頂級企業2021年IT趨勢-2
2021 Top Enterprise IT Trends-2
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遠程數據中心管理工具已成爲必選項
Remote Data Center Management Tools are No Longer Optional
新冠大流行使得數據中心中的先進工具成爲首選。由Maria Korolov向Data Center Knowledge提供。
The pandemic has made implementation of advanced tooling in data centers a priority. By Maria Korolov for Data Center Knowledge
在新冠病毒流行之前，遠程數據中心管理工具是可選的，許多數據中心管理者出于網絡安全的考慮沒有選擇強大的遠程管理工具。然而現在，由于許多員工居家辦公，以及因防疫帶來的數據中心通行限制，這些遠程管理工具成爲了必需品。
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote data center management tools were optional, and many data center managers held off on the more powerful options due to cybersecurity concerns. Today, however, with work-from-home employees and quarantine-related data center access restrictions, these tools are a necessity.
新冠大流行給企業預算帶來影響，爲了滿足自身日益增長的數據中心需求，企業正將目光越來越多的投向服務器托管和雲服務。對于服務器托管運營商來說，遠程管理工具已經成爲一個關鍵的平台優勢。
The pandemic has put a crimp in enterprise budgets, however, so companies are increasingly looking to colocation and cloud for their increased data center needs. For colocation providers, remote management tools have become a key platform differentiator.
根據八月份公布的一份IDC調查，78%的企業認爲這場大流行已經影響了他們對于數據中心資源的需求，這表現在供應鏈約束、物理通行限制、商務應用以及居家辦公者的需求增加。
Responding to an IDC survey (results published in August) 78 percent of companies said that the pandemic has impacted their data center resources in the form of supply chain constraints, limited physical access, and higher demand from business applications and work-from-home users.
72%的企業反饋將計劃增加服務器托管運營商的使用，這一數字也高于去年的52%。另外，46%的企業稱會爲自己的數據中心增加遠程監視和控制技術的投資
And 72 percent of companies say they plan to increase their use of colocation providers – up from 52 percent the previous year. In addition, 46 percent said they will invest in remote monitoring and control technology for their data centers.
“但是經濟的不確定性實在太大了”，IDC分析師Jennifer Cooke說，“盡管遠程管理工具確實有意義，我也不認爲每個人都急于購買和安裝。”
“But there’s absolutely a lot of uncertainty about the economy,” said IDC analyst Jennifer Cooke. “I don’t see everyone rushing out to buy and install this, even though it makes complete sense.”
同時她也提到，許多機構願意期望將遠程管理變成一項服務，而不僅僅是前期出資或者只是將工作量轉移到雲端和托管服務商。
Instead, she said, many organizations are looking to get remote management as a service, instead of making an upfront capital expense – or just shifting the workloads to cloud and colocation providers.
Cooke告訴Data Center Knowledge，提供遠程管理工具，例如數據中心基礎設施管理DICM的供應商，越來越注重將他們的工具轉化爲服務以及增加更多的高級功能和系統集成。
Vendors providing remote management tools, such as data center infrastructure management (DCIM) providers, are increasingly looking at providing their tools as a service and adding more advanced features and integrations, Cooke told Data Center Knowledge.
例如在十月份，數據中心基礎設施和軟件供應商維谛技術宣布與霍尼韋爾合作，提供他們的DCIM軟件與樓宇管理軟件的集成。
For example, in October, data center infrastructure equipment and software vendor Vertiv announced a partnership with Honeywell to provide integration of its DCIM software with building management systems.
Cooke說，遠程管理發展的趨勢並不是面對疫情的臨時措施。
The move to more remote management is not a temporary reaction to the pandemic, Cooke said.
“新冠爲我們已經意識到的這些加快了速度”，她說，“這些趨勢始于數字化轉型，而我們加速了這一趨勢”。
“COVID-19 put a foot on the gas pedal for shifts we were already seeing,” she said. “Those trends started with digital transformation and we’ve accelerated that trend.”
