Did you know, as per Nature news, data centers globally contribute around 0.3% to overall carbon emissions? Not only this, they use an estimated 200 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year. Therefore, a sustainable data center is a must to set you on the energy-efficient and green roadmap for the foreseeable future. The data center industry has shown a positive change so far by selecting clear, ambitious targets to reduce environmental damage and ranking among the world’s top clean energy consumers. This is just the beginning; the mission is to encourage more and more businesses to choose sustainable data centers which are run by cloud platforms and colocation facilities instead of carbon-heavy on-prem ones. There is much to be gained in this path to a greener digital future as backup power for data centers is still reliant on carbon-intensive generators. The amount of clean energy generated is on the lower end.
Although we believe that businesses can overcome the roadblocks of technology and time in the future, the silver lining is that planet and profitability are now at par with each other. Sustainable solutions reduce risks and increase profit margins for enterprises paving the way for excellent business practices that benefit the communities in which we operate. Let’s look at the key drivers of data center sustainability to understand the current scenario.
Drivers Of Sustainable Data Center
Energy Shift From Non-Renewable To Renewable One: Due to the current digital transformation, companies have facilitated this shift. The overall aim is net zero carbon emission, just like United Layer. We are already walking on this path to achieve this overall aim by 2030. We are LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. As per the International Energy Agency, the world’s total renewable-based power capacity will increase 50% between 2019 and 2024.
Governmental Regulations Regarding Power Usage Effectiveness: There have been several policies that introduce minimum efficiency performance standards and energy consumptions for various appliances and equipment to ensure lower power consumptions. Countries such as China, Japan, the European Union, and the United States are subjected to such long-running regulations. Therefore, a focus is to preserve the data center’s sustainable energy at the design stage itself and then further manage and maintain it going forward.
Growing Prices Of Electricity Worldwide: Gas, coal, and electricity tariffs are at an all-time high in decades. This rapid increase in taxes and rising European carbon prices have contributed to a high electricity price surge.So cost saving is one of the prime drivers towards data center operational sustainability. It relies on clean energy that is less expensive and futuristic.
The Pandemic Surge:The pandemic has resulted in a demand for green data centers because of acceleration of cloud data services, increasing dependency on data center automation, driving up of hardware reuse as a significant hindrance, an increase of remarketing of data center hardware, and environmental awareness. A report from Markets and Markets states that sustainable data center market size is expected to grow from USD 49.2 billion in 2020 to USD 140.3 billion by 2026 at a CAGR rate of 19.1% during this forecast period.
Steps To Build Sustainable Data Centers
A sustainable data center is a data storage, management, and dissemination facility in which the mechanical, lighting, electrical, and computer systems are all designed to be energy efficient and environmentally friendly. These provide a healthy and pleasant working environment for employees. Green facilities also help to strengthen links with the local community.
Start With Server Virtualization: Energy consumption and datacenter infrastructure are inextricably linked. You can choose to cut infrastructure costs and improve energy efficiency by using Software-Defined Data Centers (SDDCs). SDDCs make use of virtualized servers that can accommodate numerous users. This strategy enables operators to partition their servers and allocate data storage and processing capacity. SDDCs can be managed remotely using virtual computers, which reduces transit time to and from the site. The necessity for on-site IT personnel is also eliminated with remote administration. As a result, SDDCs do not spend energy on temperature and illumination. Virtualization reduces the energy footprint of data centers in all of these ways.
Keep In Mind Of Artificial Intelligence & Intelligent Monitoring: Innovative data center service providers utilize artificial intelligence to optimize performance and enhance energy efficiency with the reduction of power consumption. Predictive analytics enabled by AI integrates many processes, offering a comprehensive view of the overall health of all components. Facility managers can foresee hazards and schedule timely repairs using sophisticated monitoring. With AI, remote administration, automated operations, and sustainable energy solutions for data centers are all made easier.
Opt For Sustainable Hardware: Nowadays, finding efficient computer processing hardware, UPS systems, and cooling equipment is not a difficult task. Some servers are energy-star rated; such servers improve energy efficiency, especially when the IT hardware runs close to maximum utilization. To reduce idle state power usage, you can turn off unused servers, replace outdated hardware with high-efficiency equipment, and take full advantage of energy-saving capabilities. Consider using high-efficiency power and cooling infrastructure in your sustainable power data center. This includes modular UPSs that run without transformers, at high capacity, high voltage, and close coupled in-row or consist of overhead cooling.
