Networks Europe May-Jun 2018 | Page 26

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OPINION

Data centre trends

By Clive Partridge , Product Manager IT Infrastructure , Rittal
www . rittal . com
Making ongoing data centre operations as cost-effective and future-proof as possible
The process of digital transformation is in full swing ; at least half of global value creation could be digitised by 2021 , according to a forecast by market researchers at IDC . Faced with high electricity costs , it ’ s becoming increasingly important for companies to modernise the IT landscape and make data centre operations more efficient .
The multi-cloud trend Hybrid multi-cloud environments will dominate future IT agenda . According to IDC , more than 90 % of companies could already be using multi-cloud platforms by 2021 . There are many reasons for this . For one thing , there ’ s no one-stop cloud provider that can meet all the requirements since complete cloud stacks always come from multiple providers . Moreover , performance , latencies , compliance and risk management often have to be implemented individually , sometimes with different cloud providers .
Typical cloud services include infrastructure services ( IaaS ), applications ( SaaS ), and development platforms ( PaaS ). Those who find this cloud mix is becoming too complex can rely on external providers for managed cloud services . For example , the cloud systems in the data centre are operated in a completely fail-safe way and maintained by an IT service provider , while users can access the resources conveniently via their web browser or a desktop application .
Towards edge computing In the future , besides expanding central data centres , many companies will be focusing more intensively on establishing decentralised IT capacities . Here , the driving forces include modern Industry 4.0 ( IoT ) applications . Due to the automated production facilities installed there , a large amount of data has to be processed on site in real-time .
Data transfer to a central data centre would delay real-time processing and overload networks and legacy systems . However , many other Internet of Things ( IoT ) scenarios also need extra data centres . These include networked households , smart homes , wearable fitness trackers and smartwatches . By 2019 , 40 % of IoT data could be processed and analysed by edge IT systems , the IDC analysts say .
In addition , the new 5G mobile standard will drastically increase the volume of data needing processing . At data rates as high as 10 GBit per second , for example , a movie can be transmitted in HD resolution in just a few seconds . Anyone wanting to run IoT infrastructures in future rapid fast 5G networks should also ensure that the server performance required is provided at an early stage so applications can use the full network capacity . Edge data centres are used for this purpose . They enable the rapid and decentralised establishment of IT infrastructures , for example , in order to supply remote production sites or smart cities quickly with more computing power on a selective basis .
But what makes an edge data centre stand out ? In fact , these are turnkey IT environments , which are as modular and scalable as rack or complete container solutions . The existing expansion options make these solutions suitable for companies of all sizes . Since cooling , power supply , monitoring and security are pre-installed and coordinated with each other ; an edge environment can be created quickly .
Higher energy efficiency with DC racks Central and homologous hyperscale data centres will still be needed . A hyperscale infrastructure is laid out for horizontal scalability , to provide the highest levels of performance , throughput , and redundancy that are necessary for fault tolerance and high levels of availability . Operators of such systems are faced with the question of how to optimise the future running costs of their plants . DC racks provide one solution for greater energy efficiency . Two new IT rack standards have become established on the market in the shape of OCP ( Open Compute Project ) and Open19 . Inside the IT rack , only one central power pack supplies the active IT components with DC power . This cuts about 5 % of the energy costs of each rack .
IT cooling concept trends Alternative energy and cooling concepts will also be important in further improving operating costs in 2018 . Providers can achieve very favourable operating costs with electricity from renewable energy sources , with air or seawater cooling and flexibility with service models . One example of this is the Lefdal Mine Datacenter in Norway – a data centre that has been built in a former mine and is cooled with seawater and which uses electricity from renewable energy sources .
Energy recovery is another IT cooling concept for higher efficiency . This uses the waste heat generated in the data centre for building climate control purposes , in order to heat hot water . The technology itself is not new , but the aim is to develop a long-term strategy that exceeds the usual ROI calculation of three to five years . n
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