據Shen Milsom & Wilke首席數據中心設計師Robert McFarlane介紹，除了維谛技術，其他的提供各種功能應用的頂級DCIM供應商包括施耐德電氣，Sunbird軟件，Nlyte軟件，FNT軟件以及Cormant。McFarlane同時也在Marist學院的研究所，爲數據中心專業人員講授數據中心設施的課程。
In addition to Vertiv, other leading DCIM vendors offering a wide range of capabilities include Schneider Electric, Sunbird Software, NlyteSoftware, FNT Software, and Cormant, according to Robert McFarlane, principal data center designer at Shen Milsom & Wilke. McFarlane also teaches a course in data center facilities at Marist College’s Institute for Data Center Professionals.
McFarlane告訴DCK，數據中心管理人員發現他們迫切需要的第一個遠程管理工具是資産跟蹤。
The first remote management tool that data center managers found they urgently needed was asset tracking, he told DCK.
“人們急速地安裝新的服務器，同時希望數據中心內部的人越少越好，但是管理這些服務器的人不知道有多少服務器、它們在哪或者其他的一些信息，”他說，“他們哪裏有空間安裝服務器就安裝在哪裏，但是有空間並不意味著有足夠的電力系統供應和冷量供應。”
“People were installing new servers rapid-fire, with as few people in the data center as possible, and people who were trying to manage them didn’t know how many there were, or where they were, or anything else,” he said. “They were installing them whenever there was space to put them – but that doesn’t mean that there was sufficient power or cooling available.”
DICM系統能做的不僅僅是追蹤服務的安裝位子，他說，它們能夠分析環境，然後指出設備應該安裝在哪裏。“他們可以將服務器安裝在能夠實際工作的位置，而不是第一個開放的機架上”。
A DCIM system can do more than just track where the servers are located, he said. They can analyze the environment and indicate where equipment should be installed. “Instead of putting it in the first open rack space, they can put it somewhere where it can actually work.”
人工智能的未來
The AI Future
McFarlane說，利用人工智能（AI）來識別即將失效的和需要修補的或升級的設備，最前沿的DCIM解決方案可以走的更遠。
The most cutting-edge DCIM solutions can go even further, using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify equipment that is about to fail or that needs patching or upgrading, said McFarlane.
幾年前，這種類型的宣傳都是市場營銷，但是現在，主要的DCIM供應商已經開始讓他們的AI技術集成更有意義，他說，“AI技術已經成熟了嗎? 我不這麽認爲，但它必定會成熟的。
A couple of years ago, these kinds of claims were all marketing, but today, major DCIM vendors are starting to make their AI integrations more meaningful, he said. “Is it mature yet? I wouldn’t say it is. But it is certainly going to get there.”
施耐德電氣是投資AI技術的DCIM供應商之一。
One of the DCIM vendors investing in AI is Schneider Electric.
“那是我們的方向，也是行業的需求所在。” 施耐德電氣戰略發展總監Russell Senesac說。“我們也看到了一大批供應商正在往AI的方向發展”
“That’s where we’re going and that’s what the industry is asking for,” said Russell Senesac, the company’s strategy development director. “We’re seeing a lot of vendors going that direction.”
但是他承認還是很長的路要走。
But he admits that there’s still a long way to go.
他告訴DCK：舉個例子，如果能知道不間斷電源中的電池什麽時候會失效，那就太好了。
For example, it would be nice to know when the batteries inside an uninterruptible power supply were about to fail, he told DCK.
他說，施耐德提供了這一功能，但不是所有的系列産品都包含。此外，很多看客戶將在很長一段時間內持續使用舊的産品。
Schneider offers this feature, but not across its entire product portfolio, he said. Plus, many customers will be continuing to use older units for a long time.
“如果你購買我們最新的産品以及最新的軟件，你將會擁有這個功能。”他說。“但是有多少人的設備已經用了10年甚至15年呢？如果我是一個業主，那麽除非我的建築要著火了，不然我不會更新我的系統來實現那個功能。”
“If you buy our latest unit, with our latest software, you get this,” he said. “But how many people have units that are 10 or 15 years old? If I’m an actual business owner, then unless my building is going to catch fire, I’m not going to be able to retrofit my entire system to be able to do that stuff.”
