uninterruptible power supply would be a large static tower,
something unsuitable for the needs of a modern micro
data centre, where space is at a premium and the power
requirements are far lower than the electricity-hungry
hyperscale or colocation facilities.
Recent advances in UPS technology have led to the
introduction of modular UPS systems made up of several
separate power modules working together to deliver the
necessary capacity and redundancy, rather than a single,
sizeable standalone tower. And just as a modular data
centre offers in-built scalability, so too does modular UPS,
giving IT Managers the opportunity to install extra modules
when necessary.
Unlike older static units, modular UPS are transformerless,
which enables them to operate at up to 96% efficiency
even when running low loads, substantially reducing energy
waste. And because modular UPS are smaller and lighter,
they produce less heat so need much less air conditioning
too. As well as modular systems, there’s another relatively
recent trend in UPS technology that’ll help with the shift
towards edge computing. These smaller rack-mounted units
are designed to slot into the standard 19-inch cabinets
found in micro data centres. And even though these
compact systems typically have a power range up to 10
kVA, far less than the old-style 400 or 800 kVA static towers,
they are still more than capable of powering mission-critical
applications.
31
predicts nearly one-fifth of all spending on IT infrastructure
(18%) will be focused on edge computing by the end of
next year.
While its influence is undoubtedly on the rise, edge
computing won’t completely eliminate the need for
cloud storage or centralised data centres though. Real-
time processing might occur predominantly at edge data
centres, but less time-sensitive information can still be
stored and processed centrally, for example, as part of wider
performance or trend analysis. n
Edging towards a 5G future
With the impending arrival of 5G mobile communications
and its promise of lightning-fast 10 Gb/s downloads, the
potential impact of edge computing is seemingly limitless.
At the moment, just 10% of data is created and processed
outside an enterprise data centre or the cloud. But by
2022, Gartner reckons three-quarters of all data – that’s
an incredible 75% – will be generated at the edge. It’s
no coincidence that the International Data Corporation
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