final thought
it effectively provides processing),
capacity will need to continue to
double year on year. Virtus is a good
example. It has gone from 6MW
when it had one site, to 40MW and
three sites in 18 months. In these
terms, Virtus will need 80MW or
more of data centre capacity in a
further 18 months. Data centre
organisations need to work very
closely with cloud providers to
understand their prolific growth rates
if they are to be able to meet the
demands of the future of computing.
New technologies
But how else can data centre
providers prepare for the potential end
of Moore’s law for microprocessors?
In the UK we don’t have an
abundance of real estate on which
to build data centres, so we need
to look to new technologies if we
are to improve computing capacity.
Increasing speed and the availability
of power will be major factors.
Photonics is already being looked
at to increase processing speed,
albeit at the early stages of research.
Some labs, for example, Intel in
Texas, are testing photonics which
uses light so data is processed
more quickly with no resistant
losses. This stops heat being
generated and enables processing
at the speed of light, reducing
the need for so many processors
because they are much quicker.
This will further enable Moore’s law
to increase processing capabilities,
thus starting the cycle again.
For any computer to work, it
needs power, and data centres need
lots of it. If Moore’s law applies to
data centres, so it will apply to power.
The danger is that the UK could
face a power shortage in the future
because of the rate of consumption
and the time it takes to build power
plants. The most innovative data
centre providers are mitigating this
potential risk by future proofing their
energy requirements. At Virtus, this
is an area we are already focused on.
We are investing time and resource
to look into self-generation of power
by standard means and alternatives
such as nuclear batteries. By looking
ahead, we can continue to aid the
future of computing.
So, Moore’s law may mean the
end of one era of computing, but it
could unleash a new wave of creativity
where the leading innovative data
centre players come to the fore.
Moore’s law could unleash a new wave
of creativity where the leading innovative
data centre players come to the fore.
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