阻力變小了
Less Resistance to Adoption
Senesac在客戶態度方面看到了最大的改變就是自從疫情以來，他們對于使用自動化工具沒那麽抗拒了。
The biggest change that Senesac has seen in customer attitudes since the pandemic began is less resistance to using automated tools.
例如，解決許多問題（如網路交換機宕機）的第一步是關機，然後重啓。
For example, the first step to fixing many problems, such as hung network switches, is to turn them off and turn them back on again.
他說，“你已經習慣了有人在數據中心裏跑來跑去拔這拔那。”
“You used to have someone running around the data center unplugging things,” he said.
此過程的自動化在之前是禁止的，他說，“人們稱‘如果我們使用這種功能，那交換機被入侵只是時間問題。’”
Automating this process used to be taboo, he said. “People said, ‘If we had that capability, it’s only a matter of time before someone hacks it.’”
他說，疫情打破了這些障礙。
The pandemic broke down those barriers, he said.
“對于那些能夠讓他們擁有更多控制權的遠程訪問應用程序，客戶過去會說不行，但是現在會說可以，”他說。然而這不意味著網絡安全已經被遺忘，他補充到，客戶仍然希望有合理的保護措施。
“For applications around remote access that enable them to have more control, they would have said no in the past, and they say yes now,” he said. That doesn’t mean cybersecurity has been forgotten, though, he added – customers still want to see that proper protections are in place.
遠程管理的領導者
Remote Management Leaders
Raymond James的股票研究總經理Frank Louthan在6月份的一份研究簡報中稱，遠程訪問，特別是數據中心門戶網站，已突然成爲數據中心供應商的業務驅動力。
Remote access, specifically, data center portals, have suddenly become a business driver for data center providers, according to a June research brief by Frank Louthan, managing director for equity research at Raymond James.
他在一份比較QTS Realty Trust、Equinix和Digital Realty的報告中寫道，直到2020年3月才出現這種情況。“像他們一直以來那樣，客戶更喜歡長途跋涉到現場。”
That wasn’t the case until March of this year, he wrote in a report comparing QTS Realty Trust, Equinix, and Digital Realty. “Customers preferred to make the trek to the facility – just like they always had.”
他寫道，疫情沖擊導致所有的遠程訪問平台業務一飛沖天。
After the pandemic hit, he wrote, usage of all remote access platforms skyrocketed, he wrote.
三家公司都提供跟蹤報告常規數據。然而QTS由于更好的易用性、特色、功能性以及支持移動端平台等脫穎而出。
All three companies offer the ability to track and report common data. QTS stood out, however, with better ease of use, features, functionality, and support for mobile platforms.
上個月，Frost & Sullivan爲QTS遠程管理平台頒發了2020年全球遠見創新獎。
Last month, Frost & Sullivan gave QTS its 2020 Global Visionary Innovation Award for its remote management platform.
根據QTS第二季度財報，超過17000個用戶在使用QTS的名爲Service Delivery Platform的遠程管理工具，這比上季度增長了20%。並且使用的時間也比疫情前提高了一倍。
According to its second quarter earnings report, more than 17,000 users are now taking advantage of QTS’s remote management tools, called the Service Delivery Platform, up 20 percent from the previous quarter. And the amount of time users spend on the platform has doubled from pre-pandemic levels.
QTS産品首席技術官Brent Bensten說，即使數據中心訪問限制放寬以後，實地訪問QTS設施的客戶人數依然很少。
Even after restrictions on visiting data centers were relaxed, the number of customers physically visiting QTS facilities remains low, said Brent Bensten, CTO of products at QTS Realty Trust.
他告訴DCK，“我們有新的協議，這樣人們就可以在需要的時候進出”。
“We have new protocols in place so that people can come in and out if they need to,” he told DCK.
實際情況是，不僅現有客戶堅持遠程訪問平台，新客戶只是虛擬參觀而沒有實地訪問就采購了服務。他說“越少的人來到現場，人們感染病毒的風險就越小”
Instead, not only are existing customers sticking with the remote access platform, but new customers are buying services without physical visits, just virtual tours. “And the less people on our sites, the less risk to people from the virus,” he said.
