of standard cabinets and PDUs, with set lead times and pricing. We have options to fit out your private cage. Browse our standard Cabinet and PDU offerings, where we offer set pricing, lead times and quality products. We offer a catalog of standard cabinets and PDUs, with set lead times and pricing.

See the Smart Build Accessories Ordering Guide for further information.

And, if our standard accessory offerings don't fit your needs, ask your Sales Executive about using Custom Parts and Labor (CP&L). Additional options that are available through CP&L:

  • Enhanced security options

  • Structured cabling and cable management

  • Overhead infrastructure