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MODULAR DATA CENTRES
Incremental
growth
Patrick Donovan, Sr. Research
Analyst, Data Center Science
Center, Schneider Electric
www.schneider-electric.co.uk
Modular systems provide a forward
thinking approach to scalability
that increases capacity to match
demands as they arise
Modularity is a key element of modern data centre design,
allowing IT resources to be deployed rapidly and scaled up
incrementally according to need. Using a combination of
prefabricated and pre-tested infrastructure components
limits the need for specialist integration expertise, resulting
in faster, more reliable, scalable, and cost-effective
deployment of IT equipment and the associated critical
infrastructure.
In today’s market, prefab modular blocks can include
power, cooling, management, racks, and even the IT. These
can be deployed together as a Pod, which is defined as
groups of racks arranged in rows and sharing common
infrastructure elements including power distribution units
(PDUs), containment systems, even advanced environmental
monitoring and security features. One commonality found
in all prefabricated modules is that they can be quickly
assembled, tested and deployed to increase capacity to
match demands.
Modular components with both standardised structure
and connections make everything easier, faster, and cheaper
– from manufacture and inventory at the vendor, through
design and engineering at the planning stage, to installation
and operation at the customer site. Prefabrication and
modular designs are the source of one critically important
component of physical business value, agility, the ability to
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