Datacentres will need to incorporate high-density power distribution within the next five years.
Analyst Gartner has predicted that by 2015, 50% of datacentres will have a high-density zone, up from fewer than 10% in 2010.
Even datacentres built within the past five years are designed to have a uniform energy distribution of around 2kW to 4kW per rack. With the increasing use of high-density blade systems, This design envelope is no longer sufficient, according to Gartner. It recommends datacentre managers plan for 10kW high-density blade systems.
“High-density zones are by far the best way to manage the differences in the lifecycle changes of datacentres’ building structures, electromechanical equipment and IT equipment,” says Rakesh Kumar, research vice-president at Gartner. “However, many users remain unsure of the benefits of high-density zones – especially in gaining flexibility in capacity planning – as well as the potential pitfalls.
More of the ComputerWeekly article from Cliff Saran
