Cloud Computing is gaining tremendous traction in the aftermath of COVID-19. The rise in cloud adoption is resulting in a proportionate increase in data centre computing requirements.
“Cloud Computing” essentially involves data which is stored off-site in massive shared storage facilities and accessed via the Internet. It is scalable (enabling the user to immediately access more data storage space) and maintains redundancies (back-up servers) and security/firewalls to protect the data.
Depending on where the company conducts business, redundant data may be stored in the ‘Cloud’ in multiple data hubs in different regions of a country, as well as globally.
Impact of Edge Computing and Distributed Cloud
In the past, data centres took on average around 2 years to design. Now, deployment times have shrunk down to months instead of years.
This is where Edge Computing comes in. It is one of the prime solutions to tackle latency (buffering, lag or other such transmission delays) caused by the demands of technology such as streaming, AI (Artificial Intelligence), Augmented and Virtual Reality, and the IoT (Internet of Things).
All of this puts exponential demands on the over 800 zettabytes of data processing and storage kept in the Cloud. For enterprise solutions and 5G networks, Edge Computing/Distributed Cloud brings caches of data and processing closer to where it’s being utilised.
It is complimentary to Cloud Computing and dramatically reduces latency for streaming and IoT (smart) devices.
Edge Computing relocates crucial data processing to the ‘edge’ of the network instead of requiring the data to travel between all users of that particular data and a central server. A Distributed Cloud infrastructure and Edge Computing requires Edge Data Centres in order to process and store vital data and application needs in a localized environment.
Further, Edge Computing is ideal for applications where ‘real time’ processing with dramatically reduced latency is required such as: robotic surgeries and medical procedures, automated manufacturing, real-time control of automated vehicles, smart devices, smart homes & buildings, and for most people the basic needs caused by the shift to streaming for telecommunications, social media & entertainment.
Bringing data to the ‘Edge’ reduces traffic volumes and storage requirements at centralised data centres.
Challenges in Edge Computing
A few major challenges for Edge Computing and 5G infrastructures in general are primarily deployment speed, how to roll out tens of thousands of Edge Data Centres instantly, manage costs and be sensitive to the environment, all at the same time.
Prime Modular Data Centers’ line of prefabricated Modular Data Centres (MDC) with Intelligent Natural Air Cooling addresses these needs. Prime Modular Data Centers is a division of Prime Wire & Cable which was founded in 1986 and established its presence in the USA Industrial and Home Improvement market channels with vertically integrated extension cord & electrical accessories design, manufacturing and distribution in Southern California.
For its MDCs, Prime created economies of scale by utilising the same components and a limited amount of structures which enables speed to market in 50- 60 percent less time than traditional Edge solutions for 5G Macro-Sites or Enterprise environments.
By utilizing Natural (free) Air Cooling with Siemens Environmental controls, Prime cut cooling costs by 50 percent over traditional HVAC methods – a vital step considering that cooling data centres draws approximately 50 percent of the power required to run a data centre. Also, their supplemental evaporative cooling method uses 75 percent less water than traditional water-based cooling systems – once again being sensitive to the environment.
Rapid Deployment of Modular Data Centres
Prime’s Modular Data Centres with Natural Air Cooling are the ideal solution for the rapid deployment needs of Distributed Cloud/Edge Computing for 5G Macro-Sites and Enterprise applications, while being sensitive to the urgent need to reduce the ever-growing energy demands of storing and transporting data.
Prime’s MDCs utilize pre-fabricated structural components, and a Siemens Environmental Programmable Logic Control system with approximately 100 different sensors built into each MDC to measure and control temperature, relative humidity, power consumption, security, lighting and more – on site or remotely.
Natural Air Cooling provides a PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of less than 1.1 – meeting ASHRAE standards – and because there is no need for traditional HVAC in most locations where these MDCs are deployed, can reduce energy costs by at least 50 percent annually. The Supplemental Evaporative Cooling (which helps to balance the MDCs internal relative humidity) uses 75 percent less water annually than traditional water-based HVAC solutions.