QTS收入增長最多的是帶寬升級功能，這一功能與上一年相比，使用率增長了85%，其次是交叉鏈接，它業務量增長了30%。
QTS’s biggest revenue growth was in the bandwidth upgrade feature, where usage was up 85 percent compared to the previous year, followed by cross-connects, which were up 30 percent.
“人們正在增加容量，” Bensten說。不僅僅是居家辦公用戶的容量，還包括他們的雲服務提供商的連接容量。“這是我們看到的最顯而易見的事情。”
“People are adding capacity,” said Bensten. Not just capacity to handle users working from home, but also for connections to their cloud service providers, he said. “That’s the biggest thing we saw.”
下一個最大的使用增長點是，利用自動化來處理不同功耗和轉移工作負載，以平衡基礎設施。
The next biggest usage growth was for automation to handle power levels and to shift workloads to balance out the infrastructure.
他說，QTS四年前就開始構建自己的平台了，時間掐的很准。“當然，我們的是幸運的，”他說。“那時候，我們在想自己是不是瘋了，但是現在，看到比我們大得多的數據中心公司試圖做我們正在做的事情，這也是我們的戰略得到驗證。”
QTS started building its platform four years ago, he said, and the timing was perfect. “We’re blessed, for sure,” he said. “At the time, we thought, are we crazy? But now, seeing data center companies much larger than us trying to do what we’re doing is a validation of our strategy.”
他說，許多基本技術都已經實現了商業化。
Much of the basic technology is available commercially, he said.
他說：“我們已經從架子上把最好的工具拿下來，放在應用上面從而使它們更聰明。”出于安全考慮，他拒絕透露具體供應商的名字。
“We’ve taken off-the-shelf best-of-breed tools and layered on top of it to make them smarter,” he said. He declined to name specific vendor names for security reasons.
目前面臨的挑戰是怎樣把全部系統整合在一起。他說，目前市場上缺少的是，能夠將所有業務線索打包放進一個可操作操作系統的紐帶。對于希望構建自己的遠程管理平台的托管提供商和企業數據中心經理來說，這可能是他們必須自己構建的。
The challenge, he said, is to tie everything together. What’s missing in the market today is the orchestration piece that ties it all together into an operational system, he said. For colocation providers and enterprise data center managers looking to build their own remote management platforms, that’s something they might have to build themselves.
一些數據中心還有一段路要走
Some Data Centers Have a Way to Go
451 Research和施耐德在最近的一項調查顯示，全球只有一半的數據中心服務提供商在使用DCIM技術。
Only half of data center service providers around the globe are using DCIM technology, according to a recent survey by 451 Research and Schneider.
大約42%的用戶使用商業的DCIM工具，31%的用戶使用自己開發的代碼，而且大多數用戶都將自己開發的代碼與DCIM工具結合使用。在最大的服務提供商中，DCIM技術的采用率最高。
Some 42 percent use commercial DCIM tools while 31 percent use home-grown code, and most have a combination. Adoption rates were highest among the largest service providers.
報告的作者，標普智庫的451Research機構的數據中心服務和基礎設施高級研究分析師Danielbizo表示，疫情是潛在趨勢的催化劑，而這些趨勢已經在發展中。
The pandemic has been a catalyst for underlying trends that were already in motion, said report author Daniel Bizo, senior research analyst for data center services and infrastructure at 451 Research, now part of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
他對DCK說：“這場疫情推動客戶對數據中心服務和遠程管理的需求進一步上升。”。
“What the pandemic did was to drive customer demand for data center services and remote management even higher,” he told DCK.
除了“smart hands”服務之外，數據中心客戶現在更多地依賴遠程監控和容量規劃工具來獲得更好的遠景預期。他說，這有助于企業客戶轉向更多的在線服務，並使他們更能抵禦宕機事故。
In addition to “smart hands” services, data center customers are now relying more heavily on remote monitoring and capacity planning tools to get better visibility, he said. That helps enterprise customers shift towards more online services, he said, and makes them more resilient against failures.
他說：“停機、低水平運轉將導致生産效率下降和收入損失增高。”
“The cost of downtime or underperformance – lost productivity or revenue – just went up,” he said.
