Data processing centers: 10 main events in 2012

Besides, in 2012 the companies owning data processing centers actively aimed at merges and absorption, increasing the scales even when huge changes in technology forced to solve new problems and to adapt to changes in methods of work of users.

2012 became year when plans of recovery of data processing centers underwent strict testing by Hurricane Sandy which fell upon the northeast of the USA.

10. Criticism of the report

The big research about a huge overexpenditure of energy in data processing centers published by the New York Times newspaper became one of the most discussed and at the same time criticized in 2012.

In September Times claimed that in data processing centers about 90 percent of the energy received from the power supply network are for nothing spent, and reserve generators pollute the environment. However specialists of the industry sharply objected to charges.

In the response published in the InformationWeek edition, related CRN it is specified that in article are ignored as the aspiration of data processing centers to use new energy-saving technologies, and reports showing that energy consumption grows at the centers more slowly than it was expected.

At least, thanks to article in Times the discussion about energy consumption in data processing centers opened.

9. Server business suddenly loses attractiveness

For many years we heard forecasts that implementation of virtual servers and recession in economy will ruin the market of physical servers, but it did not occur.

There did not come 2012 yet.

In general sales of servers decreased in comparison with previous year in the first, second and third quarters 2012. However within all three quarters the total quantity of the sold servers increased in comparison with previous year. It demonstrates that the average price of the server falls quickly.

Compare it since 2011, it depends sales volume, and the number of deliverable servers increased in comparison with 2010.

In 2012 server business of HP, IBM and Oracle suffered serious losses, and Dell and the Cisco company which rather recently appeared in the market could expand the business. One more winner: "other" suppliers of servers. This category probably included the large companies, owners of data processing centers, in particular Google which released own servers.

8. Oracle goes to the extremities in the conflict with HP

Business of Unix servers of Oracle companies and HP received notable blow because of the solution of Oracle to stop development of programs for servers with Itanium HP processors and the subsequent mutual claims of the companies.

On hearings of the case in August the judge made the decision for benefit of HP, having said that Oracle has obligations in law to continue development of programs for Unix HP servers. As a result users of HP of Unix should depend in the future doubtful pleasure from dependent program developments of Oracle.

Trial caused damage to both companies, and sales of the Unix servers went sharply down. The Oracle company which departs from universal servers to focus on integrated solutions "server-storage-software" is probably less anxious with loss of server business of Unix, than HP. But it is Pyrrhic victory as Unix-HP servers were the largest platform for which a considerable part of software products of Oracle was on sale.

7. ARM enters the server market

According to Gartner company, 98.6 percent of the servers delivered in the world in the third quarter 2012 are equipped tested by x86 - compatible processors.

In 2012 in data processing centers servers with ARM processors appeared. New servers, including the companies Penguin Computing and Dell, followed the example of HP set in 2011 to find out whether servers on the basis of ARM as an alternative to models will accept the companies Intel and AMD.

In July several members of cloud community OpenStack signed the agreement, having opened a cloud on the ARM servers for free test deployments, but yet not production start of cloud applicaions.

Attractiveness of ARM is caused by savings in energy consumption which is only a share of consumption of traditional processors for servers. Though the existing programs require to be changed ARM servers, supporters of ARM specify that many applications for their platform still should be programmed, and the existing instruments of programming cover ARM.

6. Yahoo and Dell - the most eco-friendly builders of data processing centers

In the annual Greenpeace International overview devoted to energy saving in data processing centers with the purpose to protect the environment, Yahoo and Dell divided the first place in the Clean Energy Index list.

By Greenpeace estimates, 56.4 percent of the energy consumed by data processing centers of Yahoo arrive from "net" sources. The result of Dell was the same within a statistical error (56.3 percent). On the third place - Google with 39.4 percent and Facebook - 36.4 percent.

At the end of the list - Oracle companies (7.1 percent) and Salesforce.com (4.0 percent).

