The Data Center Frontier Show

Can Cloud Computing Lead the Way On Climate?

Cloud computing can be a catalyst for action on climate change. Customers are demanding it, and the planet needs it. Rich Miller outlines how the cloud's massive energy footprint positions the data center industry to drive a global shift to renewably-powered business.  Here are links to the additional resources Rich mentions:  Report: Green Data Centers & The Sustainability Imperative https://datacenterfrontier.com/white-paper/green-data-centers-iron-mountain/ Report: The RIse of the Sustainable Data Center https://datacenterfrontier.com/white-paper/rise-sustainable-data-center/ Webinar: Greening the Data Center  https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=reg20.jsp&referrer=&eventid=2966296&sessionid=1&key=03286873B0FA5C265BAB5A7E7D6C5219&regTag=&V2=false&sourcepage=register Here are two article series on the topic: The Sustainability Imperativehttps://datacenterfrontier.com/green-data-center-imperative/ Tackling Data Center Water Usagehttps://datacenterfrontier.com/data-center-water-usage/ This is the second in a series of broadcasts on the Eight Trends That Will Shape the Data Center in 2021.  hhttps://datacenterfrontier.com/eight-trends-that-will-shape-the-data-center-industry-in-2021/ Be sure to subscribe so you won't miss future installments!    

Enterprise IT Adapts to a Pandemic-Altered Landscape

Enterprise IT must adapt to a new landscape created by the COVID19 pandemic. DCF Editor Rich Miller outlines why this will matter to data center professionals and end users.  This is the first in a series of broadcasts outlining the Eight Trends That Will Shape the Data Center in 2021. In 2020, when cloud technology enabled society to retool to survive the pandemic. As the world slowly defines the contours of the “next normal” in its battle with COVID-19, flexibility and resiliency are the business attributes that will matter most. Many organizations are not yet wired for this. BONUS RESOURCES on Enterprise IT trends Data Center Roundtable: The Year Ahead in Enterprise IT Spending https://datacenterfrontier.com/roundtable-the-year-ahead-in-enterprise-it-spending/ The Enterprise Cloud Shift Accelerates in 2021 https://datacenterfrontier.com/data-bytes-idc-sees-enterprise-cloud-shift-accelerating-in-2021/ Be sure to check our our free Annual Forecast, outlining the DCF take on the most important trends to watch this year: The Eight Trends That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2021 https://datacenterfrontier.com/eight-trends-that-will-shape-the-data-center-industry-in-2021/ To hear about the other trends in future episodes, please subscribe. 

Talking Data Centers With Dean Nelson

DCF Show host Rich Miller speaks talks with Dean Nelson, the founder of Infrastructure Masons and an industry thought leader who has helped build some of the world's largest data center networks for Sun Microsystems, eBay and Uber. Rich and Dean discuss the essential role the data center industry has played during the COVID-19 pandemic, Infrastructure Masons' mission to ensure that "every click improves the future," and Dean's work as CEO of Virtual Power Systems and its vision for software-defined power.  Here's some links with additional information about Dean's work recent work, the iMasons and software-defined power: With Nelson as CEO, VPS Advances Vision for Software-Defined Power https://datacenterfrontier.com/with-nelson-as-ceo-vps-advances-vision-for-software-defined-power/ Dean Nelson's Next Chapter: Family, Phlanthropy, iMasons and Startups https://datacenterfrontier.com/dean-nelsons-next-chapter-family-philanthropy-masons-and-startups/  Infrastructure Masons: https://imasons.org/ Virtual Power Systems: https://virtualpowersystems.com/          

Data Centers in Space

The cloud is extending to the stars. DCF Show host Rich Miller talks with Doug Mohney, who writes about the intersection of space and the data center industry. You'll hear some of the use cases that combine data centers and satellites, and how large cloud computing players like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure are using satellites to extend their reach beyond the atmosphere.    LINKS: Data Centers Above The Clouds: Colocation Goes to Space https://datacenterfrontier.com/data-centers-above-the-clouds-colocation-goes-to-space/ AWS Ground Station Connects the Amazon Cloud to Space Satellites https://datacenterfrontier.com/aws-ground-station-connects-the-amazon-cloud-to-space-satellites/   Azure Space Connects Microsoft Edge Modules to Satellites (Including SpaceX) https://datacenterfrontier.com/azure-space-connects-microsoft-edge-modules-to-satellites-including-spacex/   DCF Space and Satellites Channel https://datacenterfrontier.com/tag/satellite/   Doug Mohney's Space IT Bridge site https://www.spaceitbridge.com/   Follow Doug on Twitter https://twitter.com/DougonIPComm

The Wild Future of Data Storage

Will your data be stored in DNA and holograms? Microsoft is working on new storage technologies to house massive amounts of data. Some of them feel like science fiction, but could disrupt how we store and manage data. DCF Editor Rich Miller explains how data can be stored in DNA and holograms. The biggest advantage: The potential to shrink Walmart-sized data centers. 

Google and the Subsea Cable Revolution

Google’s Grace Hopper Cable connecting the U.S. and Europe is the latest in a series of new subsea cable projects. Data Center Frontier Show host Rich Miller looks at how cloud growth is reshaping how data travels around the globe.  

