PROJECT FOCUS Scuderia Ferrari

SPECIAL FEATURE : GAME CHANGER :

INTELLIGENT THE IMPACT OF IEEE

FINE TUNING THE

BUILDINGS 802.11AC

DATA CENTRE

SPECIAL FEATURE : CABLE MANAGEMENT

& LABELLING 01 Cover . indd 1 02 / 08 / 2016 15:49

WILL MULTI-STOREY DATA CENTRES BECOME THE NEW NORM ?

Such speed and precision requires a technology infrastructure that is up to the task .

FEATURE

THREE DECADES OF NETWORK

fibre cleaning

INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION

Ferrari and Schneider Electric have teamed up to push limits on data centre efficiency and reliability . Michael Crane races to find out more .

Despite warnings that IPA is no longer ‘ fit for purpose ’ when it comes to cleaning optical fibre , the outdated cleaner is still often used on highly sensitive fibre equipment . Edward Forrest , an expert on the fibre optic industry , looks at the many problems that IPA can cause . cuderia Ferrari is the racing team racing . Competitive on all levels , from and analysed . The time given to respond division of the world famous engineering to the race , there ’ s no room to and accommodate new rules and Ferrari sports car manufacturer . for error , downtime or delays . restrictions from one competition to the n the world of fibre optics , there only So here ’ s the headline : to get the Why clean ?

The most successful team in ‘ One of the founding elements of next is often very short . are two truly critical precision cleaning most from an investment in advanced The basic answer is as simple as a the history of Formula One , the Ferrari experience and success is the The regulatory changes can range operations . The first is ‘ prep ’ before fibre equipment , companies must stain on your shirt . In fibre optics , they having recorded 224 ( and ability to make decisions very quickly ,’ from technical directives during actual fusion splice . The other is ‘ end-face update their cleaning processes this is not merely a cosmetic issue . counting ) race victories . The says Vittoro Boero , chief information championship events to modifications cleaning ’. Both are essential to and stop using IPA . Over the last 20 Stains and debris on an optical surface team has competed in every major world officer at Ferrari ’ s automotive division in the car ’ s architecture . These changes deployment of reliable , high capacity years , the precision cleaning industry will degrade the transmission of the championship since 1950 . and its Formula One team . ‘ At Ferrari need to be quickly reflected in Scuderia networks . But as new and advanced has developed high performance signal . ‘ Clean ’ directly equates to more we ’ re constantly working to push the Ferrari ’ s working methods and IT as modern fibre networks might be , products that cost less , are safer reliable transmissions and mechanically limits , to break records .’ support systems . As a result , the data most technicians still are cleaning them to use and perform better than stronger splices . Optical fibre must Speed and precision

Such speed and precision requires centre physical infrastructure needs to with the same fluid used in the 1960s : traditional alcohol cleaners . Let ’ s take be pristine to transmit reliably and to

A Formula One team is driven by a a technology infrastructure that is be high performing , reliable , flexible isopropyl alcohol , also called IPA . a look . splice properly . culture of innovation at the highest up to the task of being both flexible and highly manageable . levels where speed is the literal key and reliable . The Ferrari data centres to competitive advantage . It ’ s a support the Scuderia Ferrari Formula

26 place where results are concretely One engineers by providing the high A data centre upgrade measured at each Grand Prix . Formula performance computing environment ‘ The data centre hosts solutions and One racing represents the pinnacle necessary to adapt and adjust quickly as systems used by our engineers during in high performance automotive data is gathered in real time during races races ,’ says Antonio Tornatore , head of

20

infrastrucure management

Security is also a large consideration when considering a DCIM SaaS model . Porting data flow and connections to devices that have far reaching effects on a data centre can be risky . The ability to ensure hackers are unable to gain access to a device they could potentially control in unforeseen ways is a critical security element that must be heavily scrutinised . This is especially true in the face of several recent hacks that were perpetrated through accessing a building control system . A DCIM SaaS model must utilise secure connections as well as consider interposing devices that would mitigate access and control to critical devices within the data centre .

Another consideration when it comes to utilising a SaaS based DCIM system with real time data

is the ability to replicate the data locally in case of a network or hosting outage . If the data centre loses access to the Internet , or the SaaS provider has an outage , how will the information required to understand the situation be accessed ? Notifying users of an outage and allowing for quick access to the associated data is a key function of a real time DCIM system . A SaaS based offering must allow for some kind of ‘ out of band ’ access of the data in case of large scale Internet outages .

The world is quickly moving to SaaS based everything . Our homes are readily connected to the Internet for simple access and control . Utilising a DCIM system in a hosted model can have some rewards with regards to cost , maintenance and

upkeep . When using the real time data features of DCIM , however , a data centre operator must consider security and data availability as key elements of a deployment . Many

Is the market ready for a full DCIM platform delivered via a SaaS model ?

users may find that solutions offered today lack some of these critical functions and instead turn back to the tried and true method of hosting their own DCIM systems .

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