Industry trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and content distribution networks (CDNs) are driving the need for edge computing. That’s because these solutions often require low latency, high bandwidth, greater reliability, and strong security.
It’s a tall order meant for Micro Data Centers (MDCs) to fulfill. An MDC is a self-contained data center architecture that offers complete IT infrastructure within a stand-alone, secure enclosure.
MDCs offer a number of key advantages beyond today’s server rooms and traditional data centers. First, because they’re distributed closer to bandwidth-intensive content, MDCs can significantly reduce latency and lower costs. Secondly, it’s easy and cost-effective to add data center capacity to them anywhere and anytime it is needed – in both IT room and non-climate-controlled environments. And because MDC IT equipment is pre-installed before shipment in a self-contained and secure enclosure, it can provide physical security and protection of critical business applications.
But not all MDCs are created equal. Here are the key ingredients you should look for when evaluating solutions.
Scalability: Yesteryear’s purpose-built data centers were often bloated – and underutilized. MDCs resolve this problem by accommodating growth in IT gear as the need for more compute arises. Once fully utilized, another unit can be deployed in the same facility or in a different facility, depending on the available electrical, space, and bandwidth capacity.
Remote management: Today’s time-strapped IT teams can’t afford to keep constant tabs on their edge computing solutions. For this reason, look for an MDC with a scalable, cloud-based platform that’s simple to deploy and provides secure visibility of all edge data centers from a single pane of glass.
Easy deployment: Traditional data centers and server rooms can take months to deploy. That’s not the case with MDCs, which eliminate the need to design, specify, procure, and integrate a group of disparate components. Rather, MDCs’ standardized, pre-integrated and pre-validated architectures render them fast and easy to deploy.
Reliability: Customization can significantly undermine a data center’s reliability. For this reason, a standard-model MDC can offer more reliability – at a lower cost – than a custom-built, one-off model. While larger data centers can also be standardized, it’s much easier and practical to standardize smaller ones.
A small footprint: In some cases, an IT team may opt to move their IT gear from on-premises data centers to collocation facilities, or outsource their applications to cloud providers. In this case, an MDC should be small enough to fit in any open office area. This allows the existing data center or server room space to be repurposed for office space, or leased out.
As long as trends such as the IoT and CDNs drive the need to reduce latency and bandwidth costs, MDCs will continue to win over IT teams. The trick is finding an MDC solution with the capabilities to support your IT environment and security needs.
For more information on what to look for in an MDC, visit APC.com