These pre-fabricated solutions allow for rapid deployment and ease of expandability. Prime’s units are a practically ‘plug & play’ solution because Prime can pre-wire each MDC with Prime’s structured cable patch cables, patch panels and accessories prior to deployment, reducing the set-up time at the site to installing the user’s servers, UPS & batteries and then plugging in the MDC to a power outlet. At the site, the primary needs are power, water and a flat surface.
Low TCO
Total Cost of Ownership is lower due to:
All of which provides a faster return on investment.
Because Prime has already been providing Structured Cabling Solutions for use in traditional data centres and server rooms, as 5G and the Distributed Cloud/Edge computing models started to develop, they saw an opportunity to contribute, hence the development of Prime’s Modular Data Center program.
Prime has 5 basic models for 5G Macro-Sites, Enterprise Solutions and Emergency Services applications:
Prime also has a larger 10-Rack Enterprise Data Center solution and can customize solutions to your specific needs.
The Programmable Logic Control from Siemens Environmental that is a part of every Prime MDC can be accessed remotely through login to a web portal, enabling monitoring and control of the following functions:
Micro or Edge Data Centres
Currently, depending on which statistics you read, powering the Internet uses between 2 and 10 percent of the world’s electricity demands and is growing at a rate of at least 8 percent annually.
According to a China Mobile study, 46 percent of that energy goes toward cooling data centres.
Of the over 800 zettabytes of data consumption in the ‘information super-highway’ comes from the over 21 billion IoT devices currently deployed worldwide. That number is projected to double by 2030!
There have been over 2.2 billion iPhones sold globally in addition to nearly 11 billion other smart phones, not to mention all the tablets in use. By 2030 projections estimate that powering our insatiable demand for instantaneous data could amount to as much as 20 percent (or more) of the world’s total energy consumption!
Tens of thousands of Edge Data Centres (also known as Micro Data Centres) must be deployed for 5G Wireless and Distributed Cloud/Edge Computing for Enterprise environments to function successfully. Traditionally, data centres have been built from scratch, have followed a model of customized solutions for each deployment, utilize traditional HVAC methods for cooling the servers, and take up to 2 years to deploy.
For Enterprise Solutions and the Distributed Cloud/Edge Computing model, Micro Data Centres are the next generation for Edge Data Centres. Whether for a 5G Macro-Site (antenna array) or an Enterprise Solution, a Micro Data Center needs to be deployed rapidly, should utilize more energy efficient/environmentally friendly cooling solutions, have a smaller, higher density, more consistent footprint, and be easily duplicated for scaling when needed.
Vital need for Distributed Cloud/Edge Data Centres
Subscribing to Distributed Cloud and Edge Computing requires Edge Data Centres in order to process and store vital data application needs in a localized environment. Thousands of Distributed Cloud/Edge Data Centres must be deployed, as they are a key component of the 5G/Edge Computing infrastructure.
To successfully create a network that wirelessly connects all devices and interactions with those devices within the network, data will need to be transferred, stored, and processed at rapid speed. This data processing must also be consistent and highly reliable.
5G’s promise of less than 10 milliseconds of latency and speeds of 1GBps (1 gigabyte per second) is completely dependent on localized infrastructure because 5G operates at frequencies from 24-100GHz, which only travel between 500ft and 3000ft (based on data provided by US cellular providers).
For localised Enterprise applications (emergency services, hospitals, factories, smart cities, homes & buildings, transportation and businesses of all kinds), certain data will need to live on a dedicated network away from the congestion caused by a glut of applications and storage in a Cloud environment. To meet all the growing needs of data and the Internet, providers need to carefully consider what their 5G Macro-Sites, Modular Data Centres and Enterprise can provide.
Visit Prime Modular Data Centers website here.
Check out the video below on how to rapidly deploy data centers and simultaneously gain energy savings.