Uptime機構一項類似的調查也證實了這一趨勢——90%的數據中心表示將增加遠程監控和管理系統的使用，73%的數據中心預計將更多地使用自動化技術。
A similar survey by the Uptime Institute confirms the trend – 90 percent of data centers say they will increase the use of remote monitoring and management systems, and 73 percent expect greater use of automation.
數據中心供應商Cyxtera在新冠大流行之前就開始實施遠程數據中心管理系統，該公司數據中心産品副總裁Mitch Fonseca說，當COVID-19封鎖開始在全球範圍內執行時，這一手段起到了很大的作用。
Data center provider Cyxtera began implementing its remote data center management systems prior to the pandemic, and that head start made a big difference when the COVID-19 lockdowns started going into effect around the globe, said Mitch Fonseca, the company’s VP of data center products.
他對DCK說：“我們已經部署了超過10萬個傳感器來監測我們全球數據中心平台的溫度、濕度和功率，Cyxtera目前每天生成超過1000萬個數據點。”
“We have deployed more than 100,000 sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, and power across our global data center platform,” he told DCK. “Cyxtera is currently generating over 10 million data points per day.”
然而，起步較晚的數據中心在構建平台時可能會面臨一些挑戰。
Data centers that are late to the game, however, may face some challenges as they build out their platforms.
爲數據中心提供技術支持的CDS公司CEO說：“很多公司已經在增加遠程監控工具的投資，遠程監控及管理的投資回報率爲正。然而，部署和適當的集成需要時間和具備技能的人員。”
“Organizations are now increasing investment in remote monitoring tools,” said Daniel Newton, CEO at CDS, which provides technology services to data centers. “There is a positive ROI on monitoring and remote management investment. However, deployment and proper integration takes time and the people with the right skills.”
他說，大部分企業缺少具備部署、維護和優化遠程監控和管理平台能力的人員。
Most organizations lack people with the right skills to deploy, maintain, and improve a remote monitoring and management platform, he said.
領先的DCIM供應商Sunbird的總裁Herman Chan說，遠程管理工具的實現當然還有與新冠疫情相關的預算限制有關。
And, of course, there are the budget constraints associated with the pandemic, said Herman Chan, president at Sunbird, a leading DCIM vendor.
然而，即使是受到COVID-19影響很大的行業，如航空公司和零售業，也在重新分配預算，爲DCIM等戰略采購尋找資金。
However, even industries greatly impacted by COVID-19, such as airlines and retail, are re-allocating budgets and finding the money for strategic purchases like DCIM.
他向DCK表示：“由于每個人都居家辦公，許多組織實際上已經加快了數字化項目的步伐，，因此對遠程數據中心管理工具的需求變得至關重要，這些工具可以實時顯示所有資産的狀態和容量。”
“Many organizations have actually accelerated their digitization projects and, with everyone working from home, the need for remote data center management tools for real-time visualization of the status and capacity of all assets becomes critical,” he told DCK.
是什麽推動了巨頭們和提供商進入二級市場？
What’s Driving Hyperscalers and Data Center Providers into Secondary Markets?
Scott Fulton III對Data Center Knowledge說，世界各地最新的大型項目所在的地區在市場規模排行榜上通常排名較低。原因可能不像最初出現的那樣明顯。
The latest big projects around the world are in territories that have typically ranked lower on the market size charts. The reasons why may not be as obvious as they first appear.By Scott Fulton, III for Data Center Knowledge
至少從表面上看，這似乎是一個真正的趨勢：隨著超大規模雲平台對小型和新興市場數據中心建設投資的激增，大規模數據中心的建設者和托管提供商正在向這些地區擴張。他們仍然是主要的人口中心，至少從旅行社的角度來看是大城市。如今，在這場看似永無止境的大流行中，隨著對數據中心服務的需求不斷增加，這些地區正在加入一個不斷擴大的IT基礎設施和服務行業，在全球範圍內拓展市場。
It would appear, at least on the surface, to be a genuine trend: Following up on the surge in investments in data center construction in smaller and emerging markets by hyperscale cloud platforms, wholesale data center builders and colocation providers are expanding into those same locales. They’re still major population centers, and at least from the perspective of a travel agent, big cities. Now, as demand for data center services continues to increase during this seemingly never-ending pandemic, these locales are joining a broadening IT infrastructure and services industry, expanding markets throughout the world.