5. SDDC are software-defined data processing centers

Every year brings the new list of fashionable words, and for data processing centers in 2012 it is "SDDC".

July acquisition by VMware company of the Nicira startup firm specializing in software-defined networks suddenly drew the attention of the industry to the idea of "SDN". What advantages are brought by the SDN connection with software-defined calculations (i.e. virtualization of servers) and software-defined data warehouses (we will not pay attention to that circumstance what nobody knows, what is it)? You receive a software-defined data processing center, or SDDC.

The idea of SDDC where all transactions of a data processing center can be executed using virtual resources, became the latest fashion in the industry of DPC in 2012. While nobody locates the functioning SDDC and even plans it. However several suppliers try to use this attractive phrase for advertizing of the products.

4. Fever of acquisitions of DPC

In 2012 both large, and small operators of DPC increased the scales through acquisitions. In December in the USA the ByteGrid company (Alfaretta, the State of Georgia) purchased the center of 7183 sq.m in Atlanta; in November of Digital Realty Trust (San Francisco) purchased the building of 25176 sq.m in Totov (State of New Jersey) for the organization of a data processing center; in October RagingWire Data Centers (Oshbern, the state Virdzhinia) purchased a ground in 30.4 hectares for construction of DPC of 70 thousand sq.m.

In 2012 the Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT company (Tampa, the State of Florida) purchased at least five different DPCs in the USA. And in September Xand and Access Northeast companies integrated, having formed the uniform company from three DPCs in the northeast of the USA.

Purchase in September by company 365 Main (San Francisco) of sixteen DPCs with a total area of 26,000 sq.m for 75 mln. dollars at Equinix company (Redvud-City, the State of California) became one of the largest transactions.

3. Changes in client devices

In 2012 it became clear that corporate data processing centers cannot ignore any more transition of corporate users from the PC to any devices which employees bring in office in any specific day.

Drop in sales of the PC accelerated in 2012. In the third quarter deliveries of the PC were reduced by 8.3 percent in comparison with the same period of 2011, the Gartner company reports. By estimates of IDC company of delivery of smartphones in the third quarter grew by 45.2 percent in comparison with the same period of the previous year, and sales of tablet PCs grew by 49.5 percent for the same period.

Corporate data processing centers are forced to adapt to the mobile devices selected by business users which even more often differ from the traditional PC. Desire of users to work with own devices brings various difficulties to the administrators forced to solve a problem of protection of corporate data with simultaneous providing to the authorized users of access from devices of any types and to provide compatibility of applications with various devices.

2. Transformation of Dell: emphasis on DPC

Large failures of Dell in the PC market made headlines of news in 2012, but behind these headings is suppressed the fact that weak sales of the PC should not be alarming if the purpose of the company - to become the supplier of more profitable equipment, programs and services for corporate and independent data processing centers.

Quite so Dell operates. In 2012 the company significantly increased sales of servers, network equipment, storage systems with a trademark of Dell and related services though sales of products with low profit fell, and sales of storage systems under the name of other suppliers are stopped. One of the largest acquisitions of Dell, purchase this summer of Quest Software company for 2.4 bln. dollars, will allow to enter the markets of security and management of data processing centers.

1. Data processing centers successfully sustained Hurricane Sandy

October Hurricane Sandy caused huge damage to the northeast of the USA. The hurricane meeting from the Atlantic Ocean with the cold front from Canada which matched high inflow and a wind-induced wave on the coast (because of a full moon) became the reason of a destructive natural phenomenon. The storm became the biggest testing for data processing centers during their existence.

These events showed, the lessons received in 2005 during the destructive hurricane Katrina are how well learned.

Many corporate DPCs were flooded, but generally suffered located in basement stores of buildings. The companies which moved data processing centers to the second floor above at worst lost energy because of flooding of generators or insufficient reserves of diesel fuel. DPCs of the independent companies were transferred to well fulfilled recovery mode after accident. Their personnel and resources were on site, providing communication for clients.

Source: Joseph F. Covar, CRN/USA