Rely on renewable energy solutions: Make your transition complete to a cost-saving and high-efficiency sustainable data center running on clean energy. Today, many energy-sufficient data centers consume much power. Any attempts to run entirely on solar power have proved futile as the requisite quantity of solar panels takes up too much space. Moreover, large data center operators have benefits that smaller ones don’t have, such as including hydro or wind power in their site selection criteria. Consider using fuel cells for on-site generating, especially if methane from landfills is available. This allows you to use non-fossil fuels, reduces transmission losses, and allows you to recuperate the significant heat generated by these devices.
UnitedLayer is already set on a sustainability approach
We have set emissions reduction targets for our global operations and data centers that we aim to achieve by 2030. With such an ambitious aim, we are committed to reducing the impact of our operations on the environment. We are moving towards reducing energy consumption by building highly efficient, sustainable data centers reliant on renewable energy. Our corporate design standards keep an eye on the various green certification criteria to meet best-in-class sustainable building standards. We are also retrofitting LED lighting, redesigning our heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to correlate occupancy and efficiency more closely.
Colocation (quite often known as “colo”) is the method of renting space for the servers and other computer hardware at a third-party provider’s data center facility. Colocation facilities usually involve the places where everything is stored and networked, physical protection, backup power, HVAC (heating ventilation and cooling), constant support for client’s servers, and storage.
Now moving to server colocation, the server remains with the clients but it is stored, managed, and controlled by the Managed Service Provider or cloud service provider. The client or organization accesses the server over the Internet or on a Virtual Private Network connection. Using advanced IT support services on key IT services is the primary goal behind server colocation.
What are the 5 W’s of Server Colocation?
Why – Why is Server Colocation needed? Instead of building a new data center, corporations can use the space in a colocation facility to expand their existing data center.
Who – Who uses Server Colocation? The answer is simple, companies and individuals consider server colocation since it offers a stable base to create safe systems that conform to the applicable regulatory frameworks, which are either not feasible or incredibly expensive with other infrastructure hosting modalities.
What – What do we know about different types of Server Colocation? Single server Colocation is for U servers, tower servers, and PCs; partial racks come in rack increments of 1?4, 1/3, and 1?2. Usually, full racks and cabinets are 42 to 48U in size; private cage placement usually comes at increments racks of 2, 4, 8, and 10 and at last for larger businesses looking for more space with custom features such as office space, disaster recovery space, custom private cages, and custom suites are also an option.
Where – Where to find Server Colocation? You can find it anywhere in this whole wide world! UnitedLayer provides the best solutions for your business from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco and can support any expansion through its 13 data centers spread across 5 continents. Check out our website to find out more!
When – When will you need a Server Colocation? Did you outgrow your new server room? Have you encountered power problems or Internet downtime at your data center in your office? If the answer is yes, then it’s time for you to look into UnitedLayer.
Build a more productive and highly available IT architecture with hundreds of providers inside the facilities, including SDNs, global carriers, subsea networks, metro providers, and more, access to your choice with us. We provide highly skilled and certified professionals who would be an extension of the IT company. Smart hand and Remote hands 24×7×365 and mechanical & electrical monitoring.
Visit us at UnitedLayer to learn more about the different services offered and how you can get the best out of them.
Data center infrastructure is a crucial element of the business strategies of many companies. Managed Services Providers (MSPs) and cloud-based developers require the rich connectivity options that only a data center’s infrastructure can offer. However, with so many data center facilities, it can be tricky to decide which ones can provide superior services today and boost tomorrow’s technological revolution.
The core physical or hardware-based resources and components that make up a data center – including all IT infrastructure devices, equipment, and technologies – are referred to as data center infrastructure. It’s modeled and identified in a design plan that involves a comprehensive list of the infrastructure components required to build a data center.
A Data Center infrastructure may include:
Computers
Networking equipment (Routers or switches)
Servers
Storage
Security
Data Center management applications
An Overview of Data Center Infrastructure Architecture
The computational power, storage, and applications needed to sustain an enterprise business are all housed in the data center. All content is sourced or passed through the data center infrastructure, which is at the heart of the IT architecture. Performance, resiliency, and scalability must be carefully considered when designing the data center infrastructure.
What is Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM)?
The processes, guidelines, tools, and methodologies used for provisioning, governance, and overall management of data center assets and infrastructures are referred to as data center infrastructure management (DCIM). It offers a comprehensive approach for the operation and maintenance of an enterprise data center and includes information technology resources, including power, cooling, lighting, and physical infrastructure.
What is Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency (DCIE)?
Data center infrastructure efficiency (DCIE) is a metric for assessing a data center’s power or energy efficiency. It entails assessing and measuring a data center’s overall energy consumption, especially related to the energy consumption of IT devices and equipment.
What are the 5 Things You Need to Know About Data Center Infrastructure?
Data Center Redundancy:
While most data centers will say that their systems are fully redundant, the terminology has become so muddled in recent years that their exact backup capacities may be unclear. The first thing to look for is the efficiency of the data center’s uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. A dependable facility would have a comprehensive auditing policy to ensure that backup batteries are still ready to go.
