Surprise - the data center has changed, overnight
The data center industry has shifted so much during the past few years that operators are often surprised by operating conditions.
By Donna DonnawitzMarch 30, 2012
The data center sector has experienced a major shift during the past few years, with the introduction of virtualization and cloud computing contributing to major technological shifts in the industry. Because of these changes, many data center operators are finding themselves surprised by the way new projects work out and the demands now before them. According to a recent Emerson Network Power study, there are a few industry surprises that really stand out for the rest.
One of those emerging trends is the rise of high-density computing. For the past few years, the data center industry has been on the edge of its seat watching for signs that the high-density computing trend is ready to take hold. For the most part, the experts have been disappointed - until now. According to the news source, the practice of packing server racks with as many servers as possible and pumping large quantities of energy into them is becoming far more common, as virtualization and consolidation are combining to bring high-density computing into vogue. This changing the way developers are designing their facilities and leading to a number of shifts in other operational areas.
Another trend catching data center developers off guard is the amount of trouble water is creating in the data center. Liquid cooling fits within this problem area, but roof leaks and similar problems are just as much of an issue. Citing a study from the Ponemon Institute, approximately 35 percent of all data center outages are caused by liquid getting into electronics. Even though the fact that liquid and high price electronics do not mix is nothing new, it is not uncommon for operators to still let water into the data center. For example, the study found that many unplanned outages are caused by employees spilling a drink while working in the data center.
The network is another area where more data center operators are witnessing a few surprises. Now that facilities are packed with high-density racks, more data is being pumped through less bandwidth. This is creating a few major problems because the network is also not inherently designed for the types of data packets being sent by cloud and video users. As a result, the need for infrastructure upgrades, in everything from cabling to appliances, is becoming much more important.
Perle’s wide range of 1 to 48 port Perle Console Servers provide data center managers and network administrators with secure remote management of any device with a serial console port. Plus, they are the only truly fault tolerant Console Servers on the market with the advanced security functionality needed to easily perform secure remote data center management and out-of-band management of IT assets from anywhere in the world.
One of those emerging trends is the rise of high-density computing. For the past few years, the data center industry has been on the edge of its seat watching for signs that the high-density computing trend is ready to take hold. For the most part, the experts have been disappointed - until now. According to the news source, the practice of packing server racks with as many servers as possible and pumping large quantities of energy into them is becoming far more common, as virtualization and consolidation are combining to bring high-density computing into vogue. This changing the way developers are designing their facilities and leading to a number of shifts in other operational areas.
Another trend catching data center developers off guard is the amount of trouble water is creating in the data center. Liquid cooling fits within this problem area, but roof leaks and similar problems are just as much of an issue. Citing a study from the Ponemon Institute, approximately 35 percent of all data center outages are caused by liquid getting into electronics. Even though the fact that liquid and high price electronics do not mix is nothing new, it is not uncommon for operators to still let water into the data center. For example, the study found that many unplanned outages are caused by employees spilling a drink while working in the data center.
The network is another area where more data center operators are witnessing a few surprises. Now that facilities are packed with high-density racks, more data is being pumped through less bandwidth. This is creating a few major problems because the network is also not inherently designed for the types of data packets being sent by cloud and video users. As a result, the need for infrastructure upgrades, in everything from cabling to appliances, is becoming much more important.
Perle’s wide range of 1 to 48 port Perle Console Servers provide data center managers and network administrators with secure remote management of any device with a serial console port. Plus, they are the only truly fault tolerant Console Servers on the market with the advanced security functionality needed to easily perform secure remote data center management and out-of-band management of IT assets from anywhere in the world.