]]>Cloud Computing
“Cloud Computing” describes when data is stored off-site in massive shared storage facilities and accessed via the Internet. It is scalable (enabling the user to immediately access more data storage space) and maintains redundancies (back-up servers) and security/firewalls to protect the data. Depending on where the company conducts business, redundant data may be stored in “The Cloud” in multiple data hubs in different regions of a country as well as globally.
Distributed Cloud and Edge Computing
Edge Computing is the primary solution to addressing latency (buffering, lag or other such transmission delays) caused by the demands of technology such as streaming, AI (Artificial Intelligence), Augmented and Virtual Reality, and IoT (Internet of Things) putting exponential demands on the over 800 zettabytes of data processing and storage kept in The Cloud. For Enterprise Solutions and 5G networks, Edge Computing/Distributed Cloud brings caches of data and processing closer to where it’s being utilized. It is complimentary to Cloud Computing and dramatically reduces latency for streaming and IoT (smart) devices.
It relocates crucial data processing to the “edge” of the network instead of requiring the data to travel between all users of that particular data and a central server. A Distributed Cloud infrastructure and Edge Computing requires Edge Data Centers in order to process and store vital data and application needs in a localized environment.
Edge Computing is ideal for applications where “real time” processing with dramatically reduced latency is required such as: robotic surgeries & medical procedures, automated manufacturing, real-time control of automated vehicles, smart devices, smart homes & buildings, and for most people the basic needs caused by the shift to streaming for telecommunications, social media & entertainment. Bringing cashes of data to “The Edge” reduces traffic volumes and storage requirements at centralized data centers.
Vital need for Distributed Cloud/Edge Data Centers
Subscribing to Distributed Cloud and Edge Computing requires Edge Data Centers in order to process and store vital data application needs in a localized environment. Thousands of Distributed Cloud/Edge Data Centers must be deployed, as they are a key component of the 5G/Edge Computing infrastructure. To successfully create a network that wirelessly connects all devices and interactions with those devices within the network, data will need to be transferred, stored, and processed at rapid speed. This data processing must also be consistent and highly reliable.
5G’s promise of less than 10 milliseconds of latency and speeds of 1GBps (1 gigabyte per second) is completely dependent on localized infrastructure because 5G operates at frequencies from 24-100GHz which only travel between 500 and 3000ft (based on data provided by US cellular providers).
For localized Enterprise applications (emergency services, hospitals, factories, smart cities, homes & buildings, transportation and businesses of all kinds), certain data will need to live on a dedicated network away from the congestion caused by a glut of applications and storage in a Cloud environment.
Micro Data Centers
Currently, depending on which statistics you read, powering the Internet uses between 2 and 10% of the world’s electricity demands and is growing at a rate of at least 8% annually. According to a China Mobile study, 46% of that energy goes toward cooling data centers. Of the over 800 zettabytes of data clogging the “information super-highway” 85ZB comes from the over 21 billion IoT devices currently deployed world wide. That number is projected to double by 2030!
There have been over 2.2 billion iPhones sold globally in addition to nearly 11 billion other smart phones, not to mention all the tablets in use. By 2030 projections estimate that powering our insatiable demand for instantaneous data could amount to as much as 20% (or more) of the world’s total energy consumption!
Tens of thousands of Edge Data Centers (also known as Micro Data Centers) must be deployed for 5G Wireless and Distributed Cloud/Edge Computing for Enterprise environments to function successfully. Traditionally, data centers have been built from scratch, have followed a model of customized solutions for each deployment, utilize traditional HVAC methods for cooling the servers, and take up to 2 years to deploy.
For Enterprise Solutions and the Distributed Cloud/Edge Computing model, Micro Data Centers are the next generation for Edge Data Centers. Whether for a 5G Macro-Site (antenna array) or an Enterprise Solution, a Micro Data Center needs to be deployed rapidly, should utilize more energy efficient/environmentally friendly cooling solutions, have a smaller, higher density, more consistent footprint, and be easily duplicated for scaling when needed.
PRIME’s Modular Data Centers
Prime’s Modular Data Centers with Natural Air Cooling are the ideal solution for the rapid deployment needs of Distributed Cloud/Edge Computing for 5G Macro-Sites and Enterprise applications, while being sensitive to the urgent need to reduce the ever-growing energy demands of storing and transporting data.
