DC ↔ DC interconnection for a sovereign cloud operator

Context

A sovereign cloud operator needed to interconnect multiple data centers hosting its critical platforms (compute, storage, clusters, databases). Its technical and regulatory requirements included:

• Ultra-low latency for inter-site synchronization,
• Fully controlled and documented optical paths to comply with audit requirements,
• Virtually unlimited bandwidth,
• Real resilience to support automatic failovers,
• Assurance that interconnections do not rely on uncontrolled third-party infrastructures.

Existing links, based on heterogeneous historical connections, no longer guaranteed the stability required for disaster recovery plans, load movements, synchronous replications, or restorations.

The operator required a fully controlled fiber infrastructure, with routes specifically designed to meet its technical constraints.

Solution Deployed

To ensure reliable and coherent interconnections between its data centers, ielo deployed a dedicated dark fiber solution over fully controlled and documented routes.

Dedicated dark fiber on controlled paths

• Point-to-point passive fibers,
• GIS documentation and OTDR reflectometry,
• Accurate inventory of all segments.

Custom civil engineering to meet client requirements

Some sections required specific routing dictated by the operator’s sovereign cloud architecture.

Where existing paths did not meet latency or resilience requirements, ielo’s teams carried out dedicated civil engineering works:

• Construction of new fiber segments,
• Directional drilling to cross obstacles,
• Avoidance of sensitive areas,
• Elimination of identified points of fragility.

Objective: build a route adapted to the sovereign cloud requirements, without compromise.

Resilience, continuity, and scalability

• Implementation of two fully diverse routes,
• Physical diversity verified by on-site surveys,
• Capacity to expand redundancy and bandwidth as needed.

Seamless integration into the cloud architecture

• Full freedom for DWDM equipment deployment,
• Complete control over optical parameters.

Result

The cloud operator now benefits from a DC↔DC interconnection that is:

• Stable, with predictable and optimized latency,
• Resilient, thanks to truly diverse routes,
• Fully documented and auditable,
• Scalable to support growing infrastructure,
• Suitable for distributed clusters, disaster recovery, and real-time traffic.

The engineering teams observed:

• Faster synchronization across environments,
• Improved reliability of automatic failovers,
• Reduced incidents linked to legacy infrastructure,
• Simplified operations due to no third-party dependencies.

By building dedicated segments where necessary, ielo delivered a DC↔DC backbone perfectly aligned with the sovereign cloud operator’s technical and regulatory requirements.