Telecom Data centers must power equipment with reliable and scalable systems to accommodate future growth. But, securing the right power capacity on an aggressive schedule can challenge utility companies.
Fortunately, alternative generation technologies can help. These technologies provide greener power, meet climate goals, and can be cost-effective for data center customers.
Telecom Security
While energy efficiency is critical to data center performance, security must also be considered. The route network connections take to get to the data center and where they enter or leave a building must be carefully evaluated for vulnerabilities. This is particularly important for those connections to colocation providers where multiple customers share a single facility.
Power availability is a big concern for many data centers. At the same time, various factors can contribute to data loss; the most common causes are power outages, IT issues, and environmental problems.
To minimize the risk of these factors, data center operators should implement a robust backup power system that can quickly restore service in case of an outage. This can include remote power panels (RPPs), cabinet power distribution units (CPDUs), and uninterruptible telecom power supplies. These systems should be monitored and maintained per factory recommendations to ensure they work correctly. Other safety measures may include fencing and physical barriers to keep equipment secure and a monitoring system that logs access into and out of protected areas.
Reliability
As data centers increasingly need to handle a growing computational workload, they need reliable power sources. Managers can accomplish this in several ways. One option is to build redundancy into the electrical system from the start. This includes adding UPS systems, backup generators, and automatic transfer switches.
Another way to ensure reliability is to optimize the cabling infrastructure. This involves using cable with the appropriate temperature range and ensuring that the cabling is well-protected and physically installed correctly to minimize the risk of failures. It’s also important to remember that CO cabling equipment can be subjected to higher temperatures than IT equipment, affecting its usable life cycle.
In the long term, data center managers need to find technologies and fuels that can reliably power their facilities in a way that is quick, clean, and consistent. This can help them avoid power outages and meet their climate-related goals. Utilities and power producers also have a variety of options to choose from in this regard.
Efficiency
As data centers grow to accommodate artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, and other technologies that generate enormous amounts of data, they need a steady source of quick, clean, and consistent power. This power supply solution also needs to be scalable.
Remote power panels and cabinet power distribution units must be upgraded with higher capacity designs to handle more IT equipment with less energy load. Data center fire suppression systems are also changing, moving from a traditional water-based system to a dry-charged design with more dense coverage.
Cooling infrastructure must be updated as well. COs were originally built with minimal cooling because of the high tolerance for heat from telecommunications equipment. Still, with CORD and other network architecture shifting to more enterprise and data center-like design, these facilities will need to be cooled using methods more suited to servers and IT equipment. This could include chilled water, refrigerant systems, strategically placed cooling towers, and ducting. This will require a new approach to addressing cooling requirements and a new strategy for Nominymph air permitting.
Scalability
Data centers are power-intensive, and their energy consumption is growing as organizations seek to optimize services like digital content and e-commerce. This requires a robust, redundant infrastructure that can handle peak usage without affecting service performance or leading to failures and costly emergency repairs.
Telecom network redundancy ensures uninterrupted connectivity by leveraging backup systems that take over in case of a system failure, minimizing downtime and preventing revenue loss and customer dissatisfaction. Incorporating redundancy also enables businesses to scale their networks, accommodating future growth and expansion without joinpd disrupting operations.
The need for reliable, resilient infrastructure is growing even faster with the rapid adoption of 5G, IoT, and cloud computing, driving greater demand for scalable networks that can handle increased data traffic loads. As a result, telecom networks are increasingly incorporating redundant systems and other redundancy measures to mitigate the risk of unexpected disruptions that can cost businesses millions in revenue and damage their reputations. While implementing redundancy strategies may require upfront investments, they can yield significant benefits in the long run by reducing downtime and ensuring business continuity.
Flexibility
As network traffic demands grow and new services require more computing capacity, a business must have a data center that can adapt quickly. To do that, IT leaders must calculate the power needs of their current infrastructure and future IT systems. That allows them to understand approximate power costs and communicate these requirements with regional utilities.
It’s also important for IT leaders to consider what kind of secondary power options are available to support the data center. These include backup generators at the facility level and diesel and renewable energy sources. At the IT infrastructure level, UPS options provide short-term battery backups to enable orderly system shutdowns when power disruptions occur.
Finally, IT leaders must ensure the colocation facility offers flexible cabling infrastructure. A poorly configured cable plant can lead to downtime, and a lack of flexibility can limit growth or prevent the ability to integrate with new data systems. IT leaders must work with a telco service provider that provides a robust, high-quality cable plant that adheres to TIA-942 standards.
