As data center engineers and ICT professionals brace for the demands of new technologies such as 5G, edge computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and the continuing growth of software-defined networking (SDN) across the enterprise landscape, they need to prepare data center infrastructure and cabling to support these initiatives while ensuring scalability and flexibility.
The rise of hyperscale computing has created a new paradigm in the data center business, changing the landscape for providers and customers alike. Hyperscale companies have become the largest customers for leasing wholesale and build-to-suit data center space. As a result, these customers hold huge sway over data center development, which has evolved rapidly to adapt to larger requirements. Download the special report.
Edge computing is all about knitting together a growing universe of devices and applications. Colocation provider sees cloud content going further and deeper going beyond the on-ramps and moving to specialized instances of cloud.
5G promises lightning-fast speeds, no lag time, and increased densities — a critical piece to make autonomous vehicles and smart cities a reality. So, why aren’t cars driving themselves yet? The answer is that even though the technology needed to transmit the data exists, there’s not enough power to get it there. Integrating distributed power to high-speed communications and IT nodes seems like a logical fix to the problem. This is valid in concept, but not so easy to implement. Because distributed power combines multiple renewable sources to provide flexible, efficient electricity, it can be somewhat difficult to match generation and consumption.
Edge computing represents the next challenge to data center and infrastructure engineers. Why? Data centers have grown so big that, now, highly distributed, small deployments are preferred in many cases. The low-latency requirement for new technologies means that 5G deployments on the edge will be the next wave of new facility builds.
What do AR/VR, cloud gaming, smart cities, 5G, autonomous vehicles, healthcare sensors, surveillance and facial recognition all have in common? The need for low-latency connectivity enabled by networks architected with edge computing. For some service providers, edge computing trials have already started. For others, edge computing plans won’t be formulated for a few years. But, whether they’ve already devised their edge compute strategy or haven’t yet begun, the first question they need to ask themselves is: “How do we define edge computing?”
In any type of computing environment, the housing, protection and management of network connections is essential for uptime and performance. The methods for providing that protection and management, as well as the products and technologies for doing so, can vary significantly depending on the computing environment in which they will reside. This article looks at options for cabling and network-equipment housing, protection, and management in different environments.
Just a few years ago, many expected all the Internet of Things (IoT) to move to the cloud—and much of the consumer-connected IoT indeed lives there—but one of the key basics of designing and building enterprise-scale IoT solutions is to make a balanced use of edge and cloud computing. Compared to cloud-only solutions, blended solutions that incorporate edge can alleviate latency, increase scalability, and enhance access to information so that better, faster decisions can be made, and enterprises can become more agile as a result.
The annual State of the Edge report’s third edition focuses on what impact edge computing is expected to have in the next ten years. It interprets the profound re-architecting of the Internet being driven by edge computing and adds over a year of updates from the edge community.
In its outlook for 2020, R&M has identified 8 key trends spanning across public, data center and local area networks.These include: Convergence, Single Pair Ethernet vs. Field Bus, Leveraging FTTX, WDM and Blown Microfiber, Leveraging 5G, Greater Importance of the Edge, High Density Data Centers, and Automated Infrastructure Management in Data Centers.
