Published by Axians, the DataCenter 2018-2021 study, Which evolutions for your IT infrastructures, indicates that data centres will be managed mainly in a private cloud mode by 2021. More than half will need to integrate a data management model based on a hybrid cloud model.

When asked in 2018, nearly 80% of CIOs say they mainly manage On Premise infrastructures and nearly one-third manage private cloud infrastructures. By 2021, this trend will intensify as, contrary to popular belief, internal data centres will not disappear. Indeed, it is the technologies implemented that will evolve and allow these data centers to operate in Cloud mode.

Although more than half of companies are aware of the need to manage data in a public-private cloud mode, only 12% of respondents have a project to implement a hybrid cloud solution.

According to this study, the 4 main current challenges for IT Departments are security (73%), cost control (66%), regulatory compliance (60%) and the digitalization of business lines (52%). The technology that will have the greatest impact on data centers within three years will be cybersecurity in the face of business service automation. On the software side, VMware leads ahead of Microsoft and Red Hat. While on the cloud operators side, Microsoft is cited first ahead of OVH and AWS.

For the majority of the CIOs interviewed, they remain the technical and operational guarantors of the infrastructure or strategy and innovation. However, new roles are emerging such as private cloud resource providers driven by SLA or hybrid cloud operators.

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Source : Informatique News

How can we succeed in building IT infrastructures in a sustainable and perennial way for the next 20 years? What are the important elements to consider during the design phase?

Although it may seem easy to build data centers, it is a rapidly evolving industry. Indeed, today's rooms are becoming denser, servers consume more and more energy and are heavier. Modularity concepts are shaking up the market every month, the ranges are evolving rapidly to better meet users' needs....

This is why adaptability and modularity must be part of the solutions to these problems from the design phases. For example, choose modular cooling and electrical solutions, increase power and load during maintenance, design large equipment by oversizing it.
It can also be very useful to implement new Agile working methods. It is therefore essential to be flexible and adapt to these changes that can affect the project in a sustainable way.
Modularity is also an essential point during the design phase, especially if you choose an atypical location to set up your data center. However, legal or regulatory aspects may run counter to this modularity. It is therefore necessary to address these problems as soon as possible, as they often have incompressible deadlines...

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Source : Le Monde Informatique

Inaugurated on January 15 by the national operator Jaguar Network, the last datacenter of the Lyon metropolitan area was built within the Biopark of the 8th arrondissement. Known as "Rock", this datacenter is also the largest in Lyon with more than 4,000 m² and 800 computer bays.
This project, supported by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, now hosts IT projects in the health and industry 4.0 sectors after only twelve months of construction.

However, the building has a particular feature for a datacenter: "The aesthetics of the building has been a constraint imposed by the French building architects: Rock is located within the perimeter of the Édouard Herriot Hospital, built a century ago by the architect Tony Garnier and listed as a historic monument. Thus, to comply with the specifications imposed by the French administration, it was mandatory to equip the building with windows, walled by breeze blocks since they were totally useless for computer rooms...!" notes Pierre Col in an article in ZDNet.

The operation of the infrastructures of this new datacenter has been maximized by using, for example, artificial intelligence. "An application developed by Jaguar Network teams proactively manages the installations in order to perform preventive maintenance to maximize availability. This is how technologies based on Big Data and Machine Learning are integrated into the spectrum boxes whose mission is to predictively detect any incident," says Jaguar Network.
In addition, a team is permanently present on the site "This guarantees local support to customers for the simplified operation of their IT equipment. A technician can work on any server hosted in the heart of the building in less than 10 minutes," explains the operator and cloud host.

To demonstrate its commitment to investing in digital transformation, the company has also created a network of more than 80 km of dark fibre network. This allows any company in Lyon's metropolitan area to be connected directly by dedicated and secure cables. "A dedicated 100 Gbps network will be available from February 2019 to provide the highest connection speeds available in France for businesses," says Jaguar Network.

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Source : Lyon-entreprises.com

These highly secure infrastructures have multiplied over the years. Indeed, ten years ago, the Lyon metropolitan area had only 1 data centre compared to 14 today. Behind this new market is a fierce financial battle.

