IoT technologies deployed in data centres are invaluable tools for supporting the monitoring of environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, and airflow – all key to understanding how well a data centre is performing – as well as condition-based monitoring, visibility into energy usage and automation of routine tasks such as adjusting cooling levels and switching power sources.
The current data centre landscape is one that is forecast to grow as the advantages derived from running AI workloads are crystallising for companies ranging from sectors in healthcare to transportation and logistics.
The figures are clear: JLL has predicted that global data centre capacity will grow at 15% year-on-year, but this won’t be enough to meet current demand. It also noted that billions of dollars have been invested in AI – a statement echoed by McKinsey & Company, who said that by 2030 data centres would need $6.7 trillion worldwide to keep pace with demand for compute power.
All of this is to say that data centres show no signs of slowing down, and the unique challenges that arise from demand outpacing supply will depend on technologies like IoT to help manage the operation and maintenance of data centres.
The IoT data centre
In an article published on IoT Insider last year, George Ashwin from AddOn Networks wrote about the role IoT technologies play in overhauling existing infrastructure and assisting with the constraints data centres face.
Some of these constraints span from the physical to the technological and regulatory. In key data centre hubs like London and Amsterdam, the physical space available is limited; and modern servers that are being used to run AI and high-performance computing (HPC) generate much more heat per rack which depends on cooling solutions to avoid overheating. In terms of regulation, data centres have to deal with sensitive data according to laws such as GDPR and security is understandably a key concern.
This is where IoT can play, in providing greater insights into the overall condition of a data centre and automating tasks where needed.
“It should come as no surprise that infrastructure upgrades are inevitable,” wrote Ashwin. “The need for faster processing, large data storage, and additional bandwidth to handle such a massive volume of data has become unbearable for operators.”
He added that the cost-intensive nature of improving data centre infrastructure means third-party solutions such as transceivers are more affordable and alleviate these pressures. “Simply put, they are often cheaper, more effective, and will not void any service contract or warranty in place with a Network Equipment Manufacturer (NEM).”
But let’s make this more concrete. What does an IoT data centre look like?
Radix IoT worked with a hyperscale data centre customer who needed a monitoring and management platform and solution to standardise their maintenance and procedures. The answer was the company’s own platform, Mango OS, which shared insights into a health overview; metrics and alarms view; data hall visualisation view; and how devices were doing for troubleshooting and diagnostics purposes.
The health overview, for instance, showed the operational behaviour of a single site with metrics including power profiles and efficiency. The data hall visualisation view, meanwhile, showed the status of a single data hall – with alarms, temperature sensor locations, temperature ranges and alerts available if temperatures are exceeded.
By delivering all of this information into one platform in a single glass pane of visibility, the customer was able to respond to issues in a quicker period of time, increase uptime and provide their customers with increased performance metrics; all essential for data centre operation.
IoT’s ability to provide data-driven insights into the operations and performance of a data centre is invaluable as the demand for AI workloads and data centres that can run them continues to grow. Deploying IoT technologies into data centres allows it to do what it does best: bolster infrastructure.
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