Establishment of Cloud computing Center: German experts give four reference standards

China IDC Circle July 15: A company decided to invest in the establishment of cloud computing center, will consider the question: What kind of computing centre is more appropriate? Is it a traditional computing center or a modular computing center? Although the traditional computing center can provide a stable service, the modeling center can better meet the requirements of flexibility, cost and efficiency of the enterprise. What are the criteria by which an enterprise should judge which computing center to set up?

Here are a few important criteria for business decision making:

Footprint and efficiency requirements

The area problem of the computing center is the first consideration. The modular Computing Centre is suitable for sites with an area below 500 square meters, so there are not many devices that can be placed.

If a lot of equipment, the need for more than 500 square meters, then recommend the choice of traditional computing center.

Talk about the site conditions. The modeling center has a high demand for venues. If the site is located in more than a corner of the building, multiple beam or column, corridor narrow, low ceiling, it is appropriate to establish a traditional computing center.

If the site is spacious, it is appropriate to set up a modelling centre. Because the investment needed to transform a site into a traditional computing centre is far more than that of a modeling center.

Power density problem

In general, most computing centers have a power density of about 1 kw/m2 (kwh per square metre) to 3 kw/m2, including traditional computing centres and modelling computing centres.

The trouble is, how to keep the figure at that level for the next 5-10 years.

For example, you have a power requirement for the next short Term Computing center is 6-kilowatt per rack. However, you are well aware that the power density of the computing center is going up.

In this context, our proposal is: in the long run, you should purchase equipment without downtime. You can buy these devices now, but you can postpone the use of the time. When the power density is high enough to affect the benefits, you can keep the device running for a long time without buying new equipment.

The construction of the computing center

Generally speaking, the duration of the computing center is 4-6 months, which means from the beginning to the delivery of the use. The duration of a traditional computing center varies from one company to the other, but it takes at least nine months, or even two years to complete.

If the company's planned construction cycle for the computing center is less than a year, then only the computing center will be considered. If the company's expectations of computing centers are more personalized, it is recommended to choose a traditional computing center, despite the long duration and large investment.

The tendering process is too long and may result in companies having to choose a traditional computing center. From building management to IT management, the heads of all departments must make a statement on the construction of the computing center, thus lengthening the construction cycle of the computing center.

A year-long planning time

The traditional computing center construction cycle is longer, only the construction of specifications consulting this process, including tendering, it will take a year to complete. and the Model Center provides a unified standardized solution, can be in the construction of specifications Consulting this link to save a lot of time, sometimes even completely omitted.

Although the construction period of the Model Computing Center is short, but because all is the standard configuration, so the enterprise can choose the room to be relatively small in the construction. All machines and electronic equipment in the computing center are provided in complete sets.

But if companies are more mature in their own needs, the modeling center is a good fit. The risk of design problems is much smaller than that of traditional computing centers, because the model center takes a standard configuration. This is why many companies have chosen to use a modular computing center decisively.

Design and operational risks

Traditional computing centers are tailored for the enterprise personalized very strong computing center, there are many suppliers at the same time to provide services to meet the needs of enterprises, so in the design and construction phase are likely to appear a variety of unexpected problems. There is a problem that needs to be adjusted, and since there are so many problems, the adjustment is almost routine, and every adjustment requires an increase in the budget.

A modular computing center is much simpler. Because the complex assembly work is done at the factory, there is no big change. Moreover, the standard configuration of the computing center is proved by practice and has quality assurance, so the project scale is relatively stable, the possibility of budget overruns is less.

Two types of risk

There are two risks that can lead to cost escalation and downtime: one is the risk of equipment maintenance and operation. A modular computing center with an operating manual is less risky than countless practices. The second is the risk of design concepts. The final phase of the computing Center's construction is the so-called trial run phase, which can be long and short, ranging from several thoughtful months. Of course, the modular Computing center because all are standardized configuration, there are fewer problems, so the trial run period is also relatively short.

Another risk is a design error. In fact, design errors can be avoided, as long as the design staff constantly adjust, repeat the test to make it in line with enterprise regulations. This is a fixed part of the construction phase of the modeling center, which is impossible for the traditional computing center.

Cost considerations

In general, the cost of a traditional computing center is very high, the final cost of 40% is often equivalent to 10% of the total cost, and this is the computing center two years ago, the installment repayment has not yet begun. In contrast, the modeling center only needs to pay 15% of the total cost upfront, and then start installment payments after four months.

Because of the high cost, the water consumption and power consumption of the computing Centre must also be taken into account. The use of energy-saving equipment can save a lot of money in this area. The industry generally uses the PUE value (power Usage effectiveness, energy efficiency) to judge the efficiency of a computing center, the PUE value is approximately 1, the higher the efficiency.

Efficiency of energy use

In the case of 500 square meters, the computing center with a pue value of 1.2 in 10 compared to the Pue 1.6 Computing center could save about 35 billion euros in energy consumption alone. It should be noted, however, that electricity consumption cannot be saved at the expense of increased water consumption.

The life cycle or the device that expires in the update cycle is discarded. The equipment in traditional computing centres has also become a factor in the cost of rising, because the equipment that is due to be replaced. The various components of the computing center can be replaced without destroying the original site or even the residual value of the recyclable parts.