SmartNode prefabricated data centres from Taiwanese firm Delta can enable rapid edge computing deployments for 5G and the IoT.

The way networks process data is changing. With the IoT, artificial intelligence and 5G networks gaining momentum, more data will be processed much closer to its source. The infrastructure necessary to shorten these distances must be flexible, modular and quick to deploy at many sites on the edge of the network. Prefabricated, all-in-one data centres could be the answer.

The dawn of the cloud era went hand-in-hand with the advent of the hyperscale data centre. A lot of data moved from on-premise enterprise facilities to the cloud. The advantages of having massive storage and compute resources concentrated at a single physical location include cooling efficiency and the ability to balance loads across many servers. But not every application can operate up to its potential given the latency and bandwidth limitations of the internet.

Edge computing and the IoT will not make enormous, hyperscale data centres obsolete. Even though the trend is moving towards distributed data processing and storage, these edge computing facilities will complement the cloud, not replace it. The idea is to handle as much of the now enormous quantity of data as close to where those data are generated as possible.

By limiting distances and hops between devices and the cloud resources that serve them, edge computing facilities reduce latency. They also ease the bandwidth constraints within which traditional cloud options must operate and provide additional compute resources. There are a host of technologies on the horizon such as autonomous driving, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) that could benefit from edge infrastructure.

In VR applications, inputs such as hand motions, photons and controller inputs need to be processed extremely rapidly to mimic reality. At the same time, many complex rendering processes are necessary to generate the virtual or augmented environment for the user. With processing loads this high, it’s difficult to include the required compute power inside the device itself. The answer could be split processing, in which part of the computational or rendering load is handled in the edge-powered cloud instead of the AR or VR device itself.

As New Radio (5G) mobile communications networks are deployed around the globe, preparations for a massive increase in data traffic are also underway. There will be so much data, it will be impossible to process all of them from centralised data centres.

That’s why telecommunications operators will be the first vertical to start deploying edge data centres at scale. In many major mobile networks, for instance, there are only a handful of wireless network interconnects for an entire country. Data can travel extremely long distances before they even get an IP address. The ensuing latency would limit many of the services that 5G is being built to support.

The future of telecommunications infrastructure may therefore involve some RAN functions moving to data centres in areas where low-latency 5G services are available. This convergence with mobile edge compute could lead to a more unified approach to 5G architecture. Even with more edge computing capacity, more fibre will still be needed.

In addition to telecommunications, many other industries will also be investing in edge computing. Manufacturing, for instance, is experiencing a revolution that includes smart factories, the industrial IoT and big data. In many cases, existing manufacturing facilities are not equipped to handle the amount of IT hardware necessary to power those increasingly essential applications. Most factory floors are no place for dust-sensitive servers and power equipment. Cloud options may not provide the ultra-low latency (ULL) required in a manufacturing context. 

Edge computing carried in the form of modular data centres can be the answer to managing otherwise overwhelming IT loads. Instead of building an entire data centre at a different location, a container can quickly be set up in a parking lot next to the factory, for instance.

Healthcare, utilities, transportation, smart buildings and smart cities are other fields in which edge computing enabled by prefabricated data centres could make sense. In most cases, improving application performance will be the main motivator behind the decision to invest. But many will also deploy compute resources to the edge to take advantage of real-time analytics or use streaming data.

Edge data centres serve to cache and aggregate data at points between users and larger data centres. Often, the goal is to push the edge out closer to users across a wide geographic region. Consequently, network operators and enterprises need affordable, reliable and quick-to-deploy infrastructure, which is where Delta’s SmartNode tiers II and III modularised data centres come in.

Agility and speed allow prefabricated data centres to start contributing to revenue generation almost immediately. Break-even can be reached much faster when compared with a conventional data centre construction project.

The SmartNode uses Delta power electronics, cooling, UPS and data centre infrastructure management technologies to offer a fully integrated, turnkey product.

SmartNode is available in five capacities: 33, 35, 50, 70 and 90kW. That provides flexibility for any edge computing scenario while still maintaining the production efficiency and rapid availability of a prefabricated option. SmartNode data centres integrate power distribution right into the UPS to save space and keep costs low.

The data centres can handle up to 1420kg of equipment per rack. But to increase reliability and efficiency, the IT hardware must be kept within its operating temperature range. That’s why these units are also designed to operate in climatic conditions from -15 to +48˚C. The cooling system is powerful enough to prevent de-rating up to +39˚C.

To ensure this cooling performance is not interrupted, condensers are surrounded by a protective cage that prevents vandalism and damage during transit. Another contributor to SmartNode’s reliability is its robust construction and EI60 fire resistance.

Delta was founded in 1971 and serves its customers through sales offices, R&D centres and manufacturing facilities spread over close to 200 locations across five continents.