UnitedLayer’s N+2 redundant chiller configuration and redundant water sources ensure consistent temperatures are maintained throughout our facilities; also, our networks are at least 2N redundant, and they include numerous cabinet redundant panels, redundant UPS, an automatic transfer generator, cabs, versatile capacity, and high density (20KW).
Power Density:
Many data center cabinets were designed with lower power densities in mind than most current servers. However, significant transformations in server technology have changed the way facilities measure their power capacity over the last decade. Watts per square foot used to be the traditional unit, but data centers now calculate power density at the server rack level. Ten years ago, 4-5 KW per rack was considered average; today, that number is closer to 15-20 KW per rack in high-performance facilities.
For instance, UnitedLayer has guaranteed power density to support current and future technologies with 20KW and 2N power.
Uptime SLA Requirements:
Any data center infrastructure evaluation should start with a thorough review of the Service Level Agreement (SLA). This agreement specifies the services that a data center promises to provide and the penalties imposed if it fails to do so. Uptime SLAs are important for consumers looking to secure their data and assets because they are legally binding documents.
UnitedLayer’s G3 Private Cloud provides all the power of the cloud without the pain of running it, so your IT team can focus on tasks essential to the growth of your business. Also, G3 Private Cloud is a fully managed cloud by our team of experts 24/7/365 days with a 15 mins response time SLA. Also, we provide software-defined network, compute, and storage resources with 99.999% high availability N+M clusters.
Remote Hands:
Providing services via a data center can be challenging at times. Experienced IT personnel may lack the planning and expertise required to implement systems and develop networks within the data center environment. A facility offering skilled technicians who work together for migration and integration will help customers focus on services that benefit their businesses.
When problems develop, having remote hands staff available 24/7/365 to resolve issues quickly reduces the negative impact of downtime. These technicians are also familiar with the data center environment and can handle repairs and other emergencies more efficiently than external IT teams. With an excellent remote hands team in place, service-driven businesses like MSPs can focus more on developing new services instead of troubleshooting for their customers. Customers can use UnitedLayer to get a visual snapshot of all their devices in the colocation data center, track their output, and manage these devices without sending technical staff to the facility.
Visibility:
Understanding what goes on inside a data center is essential for any organization that provides services through that infrastructure. Customers have to know how traffic affects power and network performance to plan and determine how their assets are best deployed. This information is provided by data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software. Protection is also a significant concern in terms of visibility. Sophisticated DCIM systems make it easier to monitor properties and ensure that all equipment is where it should be at all times.
According to Gartner, “Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) tools monitor, measure, manage and control data center utilization and energy consumption of all sending IT-related equipment (such as servers, storage, and network switches) and facility infrastructure components (such as power distribution units [PDUs] and computer room air conditioners [CRACs]).”
Meeting compliance regulations can be challenging without the right data center partner. With SSAE-18 certification incorporating controls & requirements and a robust infrastructure that is regularly audited, UnitedLayer has the unique ability to assist our customers in achieving SSAE18 SOC1/2, PCI, FedRAMP/FISMA & HIPAA compliance if needed.
Why choose us?
UnitedLayer provides the Colocation services from one of the largest data centers in San Francisco, USA, at 200 Paul Ave. Our long list of managed services enables enterprises to modernize their infrastructure and improve their responsiveness, resource utilization, scalability, and agility resulting in better customer experience and faster time to market.
With more than two decades of experience and a pool of experts in leading technologies – we enable enterprises, SMB’s, government agencies, and start-ups to reap the maximum benefits from their multicloud investments.
To get a better insight into what else UnitedLayer has got in store, Sign up for a free demo today.
“The cloud-computing paradigm offers on-demand services over the Internet and supports a wide variety of applications. With the recent growth of the Internet of Things (IoT)–based applications, the use of cloud services is increasing exponentially. The next generation of cloud computing must be energy efficient and sustainable to fulfill end-user requirements, which are changing dynamically.”
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) produced to sustain a person’s lifestyle and activities, both directly and indirectly. Carbon footprints are often quantified in equivalent tons of CO2 over a year and can be linked to a person, a company, a product, or an event, among other factors.
According to world climate experts, every responsible individual can contribute their share to good climatic changes. It is now up to businesses to take responsibility for climate change.
Technology is currently playing a significant role in helping global companies move into more responsible and sustainable practices. The constant drive toward digital transformation pushes businesses to step up their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and maintain operational efficiency in all aspects of their operations. CIOs are trying to guide their businesses and making the right technology choices to accelerate that transition.