Prime’s MDC’s utilize pre-fabricated structural components, and a Siemens Environmental Programmable Logic Control system with approximately 100 different sensors built into each MDC to measure and control temperature, relative humidity, power consumption, security, lighting and more – on site or remotely.
Natural Air Cooling provides a PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of less than 1.1 – meeting ASHRAE standards – and because there is no need for traditional HVAC in most locations where these MDC’s are deployed, can reduce energy costs by at least 50% annually. The supplemental Evaporative Cooling (which helps to balance the MDC’s internal relative humidity) uses 75% less water annually than traditional water-based HVAC solutions.
These pre-fabricated solutions allow for rapid deployment and ease of expandability. Prime’s units are a practically “plug & play” solution because Prime can pre-wire each MDC with Prime’s structured cable patch cables, patch panels and accessories prior to deployment, reducing the set-up time at the site to installing the user’s servers, UPS & batteries and then plugging in the MDC to a power outlet. At the site, the primary needs are power, water and a flat surface.
Total cost of ownership is lower due to:
All of which provides a faster return on investment.
Emergency Services
Natural disasters happen. Fires, floods, earthquakes, winter storms, tornadoes & hurricanes all put a strain on communications equipment and access to on-site data. Another advantage of Prime’s Modular Data Centers is that since these are pre-fabricated, they are ideal for Emergency Services/Mission Critical Applications Providers to keep on-hand for such circumstances. Since Prime’s MDC’s can easily ship by truck or rail, and can be maneuvered on-site with a standard fork-lift, they are an ideal solution to drop into an affected area in mission critical situations where the ability to access data is vital. Most of Prime’s MDC’s operate from a 240VAC 30A, 40A or 50A circuit – depending on the model and IT load. Each MDC includes a prewired outdoor-rated, oil, water, weather & abrasion resistant/flame retardant power supply cord and 4 fiberoptic data cable connectors per rack.
Who is Prime
Prime Wire & Cable was founded in 1985 and established its presence in the USA Industrial and Home Improvement market channels with vertically integrated extension cord & electrical accessories design, manufacturing and distribution in Southern California. In 2006 YFC BonEagle International, a manufacturer of structured cabling and OEM power supply cords purchased Prime, combining the best of Prime’s innovative designs, marketing and sales with YFC’s precision manufacturing capabilities to form an ever-expanding industry leader in Structured Cable, Extension Cords and Electrical Accessories. Prime & YFC have manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, The Philippines, Vietnam, Ecuador and China as well as Sales & Service offices in Europe, Asia & North America.
With offices in Diamond Bar, CA and Mooresville, NC, a 200,000 sq.ft. distribution facility in Cerritos, CA. along with regional industrial distribution warehouses in in the USA in addition to fulfillment centers in Toronto and Coquitlam BC, Prime has positioned itself as both a product and service leader in the electrical and data communications cable markets.
PRIME’s MDC Program
Prime has 5 basic models for 5G Macro-Sites, Enterprise Solutions and Emergency Services applications:
Prime also has a larger 10-Rack Enterprise Data Center solution and can customize solutions to your specific needs.
The Programmable Logic Control from Seimens Environmental that is a part of every Prime MDC can be accessed remotely through log-in to a web portal enabling monitoring and control of the following functions:
PRIME’s MDC team has extensive experience providing data center infrastructure solutions. We have worked hard to build and maintain relationships with leading manufacturers within the information technology (IT) industry, as well as develop our own specialized products. For a “virtual tour” of a PRIME Modular Data Center, please visit: Prime Modular Data Centers tour
]]>In the year 2021 we will require a technology vision that meets the requirements of constantly changing on-demand experiences in the present pandemic situation. In such a scenario we are looking for your insightful responses that paint a realistic picture of the role played by PRIME in addressing the customer needs in 2021 and has culminated into one of the 10 Best Tech Solution Providers of 2021.
