Private Cloud Provider — Geographically Diverse Data Centre Build
Full end-to-end design, build, and handover of a new geographically diverse data centre for a multi-tenant private cloud provider — including Mellanox core switching, Nutanix HCI, MPLS/VXLAN overlay fabric, and complete firewall implementation.
100%
End-to-end delivery
Design, build, config and documentation
0
Tenant data bleed incidents
Full multi-tenant network isolation achieved
2
Geographically diverse sites
MPLS-connected, OSPF and BGP underlay
1 day
Knowledge transfer handover
Internal team fully operational post-delivery
The Challenge
A greenfield build with no room to get it wrong
A private cloud provider hosting multiple organisations across shared physical infrastructure needed to expand into a new, geographically diverse data centre location. The new site meant new equipment, a new network architecture, and a connectivity requirement between both sites that had to be delivered without disrupting live workloads already running for hosted clients.
The core switching platform selected for the new site was the Mellanox Spectrum 2200 — a high-performance spine layer switch with a specialist configuration model that the internal engineering team had no prior experience with. The compute layer was built on Nutanix hyperconverged infrastructure, which the team was similarly unable to design and integrate without external expertise.
The network architecture required a private MPLS connection between sites running OSPF as the underlay interior routing protocol, with BGP for inter-site path control. Above that, a VXLAN overlay fabric was required to provide complete network isolation between each hosted tenant — ensuring that no data, traffic, or broadcast domain from one organisation was ever reachable from another sharing the same physical infrastructure.
Multi-tenant isolation
Multiple hosted companies sharing the same physical infrastructure — each requiring complete network and data isolation from every other tenant.
New geographic location
Greenfield data centre build with no existing configuration baseline. All infrastructure new — requiring design from scratch against live operational requirements.
Mellanox Spectrum 2200
High-performance core switching platform with a specialist configuration model that the internal engineering team had no prior experience with.
Nutanix HCI platform
Hyperconverged infrastructure requiring careful network integration. Internal team lacked the design and build experience to deliver it safely.
MPLS & VXLAN overlay
Private MPLS connection between sites running OSPF as the underlay with VXLAN providing the multi-tenant overlay fabric — a complex stacked architecture requiring precise design.
No margin for error
Hosted clients had live workloads depending on continuity of service. The new site had to be delivered correctly first time with no disruption to existing tenants.
The Solution
Full end-to-end design, build, and handover
Frodingham Consulting took complete ownership of the delivery — from initial network design through to live configuration, testing, documentation, and structured handover to the internal team.
Core Switching
- Mellanox Spectrum 2200
- VXLAN EVPN fabric
- BGP EVPN control plane
Routing Protocols
- OSPF (underlay IGP)
- eBGP & iBGP (inter-site)
- Private MPLS connectivity
Overlay
- VXLAN tenant segmentation
- Per-tenant VTEP allocation
- Layer 2 extension across sites
Compute
- Nutanix AHV hypervisor
- Nutanix cluster build
- Network-HCI integration
Security
- Firewall implementation
- Per-tenant security zones
- Inter-tenant deny policy
- East-west traffic control
Delivery
- IP addressing scheme
- Network topology diagrams
- Configuration baselines
- Operational runbooks
- Team handover & knowledge transfer
Delivery Phases
From blank rack to documented, live environment
01 — Discovery & Assessment
Assessed the existing environment, internal skill gaps, and the requirements of the new data centre location. Reviewed the multi-tenant hosting model to understand isolation requirements for each hosted organisation and defined the full scope of delivery.
02 — Network & IP Scheme Design
Designed a comprehensive IP addressing scheme to support multi-tenant isolation across the new site. Defined VLAN structure, VXLAN segment allocation per tenant, and the MPLS underlay topology connecting both data centre locations with OSPF as the interior routing protocol and BGP for inter-site path control.
03 — Core Switch Build — Mellanox Spectrum 2200
Configured the Mellanox Spectrum 2200 core switching platform — a high-performance spine layer switch requiring specialist expertise not available in the client's internal team. Delivered full configuration including port profiles, VXLAN VTEP configuration, and EVPN control plane setup for the overlay fabric.
04 — Nutanix Platform Build
Built and configured the Nutanix hyperconverged infrastructure cluster at the new location. Designed the network integration between the Nutanix platform and the underlay fabric, ensuring correct VLAN tagging, uplink bonding, and traffic separation across the hypervisor layer.
05 — Firewall Implementation
Designed and implemented firewall policy across the multi-tenant environment. Each hosted organisation received isolated security zones with explicit deny-by-default inter-tenant policy. East-west traffic between tenants was blocked at the firewall layer with defined exceptions where required under formal change control.
06 — Documentation & Handover
Produced a full documentation package — network topology diagrams, IP addressing scheme, device configuration baselines, VXLAN segment registers, firewall policy documentation, and operational runbooks. Delivered a structured handover session with the internal technical team to ensure complete understanding of the environment.
The Outcome
Delivered. Documented. Handed over.
The new data centre was delivered fully configured and operational — Mellanox core switching, Nutanix HCI cluster, MPLS interconnect, VXLAN overlay fabric, and firewall policy — from a blank rack to a documented, live environment.
Every hosted tenant received complete network isolation. Firewall policy enforced explicit inter-tenant deny rules at the security layer, with the VXLAN overlay ensuring broadcast domain separation at the network layer. No tenant traffic was reachable from any other hosted organisation.
The internal technical team received a full documentation package — network diagrams, IP scheme, configuration baselines, VXLAN segment registers, firewall policy documentation, and operational runbooks — alongside a structured handover session that left the team confident and capable of operating the environment independently.
Frodingham Consulting filled the exact skill gap that was preventing the client from delivering the project. The internal team retained full ownership of the environment from handover. That is precisely the model.
In their words
"We had the hardware, we had the platform, and we had the deadline. What we didn't have was the expertise to bring it together. Frodingham delivered the complete build, left us with documentation we can actually use, and made sure our team understood every decision that was made."
Private Cloud Provider
Multi-Tenant Hosted Infrastructure · Geographically Diverse DC
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