Huawei has released the “Top 10 Trends in the Data Center Industry,” bringing together industry guests, media contributors and operator partners to discuss trends and perspectives, exchange knowledge and promote the vigorous development of the industry.
Huawei Launches Top Ten Trends of Data Center Facilities
As digitization continues to gain momentum in different industries, telecommuting, online education and live streaming are enjoying increasing popularity. Digital transformation is accelerating in various industries and data centers not only form the basis of this transition, they also open up new development opportunities.
Trend n o 1: Data Centers “zero carbon”
Now considered the most urgent mission in the world, carbon neutrality has sparked a green revolution. Data centers will increase the use of green energies, such as wind and solar power. An inevitable trend, throughout the lifecycle of data centers, is the maximization of resource savings (e.g. energy, water and material savings, reduced footprint, etc.) . Large data centers are now using thermal energy recovery to save energy. As data centers enter the era of 1.0x energy efficiency, the “zero-carbon” vision is becoming reality.
Trend n o 2: High Density
Computing power and the density of computing devices will continue to increase over the next five years, and processors and servers will also become more and more powerful. At the same time, AI will see its computing power increase as its applications multiply. To strike a balance between cost and efficiency, data centers will seek to increase their density. It is estimated that the combination of various computing powers is expected to be common by 2025 and the majority of cloud data centers will form a hybrid deployment of 15 to 30 kW per cabinet.
Trend n o 3: Scalability
IT equipment typically has a life cycle of three to five years, and its power density is almost doubled every five years. Data center infrastructure has a lifecycle of 10 to 15 years. The infrastructure must be compatible with a flexible architecture and phasing of investments. It must also meet the growing power needs of two to three generations of computing devices while maintaining an optimal level of capital expenditure. In addition, to be able to expand capacity on demand and save space, it is essential that data centers are flexible and support hybrid deployment of computing devices at power densities. different.
Trend n o 4: Rapid deployment
The rapid deployment of data centers has become essential to accompany the rampant expansion of Internet services. In order to meet the diverse application needs of the cloud, data centers must be deployed as quickly as the cloud and shift from a support role to a production one. Going forward, the time to deploy data centers will be reduced from twelve months to nine or six months, or even 3 months.
Trend n o 5: Simple architecture
Building traditional data centers takes time and requires a large initial investment. To address these drawbacks, simplified architectures will become the norm at the system and data center level. Power and cooling architectures will replace traditional systems with integrated products that converge on the transmission link. Adopting a prefabricated and modular design has a number of advantages for data centers: rapid deployment, flexible expansion capability, ease of operation and maintenance, and efficiency in energy savings.
Trend n o 6: Lithium for all
In data centers, traditional power supply systems raise several issues: they are complex, bulky and difficult to maintain, and they frequently lead to accidents (such as fires). The lithium for all trend is gradually replacing traditional lead-acid batteries with lithium batteries. Eventually, data centers will all be equipped with lithium batteries, which are getting cheaper. Lithium batteries last twice as long and provide more visibility, and their footprint is one-third that of lead-acid batteries. In addition, lithium batteries are equipped with a three-level BMS (intelligent battery management system) and a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) accumulator,
Tendency n o 7: Air inlet and water outlet
Due to the complexity of data centers in terms of operation and maintenance, increasing energy efficiency and the need to meet carbon neutrality goals, it will be essential to replace systems chilled water. Cooling systems that consume less or no water will become commonplace. The modular indirect evaporative cooling system adopts an integrated design that reduces deployment time, in addition to simplifying the operation and maintenance of the device. In addition, it significantly reduces its energy consumption by taking full advantage of natural cooling sources.
Trend n o 8: Scan complete
The rise of digital transformation has led to the increased use of digital, communication and AI technologies. Numerical modeling technologies will be more commonly used during the lifecycle of data centers to support the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of facilities. By making facilities easier to manage and control, and improving their visibility, this approach will ensure an excellent experience throughout the lifecycle.
Tendency n o 9: Application of AI
Through continuous improvement and widespread application of Internet of Things (IoT) and AI technologies, data centers will be able to gradually assign manual tasks such as AI-based autonomous management to an AI-based autonomous management system. repetitive work, expert experience and business decision making. Instead of employing AI that specializes in just one area (e.g. operations and maintenance, energy saving and operations), data centers will gradually move towards holistic lifecycle digitization and autonomous management system supporting, inter alia: planning; construction; operation, maintenance and optimization; optimization of energy efficiency and adjustment of parameters in real time by the AI; operation and maintenance, 24/7 verification and predictive maintenance; how AI works; online simulation and automatic service design.
Trend n o 10: Safety and reliability
Threats to network security are growing as data center infrastructures become smarter. It is essential for data centers to have the capability of predictive maintenance of systems, components and hardware. Facilities must have the following six characteristics: hardware reliability, software security, system resiliency, security, privacy, and continuous Internet access. Hierarchical protection techniques ensure the security and reliability of data centers.
Huawei is at the forefront of advancements in energy products and technologies for data centers. In addition, the company works with industry customers, partners and third-party organizations to build an industrial ecosystem that is open, collaborative and beneficial to all parties. In the long term, Huawei will continue to apply the concept of green and sustainable development, thereby helping the planet to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality.
