The internet revolution has pushed the IT infrastructure to the edge. Today the line between digital and physical business is getting blurred, fueling unprecedented data consumption. The sheer scale and growing magnitude of data is fueling the need for exponential computing power almost real-time. And this need is better served with localized computing competency. This is what is defined as edge computing – solutions that facilitate data processing at or near the source of data generation.
The demand for localized computing is prompting many organizations to move IT infrastructure to specifically designed edge datacenters nearer to end-users. Edge datacenter complement existing public cloud or colocation deployments and add speed, agility and easy scalability with distributed infrastructure. Currently only 10% enterprise-generated data is created and processed outside a traditional centralized data center or cloud but by 2025, Gartner predicts this figure will reach 75%.
Edge datacenters are defined by their ability to support high bandwidth applications, quick or real-time response requirements and latency-sensitive platforms. Here are three reasons why content heavy platforms and IoT led enterprises are increasingly warming up to edge datacenters:
Edge on Technology
Advanced IoT, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and increasing use cases on Artificial Intelligence across businesses are putting pressure on computing capabilities. These new age technologies are largely user driven and require faster processing of information. Edge datacenters with their near-user locations provide the right support that the growing digital businesses need.
Edge on Performance
The growing appetite for streaming content and increasing consumption of video on demand has made speed a mandatory requirement. Often data travelling from core datacenters creates latency due to congestion in the system. Edge datacenters are largely connected through a private, easy to scale, high bandwidth network to the core or colocation datacenters. The speed is thus assured and lower or no latency leads to greater reliability for mission critical applications.
Edge on Localization
There is growing stress on data sovereignty and localization across the globe. Enterprises are exploring ways to cater to newer regulations while meeting their IT requirements. This has prompted rise of new locations for edge datacenters, the tier 2 and 3 cities where data consumption is growing. Shrinking land bank and increasing pressure on power supply is making large cities a difficult proposition to build and maintain datacenters. The tier 2 and 3 cities are thus attractive destinations to host edge datacenters, bringing computing nearer to the source of data.
CtrlS Edge
CtrlS is among the early movers to build edge datacenters in india, catering to the demand from its existing and prospective customers. We have identified 23 tier 2 and 3 cities across India based on density of network strength of Telcom operators. These centers are being built in close proximity POP locations for ease of connectivity for our customers. These datacenters will be tier 3 rated 1 MW modules with dedicated carrier neutral infrastructure, offering speed, security, reliability and scalability to meet evolving business requirements. Some of the key features of our proposed datacenters include:
- 200 racks per module with 4-6 KW / rack
- DX based/ chiller-based cooling systems
- Cold aisle containment
- Early fire warning systems
- Automatic fire suppression systems
- 2 hours fire resistant container
- Peripheral CCTV surveillance with video analytics
- Integration to centralized BMS
- 4 – 1.5 design PU