根據對該領域專家的采訪，現實情況更爲微妙，對這一趨勢的描述聽起來更像這樣：傳統頂級數據中心市場名單之外的城市，正在成功地鼓勵巨頭們在其所在地進行建設。對他們有利的是，他們正在利用這樣一個現象，那些頂級市場至關重要的資源——特別是在歐洲，尤其像是阿姆斯特丹那樣，已經變得稀缺甚至不可用。
The reality is more nuanced, according to interviews with experts in the field, and a better description of the trend sounds more like this: Cities outside the traditional list of top data center markets are successfully incenting hyperscalers to build in their locales. In their favor, they’re leveraging the fact that vital resources in those top markets – especially in Europe, and particularly Amsterdam – have become scarce or even unavailable.
“FLAP-D市場（法蘭克福、倫敦、阿姆斯特丹、巴黎和都柏林）利益競爭目前在地域限制上。” 房地産咨詢集團Cushman&Wakefield在8月份發布的歐洲二級市場報告中稱：“阿姆斯特丹已經宣布暫時暫停新建築的開發，整個地區的土地和電力仍然緊缺。”
“Interest in the FLAP-D markets [Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin] now competes with physical limitations,” according to real estate advisory group Cushman & Wakefield’s August report on European secondary markets. “Amsterdam has announced a temporary development moratorium on new builds, and land and power remain scarce across the slate.”
郊區的內部交易
The Inside Deals for the Outskirts
早在六月份的時候，Facebook就宣布在芝加哥郊外的伊利諾斯州Dekalb啓動了一個經典的H形超規模設施項目。由于超大國模數據中心是一種便于複制的建築模式，兩個月後，Facebook公布了在田納西州Nashville郊外另一個幾乎相同的項目。因而，正如北美數據中心管理負責人Jim Kerrigan對Data Center Knowledge所說，Gallatin經濟發展署提出並通過了一項法案，特地爲了吸引一個像Facebook那樣著名的數據中心建設者，而不是一個分租提供商，也不是一個托管服務商。
Back in June, Facebook announced its launch of a classic, H-shaped hyperscale facility project in Dekalb, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. And because hyperscale is a building pattern, two months later, Facebook announced another nearly identical project just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. There, as North American Data Centers managing principal Jim Kerrigan told Data Center Knowledge, the Gallatin Economic Development Agency had proposed legislation, which passed, specifically to attract a data center builder of Facebook’s stature – not a multi-tenant provider, not a colo.
10月初，微軟宣布在愛荷華州的West Des Moines建造兩座數據中心。正如該鎮經濟發展主管在當地一份商業報紙上所說，這些項目將爲該鎮提供所需的資本流入，從而使已經推遲很久的，可以使整個地區受益的基礎設施項目加速起來.
In early October, Microsoft announced the construction of two facilities in West Des Moines, Iowa. As the town’s economic development director told a local business paper, those projects will give the town the influx of capital it needs to accelerate long-postponed physical infrastructure projects benefiting the entire region.
“我不明白爲什麽微軟會在愛荷華州的Des Moines投資。”克裏根說：“我可以想象，那裏有相對便宜的土地，如果不是免費的話，那也是廉價的電力。”
“I don’t understand why Microsoft dominates Des Moines, Iowa,” Kerrigan remarked. “I can imagine that there’s relatively inexpensive land, if not free, [and] inexpensive power.”
Kerrigan認爲，像Dekalb和West Des Moine這樣的地方目前可能無法滿足的一個需求是低延遲。在更大的市場上使用的光纖連接和帶寬可能不會出現在這裏。他告訴DCK，這是一個信號，微軟不打算將愛荷華州的數據中心用于Xbox或實時應用程序，因爲在這些應用程序中，低響應時間和准確性是關鍵因素。
One possible demand that places like Dekalb and West Des Moines may not be able to fulfill for now, Kerrigan believes, is for low latency. The fiber connectivity and bandwidths available in larger markets may not show up here. That’s a signal, he told DCK, that Microsoft isn’t planning to utilize its Iowa sites for Xbox or real-time applications where low response times and high determination are critical factors.