After covering all the questions, please feel free to share your views and opinion on any other topic that we may have missed and you think our subscribers should know about.
YFC, based in Taipei, was founded in 1983, specializing in OEM power supply cords and structured cable. Currently we own or have partnerships with manufacturing facilities in 5 countries, sales offices in Europe, Asia and the USA, and employ nearly 2000 people worldwide.
Prime’s new product development team is based in our office outside Charlotte, NC. Marketing, Engineering and Quality Control lab are based in our office and our 200,000 sq. ft. distribution center outside of Los Angeles. We are also in the process of identifying a location for a new Modular Data Center assembly & fulfillment facility in Houston.
Bulldog Tough® cords addressed another need from both professionals and DIY’ers who wanted an oil-resistant, extreme temperature rated extension cord but didn’t want to pay for more expensive rubber or TPE products.
Although the vast majority of our innovations and product improvements have been with line voltage products, we’ve also carried that philosophy to our Structured Cable Division with products like our patented Navi-Lite patch panels that help installers and repair technicians easily and quickly trace connections from the patch panel to the specific RJ45 receptacle down line. It saves time and money during both the installation of a new internal network, and down the road when doing maintenance. We have also done things on the back-end of manufacturing that go unnoticed to the naked eye. For example, at our own factories we formulate our own compounds, so we have more control over issues such as passing UL flame tests and making a safer product for riser and plenum cables. Quality is always our primary focus because it doesn’t matter how cool a product is if it’s not safe and doesn’t perform as needed.
Because we were already providing structured cabling solutions for use in traditional data centers and server rooms, as 5G and the Distributed Cloud/Edge computing models started to develop, we saw an opportunity to contribute. Hence the development of our new Modular Data Center program. This too came from listening to our customers and the inevitable need driven by these emerging technologies.
Competition is healthy. It helps us all learn and grow. Not all good ideas come from within. The market drives innovation and multiple solutions to address challenges. By focusing on servicing our customers with the best quality/value products and personalized attention possible, we hope that we will continue to nurture these long-term relationships and that our sincerity will enable us to open new doors. We have to be “present” and visible to current and future customers – especially during the pandemic. So we participate in virtual events as well as whatever we can safely do in person to maintain these relationships and stay involved with our customers and our industry.
That being said, we still have to continue to listen and respond to market trends and needs. Without the goods, even your best friend will look elsewhere if you are unable to help him/her.
We’ve always been fans of ways to bring people together digitally because we are a global company. So it was very fluid for us to up our digital game as software such as Teams, Zoom, FaceTime, and even social media platforms became available to keep in touch with customers, our factories, sales team and our own internal teams during the pandemic.
In addition to revamping our website, and using social media platforms to communicate with our people around the world, we’ve also become more involved and engaged with platforms such as YouTube, LinkedIn and more, as this is a lifeline to end-users and other opportunities. As mentioned earlier, without our end-users, we’d have a gap in the success of our product development efforts.
It’s also a scary thought to realize that the average person sees 3 miles of social media daily! Therefore if we don’t have a presence on social platforms, we don’t exist to a large portion of the world. People today would rather read a quick Tweet or a social media post than an email. Video has also become more important than the written word. We must adapt to this just as we have to adapt to new or updated UL standards.
That’s why we’re so excited about our Modular Data Centers as this product line will help the world implement 5G and Edge Computing faster and more efficiently than was possible. If we can help those who use our products be successful in meeting their goals, we’ve done our job. None of the amazing technological innovations such as AI, VR, AR, smart homes, cars, cities and streaming services will meet their potential if there is no infrastructure to transmit “zero-latency” signal. Our Modular Data Centers are a “game changer” in helping this come to fruition.
Building a 5G and Edge Infrastructure is one of the most expensive global undertakings ever attempted. When one considers the following:
We’ve addressed this challenge in how our Modular Data Centers have been designed with precision-engineered prefabricated components that are used across several models, increasing efficiencies and reducing waste. By employing natural air cooling we reduce the cost of cooling our MDC’s by 50% over standard methods. We use 75% less water than traditional water-based cooling solutions too. Therefore, our solutions cost less to produce. Take 50-60% less time to deploy, and cost less to operate – saving time, money and the environment.
