ANDREAS SILA EDGE DATACENTRES
self-owned and operated enterprise data centres will decrease. Alongside this, Edge Data Centres are also expected to see a large deployment in the near future, it is predicted that 60% of servers will be placed in an Edge Data Centre by 2025, according to Bell labs. This wide distribution of Edge Data Centres will o er higher capacity and lower latency in a very de-centralised network which will be tremendously important if there is going to be one billion 5G subscriptions come 2023, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report 2018. The increase in data centres will be an e ort to match high bandwidth, low latency demands of new 5G applications and the billions of new connected IoT devices that are coming. As connectivity demands reach unprecedented levels year on year, HUBER+SUHNER has continuously supported the deployment of data centres with its extensive portfolio of structured cabling solutions. Supporting the large-scale traditional data centres, these cabling solutions provide a complete and comprehensive backbone using only limited space which enables longevity for future upgrades. Moving with the needs and demands of Edge Data Centres, HUBER+SUHNER has created the ultra-high cross-connect solution, the LISA Double Access, which enables CORD data centres to pack density and power in limited spaces. This enables Edge Data Centres to o er ultra-high-density connectivity without using much of the limited space available or restricting its handling capabilities. With SDN enabled optical switches, xWDM solutions, splitter and tap modules, HUBER+SUHNER has the right portfolio to support Edge Data Centre operators during their rollout. Overall, HUBER+SUHNER has an approach to data centres which ensures reliable and high-quality performance with a modular approach allowing Edge Data Centres and traditional data centres to o er customers maximum flexibility so they can easily adapt and provide optimum network performance with future trends.
systems and software defined networking are crucial to successfully operate and implement a broad network of Edge Data Centres to manage and monitor connections, power and temperature levels for consistent network performance. SECURITY With Edge Data Centres being unmanned and dispersed across a wide location, there are higher levels of security risks involved. Each EDC is an access point for a potential cyber-attack. With many deployed to provide a wide network of reliable performance, there is greater risk of a security threat as more access points are created increasing the vulnerability of the whole network. Therefore, it is critical for security to be integrated into the design of any Edge Data Centre. Investment into the security of deployed Edge Data Centres must be made throughout the entire operation and management of the service in order to protect the entire network from security threats. STANDARDISATION With many more challenges set to arise in the future, such as the planning of Edge Data Centres, the design, location, building types and natural hazards, standards must be developed to create a distributed infrastructure which works together. Standardisation bodies are currently working on defining the di erences between Edge Data Centres and traditional data centres to create standards with regard to availability, physical security, power cooling and the critical cabling system. THE FUTURE OF DATA CENTRES To deliver network performance which matches the scale of billons of connected devices, there is going to be movements in the deployments of data centres to provide high-quality network capacity. There will be a significant movement towards large hyper scale cloud data centres and the amount of traditional
operator can choose to install one close to where the connection is required and can tailor it according to local needs. With many di erent types of Edge Data Centres on the market, they bring about their own unique challenges which a ect the network performance and must be considered on a case by case basis. LOCATION The location of an Edge Data Centre is critical to deliver high-quality, ultra-low latency network performance. They must be placed in close proximity to the end user to operate at maximum network performance. Edge Data Centres have been deployed in various locations including, street cabinets, small shelters, ATMs, stores, o ces or in or behind buildings. Another option would be the portable movable containerized data centres. The most suitable location depends on the latency requirements of the end user, application or service it supports. With this in mind, Edge Data Centres must be versatile and be designed with size and scalability in mind. Edge Data Centres are much smaller in size than traditional data centres. Finding a suitable space based on the source of network demand is one of the key challenges the operators are facing. MANAGING SPACE With only limited space available, Edge Data Centres must be compact. If they are a Central O ce Re-architectured as a Data Centre (CORD) for example, they must manage as much fiber as possible in a very small space. In order to achieve this, a compact cable management system is required to protect, route and manage cables, enabling ultra-high density and maximum network capacity and performance. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES With Edge Data Centres distributed across a vast geographical location, the infrastructure must be operated remotely. Therefore, additional sensors and monitoring systems are required for each of the data centre. Automated
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ISSUE 18 | Q3 2019
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