另一方面，如果提前告知West Des Moines，因爲Microsoft或Azure業務部門對這些設施服務的特定需求，市政當局可能會達成了一項協議，具體而准確地解決這些問題。這是關鍵：巨頭們事先了解他們的使用需求，並且可以在他們的出價和與城市官員的交流中進行溝通。
On the other hand, if West Des Moines was informed ahead of time about the requirements of the specific Microsoft or Azure business unit that would consume these facilities’ services, the municipality may have put together a deal to address them specifically and precisely. And that’s the key here: Hyperscalers understand the profiles of their use cases beforehand and can communicate them in their bids and interactions with city officials.
設施服務決定了大型運行商的數據中心建立在哪裏，規模多大。Kerrigan說，類似EdgeConneX等建設者推動了微軟2016年與Dekalb的交易，使得Outlook和Office 365的連接更接近用戶。碰巧的是，這些邊緣位置有些是大型地鐵區域，有些甚至是預先存在的超大型數據中心。在促進Comcast在全國範圍內需要低延遲設施來處理有線電視客戶的DVR應用程序後，EdgeConneX開始嶄露頭角。
It’s applications that decide where, and how big, a major operator’s data centers are built. Builders such as EdgeConneX – which facilitated Microsoft’s 2016 deal with Dekalb – brought connectivity specifically for Outlook and Office 365 closer to their users, said Kerrigan. It just so happens that some of these edge locations are large metro areas, and some are even pre-existing hyperscale facilities. EdgeConneX came to prominence after facilitating Comcast’s nationwide need for low-latency facilities to handle cable TV customers’ DVR applications.
然而，雲運營商交易和服務器托管交易的區別並不像人們想的那麽大。2019年4月，聯邦快遞在基礎設施上與Switch Data Centers簽訂了長期協議。這導致快遞巨頭成爲Switch 公司531兆瓦拉斯維加斯超級數據中心園區的主要租戶。但它也使聯邦快遞能夠獲得更小的邊緣設備，用于對延遲敏感的業務。Kerrigan指出，這次Switch取代了一家大型雲運營商，也是因爲交易讓城市和政府發揮了巨大的能量。
Yet there’s less to differentiate a cloud operator deal from a colo deal than one might think. In April 2019, FedEx entered into a long-term agreement with Switch Data Centers for infrastructure. That led to the delivery giant becoming a principal tenant at Switch’s 531-MW Las Vegas SuperNAP campus. But it also enabled FedEx to attain smaller, edge facilities for latency-sensitive operations. This, noted Kerrigan, was because of the deal-making power of cities and municipalities – this time, with Switch in place of one of the big cloud operators.
他告訴DCK：“邊緣計算七年前開始起飛的全部原因，是因爲所有東西都在一個地方沒有意義。現在超大規模的數據中心要變得地區化，大型數據中心正要進入三級地區麽？我不認爲這是一個新趨勢，Faceboo早已經這麽做很多年了。”
“The whole reason edge started taking off seven years ago,” he told DCK, “was that it made less sense for everything to be in one location… You’re saying, now the hyperscale guys are going to regional, huge data centers in tertiary areas? No, I don’t think that’s a new trend. Facebook’s been doing this for years.”
定制化建設
Build-to-Suit
高緯環球(Cushman & Wakefield)全球數據中心服務執行董事Dave Fanning解釋道，向新興市場擴張是每家數據中心供應商的計劃之一。Dave Fanning是Europe report以及高緯環球2020年1月全球數據中心市場比較報告的合著者。但每個人的計劃都被主要城市基礎設施的匮乏所打斷，尤其是歐洲四大市場：法蘭克福、倫敦、阿姆斯特丹和巴黎。
Expansion into emerging markets was part of every data center provider’s plan, explained Dave Fanning, Cushman & Wakefield’s executive managing director for global occupier services, and co-author of the Europe report plus the firm’s January 2020 Global Data Center Market Comparison. But everyone’s plan was interrupted by the scarcity of physical infrastructure in major cities, particularly Europe’s big four markets: Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and Paris.
