Prepare for the Internet of Things – The Future of Edge Data Centers
► 2020, it is expected that more than 28 billion IoT devices will be in operation. In anticipation of this explosive growth, HPE recognizes that success hinges on the ability of organizations to transform their IT infrastructure and operations through IoT readiness initiatives:
- 43% of a of all IoT data will be processed at the edge prior to being sent to a data center by 2019
- 85% of organizations will have adopted IoT by 2019
Given these trends in data collection and processing, HPE has identified the need for an integrated Facilities and Hybrid IT solution at the edge (any location outside of the enterprise data center). HPE has partnered with Schneider Electric to create the HPE Micro Datacenter.
The HPE Micro Datacenter is a self-contained, single rack level data center complete with intelligent cooling (via In-row cooler), intelligent UPS (power conditioning and battery back-up), intelligent PDUs, monitoring (temperature, humidity, leak detection, smoke detection), fire protection/suppression, physical security (card/keypad access and video camera) all contained within a robust metal enclosure that is sound and thermal insulated as well as fire, water and particulate resistant. All of this is remotely monitored and managed through the StruxureWare (DCIM) software suite.
HPE offers three (3) off-the-shelf models of the HPE Micro Data Center as follows:
- Model 42 N: 8kW capacity, N redundancy and 35U of usable rack space
- Model 42 2N: 8kW capacity, 2N redundancy and 29u of usable rack space
- Model 23: 3.5 kW, N redundancy and 16U usable rack space
The Model 42(s) are intended for higher capacity Hybrid IT edge deployments such as manufacturing sites, edge cloud services, remote/branch offices and other uses; the Model 42 2N provides for more power and cooling redundancy. The Model 23 is designed for smaller IT environments for IoT, SMB and, in general, for other lower power consumption, less demanding IT environments that tolerate lower resiliency of IT infrastructure.
HPE and Schneider Electric have collaborated to create differentiation in the HPE Micro Datacenter. As distributed IT would be deployed at the edge in locations without IT manpower, remote monitoring and management become critically important. The HPE Micro Datacenter includes tightly integrated IT and facilities monitoring and management to allow numerous deployments to be controlled from a central location. Another major form of differentiation is the joint HPE-Schneider Electric supply chain, manufacturing and edge deployment process; HPE will provide pre-integrated IT that will literally roll into production inside of the HPE Micro Datacenter at the customer’s edge location.
The idea of a micro data center is not something new; it has been applied in the telecommunications world in the form of cell tower base stations and other telecommunications edge network locations for decades. Until now, the adaptation for data center use has been sporadic. As IoT data collection and processing requirements at the edge grows with the exponential growth in IoT devices, the HPE Micro Datacenter provides the opportunity for non-telecommunications organizations to co-locate and remotely manage these work-loads right where the work is done.
Modular Data Centers for Every Occasion
Another important portfolio of products that emerged from the HPE and Schneider Electric collaboration is the predefined Modular Data Center (MDC) based on the principles of modularity and scalability. In addition to the single-rack HPE Micro Datacenter, larger, multi-rack, MDC modules are available that fit into the two (2) following categories:
- MDC Single Module (5/10/20 cabinets)
- MDC Multi-Bay Modular (20 to 100+ cabinets).
This comprehensive modular approach allows for scalability by individual module or by interconnecting, multi-bay modular solutions. HPE can provide a coupled Hybrid IT and Modular Data Center (MDC) solutions for virtually any Hybrid IT configuration payload, regardless of power and cooling capacity, density or IT and Facilities resiliency level.