Data Center Cooling Trends

Host Rich Miller talks with cooling expert Kevin Facinelli, President, Data Center Cooling at Nortek Air Solutions about the challenges of keeping servers cool as data centers get larger and taller. Also: Will vacant office space house servers in the poet-COVID economy?   Rich and Kevin discuss key trends in data center cooling, including: How to adapt cooling systems for hyperscale data center designs The challenges of cooling servers in warm climates like Singapore How Nortek's StatePoint cooling solution addresses these challenges Trends in rack power density, and how to manage them. Will hotter, more powerful servers force a shift from air cooling to liquid cooling? The strategic challenges the COVID-19 pandemic poses for data centers. An opportunity in the work-from-home boom: Creating micro-data centers in vacant office space. Kevin discusses this trend, what he's seeing, and what may lie ahead.                SHOW NOTES   Here are some resources about Nortek:   Nortek Air Solutions web site https://www.nortekair.com/products/data-center-products/   Here's the white paper Rich & Kevin discussed on the podcast:   Solutions to Data Center Water & Power Availability https://datacenterfrontier.com/white-paper/solutions-data-center-water-power/   An overview of Nortek's StatePoint cooling system and its use in warm climates: https://datacenterfrontier.com/new-design-helps-facebook-keep-data-cool-in-hot-climates/    Decreasing Water & Power Will Help Data Centers Reach Sustainability Goals (Nortek Voices column on DCF) https://datacenterfrontier.com/power-water-data-centers-sustainability-goals/   Amid COVID-19, Legionella Raises Key Questions for Data Centers (Nortek Voices column on DCF) https://datacenterfrontier.com/legionella-is-the-covid-19-of-the-data-center-industry/   Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ksfacinelli/   Here's some of Data Center Frontier's in=depth coverage of some of the trends discussed today:   Data Center Cooling Channelhttps://datacenterfrontier.com/category/data-center-cooling/   Rack Density Keeps Rising at Data Centers https://datacenterfrontier.com/rack-density-keeps-rising-at-enterprise-data-centers/   As Rack Densities Rise, Liquid Cooling Specialists Begin to See Gains  https://datacenterfrontier.com/as-rack-densities-rise-liquid-cooling-specialists-begin-to-see-gains/​

Data Center Trends 2020: Data Tonnage and AI

Our 2020 podcast season kicks off with a series of shows based on DCF’s annual forecast, which we call “Eight Trends That Will Shape the Data Center in 2020.” On this podcast, we explore two of the most important trends: data tonnage, and the hardware arms race around artificial intelligence, or AI. Our number one trend is the explosive growth of data, which will be felt in 2020 like never before. Data tonnage creates challenges in both the distribution and concentration of data. Also, artificial intelligence (AI) plays a starring role in this data tsunami. AI is a hardware-intensive computing technology that will analyze data both near and far. That includes everything from algorithm training at cloud campuses to inference engines running on smartphones. Our podcast host, Rich Miller dives deeper into both these subjects which will definitely impact the data center.   Links: The Eight Trends That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2020​ https://datacenterfrontier.com/the-eight-trends-that-will-shape-the-data-center-industry-in-2020/​ Scorecard: Looking Back at DCF’s 2019 Predictions https://datacenterfrontier.com/scorecard-looking-back-at-dcfs-2019-predictions/ Too Big to Deploy: How GPT-2 is Breaking Servers https://towardsdatascience.com/too-big-to-deploy-how-gpt-2-is-breaking-production-63ab29f0897c Data Gravity is Shifting the Data Center Network  https://datacenterfrontier.com/data-gravity-is-shifting-the-data-center-network-but-in-which-direction/ New AI Chips Seek to Reshape Data Center Design, Cooling https://datacenterfrontier.com/new-ai-chips-seek-to-reshape-data-center-design-cooling/    

Robots in the Data Center - The Realities of Automation

While robots in the data center has been proposed and tested for years, the reality is getting close to fruition, with the introduction of a robotic system to hoist servers from a tank of cooling liquid. Is this another step towards more "lights out" mission-critical facilities such as data centers? Our host, Rich Miller, explores the history and future of robots in the data center.​ LINKS:   Inside Facebook's BluRay Data Center https://datacenterfrontier.com/inside-facebooks-blu-ray-cold-storage-data-center/   2013 DCK series 1. The Robot-Driven Data Center of the Future https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2013/05/22/the-data-center-of-tomorrow-totally-lights-out-within-5-years   2. The Role of Robotics in Data Center Automation https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2013/12/18/role-robotics-data-center-automation   3. I, Data Center: An Interview With a Robotics Professional https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2013/12/19/data-center-interview-robotics-professional   IBM Uses Roombas to Protect its Data Centers https://www.geek.com/news/ibm-uses-custom-ever-vigilant-roombas-to-protect-its-data-centers-1557368/   Robots Now Annihilate Hard Drives in Google Data Centers https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/google-alphabet/robots-now-annihilate-hard-drives-google-data-centers   DE-CIX: Meet Patchy McPatchbot - First Robot at an IX https://www.de-cix.net/en/access/the-apollon-platform/patchy-mcpatchbot   Wave 2 Wave: Rome https://www.wave-2-wave.com/rome   Scott Noteboom Joins Liquid Cooling Startup Submer https://datacenterfrontier.com/scott-noteboom-joins-liquid-cooling-startup-submer/   TMG core Unveils Robot-Managed Immersion Data Centers  https://datacenterfrontier.com/tmgcore-unveils-robot-managed-immersion-data-centers/   

Data Center Merger Mania

Everyone's talking about data center merger mania. In this episode, host Rich Miller talks about two deals, one that happened and one that didn't. The deal that happened is Digital Realty's acquisition of European colocation and interconnection provider, Interxion for $8.4 billion.  He will cover the important strategic factors that make this deal a win for Digital. There's also the deal that didn't happen -- involving CyrusOne, one of the largest wholesalers in the data center business. In its earnings call, CyrusOne has decided to remain independent. Both of these deals have strategic implications for the data center industry.