Vertical expansion, a new norm for data centre efficiency

“With the high volume big data streams flowing in, data centers need to be prepared to handle more density per rack and therefore must look at maximizing their capabilities which is best possible through vertical expansion,” explained Sanjay Motwani, Regional Director, India, SEA, Taiwan & Hong Kong, Raritan International. In an interview with EC’s Rashi Varshney, Motwani spoke about data centre efficiency and the enterprises’ challenges to mange it. Read on…

Edited Excerpts

What are the current challenges of the enterprises in terms of data centres efficiency? What do you think, should be the next-gen’s Data Center efficiency?

Data center market is growing monumentally. According to a recent research by Markets and Markets , the data canter market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 28.8 % during the forecast period of 2015-2020. This increase can be met either by expanding existing DC’s or building new ones or optimising the current DC’s to take on additional load. Every DC by design has excess capacity in terms of space, cooling, power etc. Challenge is identifying it. Hence the DC’s should optimise their existing infrastructure.

What is the importance of vertical expansion in data centres? How can enterprises achieve competitive edge with vertical expansion in data centres?

Space is the biggest cost in a DC. Hence if a DC can pack in more compute power / rack, it will have tremendous savings. This can be achieved by packing in more power to the rack and thereby more compute load. This frees up excess space which can be used for expansion at a later date. With the high volume big data streams flowing in, data centers need to be prepared to handle more density per rack and therefore must look at maximizing their capabilities which is best possible through vertical expansion.

What are the new trends in the vertical expansion?

A better word is ‘solution’ rather than trend. Taking 3phase power to the rack is the best way to be able to achieve higher compute densities / rack. Hence deployment of 3phase PDU’s at the rack level – which then provide single phase power to the IT equipment – is the most cost efficient way of doing this. . Most importantly maximum utilisation of space or rather getting the highest power per square foot becomes inevitable if the rapidly increasing big data storage needs have to be accommodated. The best way forward for sustained growth and data center efficiency is vertical expansion given the different constraints of space, time ,etc .Sooner or later data centres will have to adopt this technique to remain competitive in the market.

Which verticals are driving this?

IT, BFSI, Healthcare , Government, Telecom and Ecommerce companies are some of the verticals that are experiencing exponential expansion of data center requirements, while facing high price competition. Organizations that have data centers in cities that have high real estate costs stand to gain the most from vertical expansion. Third party data centers or co-location data centers that are driven by high quality of service at competitive costs have also been early adopters of vertical expansion.

What are the India-specific challenges in vertical expansion? How companies can over do them?

Vertical expansion demands higher density racks .This further creates the need for increased cooling system capacity, significant increase in power delivery for which the existing cabling configuration would need to be reworked , and improvement in management. To ensure that the infrastructure is flexible enough to accommodate this is the biggest challenge in vertical expansion.