Location has long been the mantra in real estate. The idea is that location is the most important factor in determining a property’s value.
That same concept continues to gain traction in the data center space. “Edge” data centers are emerging in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets in the US: cities like Cleveland, OH, NN, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, PA. and St. Louis, Mo., physically bringing dynamic content and cloud services closer to customers. Data can be cached locally so it travels a shorter distance, resulting in better performance.
Traditionally, operators of large data centers have located their facilities in major metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas. However, the insatiable demand for streaming video, online gaming, and cloud-based applications is forcing service providers to look beyond these markets. When data is sent to Minneapolis clients from Chicago, latency can degrade real-time application performance.
Edge data centers help ensure consumers get the dynamic content they crave by expanding the “edge” of the Internet. They also allow service providers to dramatically reduce transport costs by reducing the amount of data that must travel over the Internet backbone.
But while location is a key feature, it’s not the only one. The facility needs to reach at least half of the customers in the market and serve at least three-quarters of the dynamic content those customers consume. Otherwise, it’s just a hub in a smaller city that hasn’t moved to the edge of the internet.
Reaching that critical mass isn’t as difficult as it might seem: YouTube, Netflix, and Akamai (the world’s largest content delivery network) account for nearly 75 percent of Internet traffic. Although Google operates more than 70 points of presence in 33 countries, it can offer some services more profitably if you use this. And those facilities that can attract the major content providers will also be able to attract all the Internet service providers in the area.
In addition to large service providers, edge data centers serve local businesses that need high-quality co-location facilities. Increasingly, they are also being used to connect building automation systems, smart cars, and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This allows organizations to process IoT data closer to the device, reducing costs and latency and supporting real-time analytics.
It must be carefully designed to deliver the levels of efficiency your customers demand. Because they are much smaller than the mega-installations in major metropolitan areas, they need an energy-dense design that allows for continuous capacity expansion. They also need racks and cabinets that support a high port density, ideally more than 100 ports per
rack unit It is important to help operators design and build facilities that meet these requirements.
As the consumption of dynamic content and cloud services continues to increase and more organizations take advantage of the IoT, location has become a key factor in data center facility selection. Edge data centers bring the edge of the Internet closer to customers, allowing organizations to deliver data more efficiently and cost-effectively while improving the user experience.