INTELLIGENT CABLING
These micro-
datacentres are
autonomous,
automatable,
sturdy solutions,
powerful
enough to
assume a leading
role in the cloud.
the roadside. There would have to be
servers or micro-datacentres on the roads
or at base stations every 15 kilometres to
guarantee virtually latency-free interaction
and processing of the most important data
on site.
Exchanging data using remote cloud
datacentres would be too slow to control
traffic and ensure there are no accidents
with the typical 1 to 2 milliseconds
latency. So, while the cloud could compile,
analyse and store all traffic data that is
not critically time-bound, the edge will
require micro-datacentres as there is
zero tolerance for latency and a need for
unconditional availability.
This latency, hyper-interactivity and
decentral intelligence will play a role
in numerous other applications in the
digitalised world. These include industrial
manufacture, industrial Ethernet and
robotics, 5G and video communication,
smart grids, the Internet of Things as well
as blockchain, AI and AR applications.
Edge computing can support all these
tasks by shortening the path between
the acquisition, collection, analysis and
feedback of intelligence to the networks.
The locations at which micro
datacentres will have to be deployed
could be demanding. To minimise risks,
application sites will have to be chosen
carefully and edge solutions will have
to be as robust and maintenance-free
as possible. They should also be able to
run independently without specialist
personnel. But there will still have to
be safe rooms or containers to protect
micro datacentres from manipulation,
environmental influences and
electromagnetic loads.
Installation and operation at the edge
will have to be made as simple as possible
with the plug and play principle applied
to connectivity and IT. Micro-datacentres
will require the ability to be connected
directly to fibre optic or broadband
networks everywhere, and will require
integrated cooling, sound insulation, UPS,
access control, and remote monitoring.
Given the likely locations for their
deployment, they would have to be climate-
resistant, closed and shielded and designed
for maximum density and compactness.
The edge trend is leading to a
paradigm shift in the way we design,
provide and monitor networks as specific
security, connectivity and bandwidth
requirements will have to be taken into
consideration. Infrastructures will have
to be designed with the ability to spread
computing power on a wide scale and
support software defined WAN. This
means that service providers will have to
adapt their business models.
The base stations of cellular phone
network providers will be particularly
suitable as sites for edge datacentres.
Because with the introduction of 5G
technology, mobile communication
antennas will become locks for enormous
amounts of data. Hubs or gateway
exchanges of cable and telecommunication
networks are also a possibility.
For cars to be
automated and
safe they would
have to be able
to react within
0.1 milliseconds.
Shibu Vahid, Head of Technical Operations,
R&M Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
The exponential growth of data from
the various applications and devices
which can be found everywhere is forcing
us to rethink today’s network structures.
Weak subnetworks can slow down the
entire communication chain. Bottlenecks
in network interfaces, transmission and
computing capacities are to be avoided at
all levels to be able to guarantee a smooth
flow of data traffic.
Decentralised mini or micro-
datacentres can reliably connect IoT
devices on short links and can easily be
scaled when local IoT networks grow, thus
serving as the backbone for smart city
infrastructure. They can replicate cloud
service and business-critical processes
on site and buffer bandwidth-intensive
applications such as mobile HD video.
And, if cloud connections