Intel: “Data centers will be Xeon E5 Inside”
Today saw the launch of Intel’s latest Xeon server CPU, the long-awaited Xeon E5. Promising to set the benchmark of performance vs price vs power consumption, the E5 has been eagerly awaited by web hosting companies and data centers alike.
The Xeon E5-5600 is a two-socket server and is designed to power virtualization “in the heart of the data center”, according to Diane Byrant, GM of Intel’s Data Center and Connected Systems Group.
ServerWatch has a comprehensive guide of the improvements and new features the E5 brings. Read more at http://www.serverwatch.com/server-news/intel-accelerates-servers-with-xeon-e5-chip-launch.html.
The Register has excellent coverage of the Xeon E5 processor launch event along with more quotes from Intel at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/06/intel_xeon_e5_launch_event/.
Courtesy of DataCenterKnowledge.com: Facebook’s $1bn worldwide data centre network
DataCenterKnowledge recently published an interesting post on the growth of Facebook’s colossal worldwide datacentre network. Facebook’s IPO filings opened up insider information on their datacentre network for the first time, evaluated in full at http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2012/02/02/facebooks-1-billion-data-center-network/.
Enjoy reading. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more on Facebook’s innovative design and good PUE figures in the future.
Another Milton Keynes datacentre in the pipeline
Another Milton Keynes datacentre is in the pipeline, joining the likes of BlueSquare, DediPower and others.
PMB Holdings, founded by property developer Peter Beckwith, recently announced a £35M datacentre build project, branded as MK DataVault.
Planning consent for 240,000 sq feet of data centre space has been approved, with a plan for up to 5 separate buildings within the site. PBM also noted it has secured 2 9MVA of power to be live on site by August 2012 with a go live date somewhere around September 2012.
We’ll post more news as we hear it.
Outside the M25 corridor is popular: Timico launches £5M data centre in the Midlands
Once upon a time, London was the only place in the UK people would associate with data centre space. It was the forefront of the UK colocation / datacentre market and iconic names such as Telehouse, Redbus and Telecity (now the Telecity Group) built mammoth data centres, often around the docklands region.
Given the cost of real estate, power and transport in London, forward-thinking providers started to look for other viable locations for data centres. Manchester quickly became the second internet hub of the UK, driven by the large university and access to the North.
Now it seems it is the turn of the Midlands. Node4, a respected data centre operator based in Derby has opened multiple data centres in Derby, and also in Wakefield. And just this week, Timico, a leading managed and integrated services provider has opened a brand new £5M facility in Newark, Notts.
Phase 1 of the facility offers 4000 sq foot of Tier III data centre space. The facility features dual 10Gbps internet connections, delivered over Timico’s diverse network. Power is delivered by a dedicated sub-station featuring a N+N dual generator and dual UPS backup system. The facility is designed with a true hot aisle/cold aisle setup, offering a better operating environment for infrastructure as well as providing better energy efficiency.
More information on the datacentre and the range of services on offer can be found at www.timico.co.uk
Datacentre The Bunker Expands
The Bunker, a secure data centre based at an ex-military facility in Kent, has announced the opening of a new data hall.
The Bunker markets itself as Europe’s most secure data center. The new data hall is built to a high specification with capabilities with N+1 redundant power and cooling. Power of up to 32A 230V per cabinet is available, and more than 150 ISPs are located onsite.
“I’m delighted with the new data floor at our Kent facility,” said Simon Neal, director of data center services at The Bunker. “The ongoing investment allows us to expand our business and provide security conscious organizations with the reassurance of knowing that their hosting and managed services needs are being met in an ultra-secure, high-specification environment.”
The Bunker offers a viable alternative for those looking to locate outside of London. With many out-of-London datacentres offering lower power pricing and better power density, many companies are widening their search for datacentre space.
What will 2012 bring in the European data centre market?
Growth. And significant growth.
With major US data centre operators such as SoftLayer and Peer1 opening large datacentres in Amsterdam and the south coast of the UK, this underlines the prominence of the European market and the demand that comes attached.
UK is 2nd most active datacentre sector for M&A
According to a report from UK-based consulting group BRoadGroup, the UK is the second most active country for data centre Mergers and Acquisitions.
Top of the list is the US and Australia comes third. More than $12.3 billion in M&A occurred in 2011 alone.
The full article can be read at http://www.datacentres.com/news/datacentre-ma-reaches-us123billlion-globally-2011
Datacentre World 2012
Datacentre World in 2012 will be held at Olympia, London. With the organisers promising the biggest event to date and a diverse program of speakers, exhibitors and events, this looks to be the premier data centre and colocation event in the UK in 2012.
The official website can be found at http://www.datacentreworld.com/
We’ll also be covering Amsterdam data centres
Good news! We’ve recently acquired AmsterdamColo.com as an extension to LondonColo.com. This means that this website will also feature a directory/list of Amsterdam datacentres and colocation facilities. We’ll also include Amsterdam data centre news, events and more.
We’re on the lookout for other interesting European and US cities. Got one you’d like to see featured? Just let us know.
DC power. The way forward?
Wired carries a very interesting article on the pros and cons of AC vs DC. And we’re talking electrical current here, not an old rock band. Wired correctly points out that most data centers supply AC power to servers. In Europe, this voltage is either 230V for two phase or 480V for three phase. In the US, this was typically 120V but we’re seeing more and more data centers supply 208V. The increased voltage offers considerable energy efficiency.
However, servers, just like most technology items found in the home or office, convert that AC current to DC using a transformer in the PSU. Energy is lost during the knock-down to DC and Wired’s article suggests this wastage could be as high as 15%.
Unfortunately, a straight switch to DC isn’t quite that simple. Expensive HVAC systems generally run on AC and power distribution systems, including the UPS, are generally AC.
With data centre operators continually looking to improve PuE figures, will we see a push towards DC current? I think we will, particularly in new build data centers. Watch this space.