We call our solution “plug and play” because our MDC’s are ready to go once delivered to the job site. Because we also make all the patch panels, bulk cable, fiber optic jumpers, cable management, etc., that goes into the data center, we can pre-wire it to our customer’s specifications, so all that’s needed at the site is to drop in the servers and back-up batteries, plug it into a power source, connect the water supply and turn it on.
We have indoor 2kW & 5kW 32U single rack Enterprise Solutions that are great for everything from a new smart home to a small business, as an add-on or to get started. Their footprint is small and they are much easier to deploy than building up a traditional server room. They are also great for emergency services and temporary situations.
Our 15kW 42U single rack and 2 rack 5G Macro-Site solutions can be deployed indoors or outside. They are small enough to ship on a standard truck and require a typical industrial forklift to place them on site. For “mission critical” and emergency services – these are an ideal solution because they are portable, come with a “road case” and can be redeployed when needed.
We also have a 12kW 43U 6-rack solution that’s practically unbeatable for Macro-sites, sporting events, small to medium sized enterprise solutions and more.
In addition we have a 10-rack enterprise solution we recommend as an alternative to building a traditional data center. A user can drop one or more of these in a warehouse, scale up when needed, and each unit is both self-contained and managed by the same PLC format so monitoring these remotely is simple.
If a picture paints 1000 words, then a video will do even more. We’d like to invite your readers to take a virtual tour of our MDC’s by visiting the following link on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffOc6xs-fFY
It’s easy to talk and write about our solutions, but to see them will help tremendously.
One client wants to deploy our solution in a desert climate where the client’s protocol is not to have a water supply in the data center. The way our evaporative cooling works, (simplified explanation) the water supply is outside of the MDC. There’s a ½ inch (or metric equivalent for those countries on a metric standard) hose-bib onto which the client can connect piping or a typical garden hose from a nearby water supply. The sensors within the Siemens Environmental Control System bring a limited amount of water to an evaporative panel that sits between the “intake” section of the MDC and the “cold aisle.” From there, powerful fans pull the required amount of evaporating mist into the circulation while the overflow drips down into a pipe beneath the MDC and it evacuates through the pipe to the ground outside of the MDC where it will naturally evaporate away from any sensitive equipment.
Another client has a chain of hospitals whose data centers are full. They have run out of space inside their facilities and have security concerns about putting an expanded data center outside on the grounds, so they need to put our units on the roofs of their hospitals. Because of their high-density structure our units take up less space. Without traditional cooling such as a raised floor and HVAC, they also weigh much less than traditional solutions. (A single-rack outdoor-rated MDC weighs approximately 2000lbs fully loaded).
The feature all our current clients love is that the Siemens Environmental PLC (Programmable Logic Control) can be operated remotely – ideal for 5G Macro-Sites and for clients such as the one with several hospitals. We provide a URL where their IT people can login from a computer, tablet or phone and monitor or make adjustments to the environment in the MDC, open the door for an on-site technician or more – in real-time!
Our single-rack MDC has over 100 sensors that let the client know when it’s time to change the air and chemical filters, track trends in energy consumption, automatically switch power from one intelligent PDU to the other in order to save energy and manage the load, just about anything that needs to be monitored and managed in the data center can be done from anywhere!
As mentioned throughout this discussion, Prime’s priority is always taking care of our customers (and subsequently the end users) needs. We are in an exciting time right now – on the cutting edge with our solution. We have several key people and resources in place, but we will need to keep investing in “boots on the ground” in each market territory to ensure we have the right people for each market’s needs. That’s our focus along with deploying as many of our MDC’s as possible to help the world realize the promise of 5G. By participating in opportunities such as this, becoming more active on social media, participating in trade events - both virtually and in person, we hope to create the excitement for our products for end-users, and for those people and businesses who fit the mold to be our partners in deploying our solution globally.