Data centers without people as a new trend

Inside the EdgeConneX data center serving content providers

Serverless farms are the futurists ’long-held dream of thinking about the future of telecommunications. True, the reality is that such data centers are not very readily developed. For example, HP added an item on the creation of automated data centers 10 years ago on the agenda. And a cart, as they say ... So far the company has only the concept of a similar DC.

The list of companies that have created fully automatic data centers, where there are no round-the-clock working teams of technical specialists is very small. There are semi-automatic DCs, where dozens and hundreds of servers are served by one administrator. At the same HP company one administrator serves about 200 servers. AOL was also going to create a DC of this type, but so far no progress has been seen. Although, stop - there is one company that already implements all this in practice. This is EdgeConneX .

And not one fully automatic DC is being built, but a network of such data centers of 20 objects. They are located in the USA and Europe. The company EdgeConneX itself is engaged in the delivery of content. In DC EdgeConneX running a complex automation system with remote control.
')
Now the network of data centers from EdgeConneX is the most ambitious project of this type.

Standardization as a recipe for success

The key element of the implementation of the EdgeConneX project is the template for modifying a conventional DC into an automatic one. “Home workpiece” allows you to turn a standard data center into a Tier III class DC, capable of withstanding high loads of 20 kW per rack. In 2014 alone, the company opened 18 new data centers.


Inside the DC of the company located in Jacksonville

“Our main building is a 2 or 4 MW data center. We always build with the expectation of expansion, ”says a company representative. At the same time, the company always has a tenant even before entering the market.

This is usually a cable MSO (multi-system operator) like Comcast and Liberty Global.

When choosing a data center, which will then be converted to automated, EdgeConneX conducts a thorough study of objects. Such work includes the study of the local network and telecommunications infrastructure, as well as the search for a building that can be modified. After all this is found, the company begins to deploy on-site energy, network and other infrastructure. This is a standard proprietary procedure.

How to manage all this remotely?

To do this, use your own operating system for data centers, which is called EdgeOS. Thanks to this software platform, the company can remotely manage the energy infrastructure of each data center.

Management is conducted from headquarters, the operations center located in Santa Clara. When direct human intervention is required, Salute Mission Critical starts working, providing technicians on request in 50 US states.

Now 20 of the company's 24 data centers are automatic, there are no people in them. However, each site uses a multi-level access system with biometric scanners, access codes and cards, “traps for people” and video surveillance.

Equipment in such centers is installed very tightly, and can withstand loads of 20 kW per rack, as mentioned above. In some cases, even 30 kW, with increased loads.

What's next?

In the future, the company plans to build several more automated DCs. One thing is for sure - automatic data centers have ceased to be fiction, and have become a reality. And this reality helps deliver videos from Netflix and YouTube to user devices.