Here are the four factors CIOs should consider to reduce the carbon footprint for their organizations:
Reform Data Centers with Energy Efficiency: Companies require continuous power and cooling systems for their on-premises data centers. By moving to the cloud, energy consumption can be reduced by up to 80%. Businesses can benefit from enhanced performance and cheaper operational expenses while also reducing their carbon footprint by creating energy-efficient data centers. A greener data center is created by combining clear objectives, better asset management, and automation in Cloud Migration, which leads to an exponential rise in overall efficiency.
Carbon Neutrality: Major cloud computing companies have already begun their journey toward carbon neutrality by powering their data centers with renewable energy sources. Solar power, geothermal energy, hydropower, and wind energy are examples of green resources. Organizations will achieve scalability with green practices by transferring infrastructure to the cloud or through new installations in the existing Cloud environment.
Virtual Availability with Shared Network: A virtual network, which assures optimal resource use, is an essential feature of Cloud computing. A Cloud Data Center securely stores and shares data across several servers in various locations simultaneously. As a result, the number of physical servers is reduced, e-waste is minimized, and fewer machines and hardware. This is an example of a green solution that businesses can use.
Slash Greenhouse Gases Emission: Unlike on-site data centers, which emit many greenhouse gases throughout their lives, cloud data centers significantly reduce carbon emissions by consuming less energy. Cloud computing has an undeniable impact on carbon emissions, which CIOs must consider to mitigate their company’s carbon footprint.
How is UnitedLayer reducing its carbon footprint?
Through cloud-based circular operations and sustainable products and services, businesses can gain significant financial, societal, and environmental benefits. UnitedLayer is LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership.
At UnitedLayer, we help enterprises to boost their sustainability plan along with measures to reduce their carbon footprint following the environmentally friendly process.
To know more about how UnitedLayer is focusing on reducing carbon footprint visit our website now!
Technology is rapidly changing the economic landscape, creating new opportunities for businesses to explore how they can broaden their IT solutions to take advantage of emerging markets. However, many companies aren’t considering how data centers, especially those in smaller operations, can play a crucial role in assisting them in leveraging new technology in a way that allows them to be more effective and efficient.
Data management in-house, on the other hand, is becoming increasingly complex, time-consuming, and expensive. Even big companies such as Cisco plan to shut down internal data centers to save energy and infrastructure costs.
The solution? Outsource data management.
More enterprises are outsourcing their data center operations to third-party providers who specialize in doing so. Data centers that provide physical space, power, and cooling systems for servers and connections to local communication networks are particularly common. UnitedLayer has over 40,000 square feet of fully redundant data center space, which is not in the earthquake fault, liquefaction, or landslide zone for the next 100-year and is seismically rated for protection against earthquakes.
What are the Key Drivers of Growth?
Internet of Things: Using artificial intelligence, data, analytics, security, and communication, the US is one of the market leaders for industrial IoT-led technologies.
Submarine cable projects along the east coast:These bring incredibly high-speed data to the East Coast from Europe and South America, where they are transferred to data centers.
Cloud Storage: The use of cloud computing services and applications in the United States continues to grow rapidly, leading to extensive cloud-based data centers.
Tax Incentives: Data center growth in recent years has been concentrated in tax incentive regions, including government and local governments that provide incentives for investment (often energy-based)
How to meet these growing data needs?
More data centers are being built to meet these growing data needs, ranging from Tier 1 (least complex and secure) to Tier 4 (highly complex with high IT/security requirements), usually hyperscale centers. UnitedLayer, for instance, has a Tier-3+ data center with superior outage protection to avoid any unplanned downtimes also greater than N+1 architecture for uninterrupted power and cooling.
How to meet future storage needs?
Automation can increase data-center efficiency by allowing a single administrator to handle thousands of servers. Advanced IT equipment and data center infrastructure management software providers are driving this automation initiative.
Our Colocation services come with on-demand scalability where customers can add additional storage, compute, and networking resources to meet the increased business demands.
How can UnitedLayer help you?
Data centers serve as the basis for network and computing solutions that will enable enterprises to take advantage of emerging markets and keep up with rapidly evolving technology.
UnitedLayer’s 200 Paul data center is the only data center in San Francisco which is built on bedrock with Zone 4 construction and is not in a 500-year flood plain, a Tier-3+ data center with superior outage protection to avoid any unplanned downtimes, Remote Management services like Multicloud Dashboard for entire colocation facilities showcasing a single infra environment, SSAE-18 certification incorporating controls and requirements, also a robust infrastructure that is regularly audited. We have a growing list of managed services, which helps corporations restructure their infrastructure and enhance their responsiveness, optimization, resource efficiency, and flexibility.
Visit UnitedLayer’s website to learn more about the different services offered and how you can get the best out of them.