Dave Fanning說:“這迫使他們加速向二級市場擴張，以彌補一級市場上的延誤、暫停和可用土地與基礎設施的匮乏。我們正預見到，這種情況在亞太地區也開始發生變化。
“It’s forced them to accelerate expansion into secondary markets,” said Fanning, “to compensate for the delays, moratoriums, and lack of available land and infrastructure in the primary markets. We’re seeing that start to evolve in APAC [Asia/Pacific] as well.”
去年，擁有歐洲近三分之一服務器的阿姆斯特丹由于缺乏基礎設施支持，不得不停止新建項目。那裏不僅缺電力還缺土地。但是Fanning也看到，在新加坡和香港這一迹象的早期症狀也已經出現。他對DCK表示:“主要是國際一級市場，正難以跟上需求的步伐。
Last year, Amsterdam – the host of nearly one-third of Europe’s facilities – had to call a halt to new projects for lack of available infrastructure support. There’s not only a lack of power, but a lack of space. But Fanning is also seeing the earlier stages of this phenomenon popping up in Singapore and Hong Kong. “Primary markets, primarily internationally, are struggling to keep pace with demand,” he told DCK.
Fanning解釋說，現代雲基礎設施包括了邊緣節點的概念——子級的、通常是遠程的設施，它們與至少三個雲服務商的主要超大規模機房相互連接。這些節點可能包括本地可用區域。越來越多的企業將它們的應用程序托管在這些位置。但即使這樣，它們也需要雲之外的IT資産和基礎設施，這些應當是完全可協調和可監視的，其中一些恰恰是邊緣節點。
Modern cloud infrastructure, explained Fanning, includes the notion of edge nodes – subordinate, usually remote, facilities that are interconnected with at least three of the cloud provider’s major hyperscale locations. These nodes may include local availability zones. A growing number of enterprises are hosting their applications in these locations. But even then, they require IT assets and infrastructure that’s outside the cloud but still fully orchestrated and monitored. Some of these are the edge nodes.
Fanning表示:“我們已經看到很多數據中心運營商重心轉向企業客戶，開發我們所謂的‘定制化’數據中心應用程序。“這些需求是爲混合定制的，可使用的容量在本地和雲端之間分配。
“We’ve seen a lot of these data center operators,” said Fanning, “pivot towards the enterprise clients for what we would call ‘build-to-suit’ data center applications.” These requirements are custom-made for hybridization, where utilized capacity is split between on-premises and on-cloud.
高緯環球的執行董事告訴DCK，整體供應商在新興的全球市場上肯定會相互競爭，但他們正在制定的功能，通常是由他們最重要的客戶—巨頭們自身提供的。而且，爲了滿足企業客戶對邊緣節點的需求，這些超級巨頭被客戶需求所折磨，要麽離他們自己的客戶更近，要麽離他們的應用程序的數據來源更近。
Wholesale providers certainly compete with one another for capacity in emerging global markets, Cushman & Wakefield’s executive director told DCK, but the specifications they’re building to are often provided by their most important clients: the hyperscalers themselves. And the hyperscalers are consumed with satisfying enterprise clients’ need for edge nodes, either closer to their own customers, or to where their applications’ data originates.
Fanning說:“如果雲服務提供商不能在規定的時間內自行進行開發，他們可能會依賴數據中心運營商，後者提供可用站點的速度比他們自己更快。”你會看到很多公司走上這條路，他們幾乎都是這些大規模開發項目的巨頭。”
“If cloud providers are not able to self-perform their own development in the timeframe required, they may lean on data center operators,” Fanning said, “who can provide availability on the site faster than they can do it themselves. You’ll see a lot of companies that go out there and almost exclusively chase the hyperscalers for these wholesale developments.”
因此，整體提供商和托管商確實是在跟隨商業巨頭們，只是以不尋常的方式。
So wholesalers and colos are indeed following hyperscalers – just not the usual way.
未完待續
翻譯：
戴曉川
深圳市中電電力技術股份有限公司 解決方案經理
DKV（Deep Knowledge Volunteer）白金成員
校對：
孫宇甯
江蘇捷電科技有限公司 技術總監
DKV（Deep Knowledge Volunteer）精英成員
公衆號聲明：
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