Recent trends represent the future of data center operations

The data center business continues to evolve as virtualization gains popularity and more firms seek solutions for their server space and storage needs. Changes to software and hardware configurations aim to cut the costs of operating large amounts of storage space. Advances in data storage technology also allowcompanies to maximize the physical space needed to store servers.

New hardware configurations
Analyst experts at TechNaviorecently released their latest Global Data Center Rack Market 2014 research, according to Datacenter Dynamics. The report shows that over the past 10years that data storage units have increased in size while companies have simultaneously pushed to store data in smaller spaces. TechNavio predicts that data centers will begin stacking units toward the ceiling to maximize space. This shift is likely to precipitate more interest in serial card and Ethernet port upgrades as large stacks of storage systemspresent new wiring problems.

Greater design requirements
The rise of virtualization has resulted in higher demands on servers and an increased need for robust data storage. BizTech Magazine notes four new design requirements that will influence the future of data storage technology.

The first of these design requirements is non-blocking storage systems. Companies will soon need network architecture that can freely float microbursts of 40 Gbps at a time. Modern servers are able to float about 1 Gbps (on average), but the new industry standard will soon be set at 10 Gbps.

BizTech also argues for the importance of high-availability across data centers. New applications are being designed that require failover times to occur in milliseconds. This upgrade will be necessary to integrate high-end switching and routing solutions.

Third, BizTech predicts a shift from edge-distribution architectures to spine-and-leaf architectures. This structural adjustment increases efficiency by minimizing the total number of devices that information must travel through before reaching its destination.

The final requirement deals with high-speed data interconnects. Many of these connections require Layer 2 extensions, which would be difficult to integrate with old architectures that fill subnets through optimization routing.

Implementing these upgrades will put firms in a great position to integrate and apply the latest advancements in data storage technology. Dealing with trends early will also help to cut costs as new applications become standardized and implementation costs ramp up.

Perle's serial to Ethernet converters connect serial based equipment across an Ethernet network. The Perle IOLAN range of Console Servers, Device Servers and Terminal Servers feature built-in support for IPv6 along with a broad range of authentication methods and encryption technologies.