{"id":23789,"date":"2026-03-06T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T11:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/?p=23789"},"modified":"2026-03-03T12:55:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T11:55:45","slug":"umbau-datacenter-core-switches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/2026\/03\/06\/umbau-datacenter-core-switches\/","title":{"rendered":"Successful Conversion of Data Center Core Switches"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"twoclick_social_bookmarks_post_23789 social_share_privacy clearfix 1.6.4 locale-en_US sprite-en_US\"><\/div><div class=\"twoclick-js\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\njQuery(document).ready(function($){if($('.twoclick_social_bookmarks_post_23789')){$('.twoclick_social_bookmarks_post_23789').socialSharePrivacy({\"txt_help\":\"Wenn Sie diese Felder durch einen Klick aktivieren, werden Informationen an Facebook, Twitter, Flattr, Xing, t3n, LinkedIn, Pinterest oder Google eventuell ins Ausland \\u00fcbertragen und unter Umst\\u00e4nden auch dort gespeichert. N\\u00e4heres erfahren Sie durch einen Klick auf das <em>i<\\\/em>.\",\"settings_perma\":\"Dauerhaft aktivieren und Daten\\u00fcber-tragung zustimmen:\",\"info_link\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.heise.de\\\/ct\\\/artikel\\\/2-Klicks-fuer-mehr-Datenschutz-1333879.html\",\"uri\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\\\/itc\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/06\\\/umbau-datacenter-core-switches\\\/\",\"post_id\":23789,\"post_title_referrer_track\":\"Successful+Conversion+of+Data+Center+Core+Switches\",\"display_infobox\":\"on\"});}});\n\/* ]]> *\/<\/script><\/div><p><div id=\"attachment_23790\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_36523-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23790\" class=\"wp-image-23790 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_36523-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Cable at the switch\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_36523-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_36523-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_36523-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_36523-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/IMG_36523-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-23790\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Alexander M\u00fcller<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<p>After five months of intensive planning, preparation, and coordination, the big day finally arrived on February 24, 2026: The data center core switches, which had been in service for 16 years, were replaced by a new, more powerful generation.<\/p>\n<p>This was a significant milestone for the IT Center&#8217;s infrastructure, as the core switches form the heart of our data center.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\"><strong>Why this upgrade was so important<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Core switches play a central role in the data center: they connect network segments, control data traffic, and ensure that applications and services are reliably accessible.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_23795\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23795\" class=\"wp-image-23795\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/Bildschirmfoto_3-3-2026_122449_.jpeg\" alt=\"Network architecture diagram\" width=\"500\" height=\"476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/Bildschirmfoto_3-3-2026_122449_.jpeg 967w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/Bildschirmfoto_3-3-2026_122449_-300x286.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/files\/2026\/03\/Bildschirmfoto_3-3-2026_122449_-768x731.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-23795\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Own illustration<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Since almost all services operated by the IT Center run on this infrastructure, the measure affected a large number of central offerings \u2014 including RWTHonline, RWTHmoodle, RWTH Single Sign-On (SSO), eduroam, and many other IT services.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\"><strong>The maintenance window: Precision under time pressure<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A maintenance window from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. was set for the changeover. Even though work in the late afternoon and early evening would affect many active users, the goal was clearly defined: The interruptions should be kept as short as technically possible.<\/p>\n<p>To this end, a detailed schedule was developed that structured each individual step:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Step-by-step switchover of all fiber optic connections<\/li>\n<li>Checking each new connection for error-free functioning<\/li>\n<li>Switching over the routing<\/li>\n<li>Shutting down the old system<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The fiber optic connections were migrated one after the other and tested before the next section followed. This allowed potential sources of error to be identified and isolated at an early stage.<\/p>\n<p>The routing changeover was particularly critical \u2013 here, the team managed to reduce the downtime per network block to just a few seconds by switching directly from the old to the new system.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\"><strong>Reaching the goal ahead of schedule<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Thanks to precise preparation, close coordination within the team, and structured implementation, the conversion proceeded without any major obstacles.<\/p>\n<p>By 7:15 p.m. \u2013 well before the end of the planned maintenance window \u2013 the new data center core was fully operational and ready for use.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #00549f;\"><strong>Looking ahead<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>With the successful replacement of the core switches, the data center infrastructure is now technically up to date. The new systems offer:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Higher line reserves<\/li>\n<li>Improved stability thanks to the latest hardware<\/li>\n<li>Lower power consumption<\/li>\n<li>Futureproofing for growing requirements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After 16 years of reliable service, the old systems are being retired\u2014and making way for an infrastructure that meets the growing demands of research, teaching, and administration.<\/p>\n<p>A big thank you to everyone involved for the careful planning and professional implementation of this challenging project.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Responsible for the content of this article are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.itc.rwth-aachen.de\/cms\/it-center\/it-center\/profil\/team\/~epvp\/mitarbeiter-pvz-\/?allou=1&amp;gguid=PER-H2FTH4Z&amp;lidx=1\">Nils Neumann<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.itc.rwth-aachen.de\/cms\/it-center\/it-center\/profil\/team\/~epvp\/mitarbeiter-pvz-\/?allou=1&amp;gguid=PER-FDUP7HQ&amp;lidx=1\">Nicole Kaminski<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1859,"featured_media":23790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"c2c_always_allow_admin_comments":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[315],"tags":[1579,963,1013,1578],"class_list":["post-23789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-services-support","tag-core-switch","tag-datacenter","tag-netze","tag-switch"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1859"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23789"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23820,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23789\/revisions\/23820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.rwth-aachen.de\/itc\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}