The proof is in the fact that DCforData inaugurated its new DC just a few months ago in the 8ᵉ arrondissement of Lyon. With a surface area of 4,000 m² and already two rooms in use, "Rock" is one of the largest in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Its customers are mainly local authorities, large companies or digital service companies in the region. But the objective is also to attract national and even global firms.
Indeed, according to Nicolas Pitance, president of DCforData, "Lyon is located on a huge telecom artery. Everyone knows the Fourvière tunnel or the Part-Dieu station, well there is also a Telecom artery from north to south Europe towards Marseille." An opinion qualified by Samuel Triolet, director of Rezopole, "Lyon is not in an ideal geographical position [...] Paris is France, so we understand its appeal. In Marseille, many trans-Mediterranean and trans-oceanic fibres are exported to Africa, the Middle East and Asia. But in Lyon, there is no similar suction effect".

However, the value of storing these servers locally is very real. First of all, from a practical point of view, since a technical intervention will be much easier and faster if the data center is located close to the company. Second, it significantly reduces latency and data transmission time in a world where data protection is becoming increasingly important. And finally, the pooling of infrastructures allows companies to make savings. "It is important for French companies to host their services on national territory because it is a sovereign hosting: companies remain subject to French data control legislation, i.e. legislation that is stricter than in the United States and their Patrioct Act" confirms Cyrille Frantz Honegger, Director of Regional Relations at SFR. This telecom giant owns the "Net Center" data center located in Vénissieux on a 7,000 m² surface.

However, there is another threat to companies: hacking and data theft.
"The data center protects against people entering the building. But it is the people who run the servers who manage computer security [...] Attempts at intrusion by hackers, even we are permanently blocked! " explains Hervé Gilquin, a researcher in applied mathematics and in charge of a DC at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Lyon. This school and other public institutions have chosen to store internally. Since 2017, the ENS has had its own data centre connected to the Renater network, a research telecommunications network, in order to keep the data produced as close as possible. "Researchers are developing, we have to do daily work on the site, and with all the calculations we do, our servers are in permanent operation, it would be too expensive for us to outsource," adds Hervé Gilquin.

Indeed, these CDs and the resulting requirement are very expensive. The owners of these centres rely on private and public investment, even if the latter are relatively recent. "The metropolis took time to understand the economic interest of a data centre [...] For years, Lyon's economic players were convinced that it did not create jobs. But without a local data center, the companies will first export their IT management, then finance, then marketing and finally sales", explains Samuel Triolet. Nicolas Pitance, for his part, ironicizes "Let's say that it's not as visible and selling as a football stadium".
A strategic change of direction since, according to a study carried out by Cisco, the storage capacity of data centers should be doubled by 2021. This will further increase the ambitions of companies in this sector....

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Source : Médiacités

Located south of Paris, the Data4 campus hosts the data of major CAC 40 companies. Among the nine data centres spread over 111 hectares, is DC05. This new-generation data center, in service since the end of 2017, has a single facade, clad with blocks capable of drawing in external oxygen. "Once filtered, this air at room temperature is used to cool the core of the building, or the temperature of some components can easily rise to 60°C. This free cooling system replaces the frozen water reserves and large mechanical cold cabinets used in older data centres," explains Jérôme Totel, site manager.

Free cooling is in vogue and is becoming increasingly popular, mainly for economic reasons. Indeed, data centers consume nearly 10% of the world's electricity. "And nearly half of this energy is used to operate cooling systems," explains Guilhem Cottet, General Delegate of France Datacenter. Today, the temperature range of air sent to server rooms is much higher than it was ten years ago. Indeed, international guidelines recommend between 20 and 27°C.

However, "cooling a data center is a real science," says Jean-Michel Rodriguez, Chief Technology Officer at IBM. The ambient temperatures and humidity in the northern European countries naturally ensure good cooling throughout the year, making it easier to use free cooling. However, this is not the case with a more Mediterranean climate since this system can only operate for part of the year. Hosting companies therefore often rely on more modest installations such as simple air conditioning coupled with "cold aisles". "Each year brings its share of new products. We are in a state of constant optimization," confirms François Salomon, Schneider's free cooling specialist.

This is the case, for example, of Facebook, which last June revealed a system combining free cooling and water, or Lenovo, which relies on liquid cooling. 2CRSI, a Strasbourg-based company, offers a shared cooling system. Many researchers are currently working on algorithms that can reduce server consumption. Although the energy efficiency indicator for data centres has improved significantly in recent years, some experts are sounding the alarm bell. "Calculation and energy needs will increase exponentially. To develop artificial intelligence, optimizing cooling will not be enough. So much so that we will have to rethink the design of our data centers," warns Pierre Perrot of CryoConcept.

This observation has led engineers to develop diametrically different technologies such as immersion. Asperitas now immerses its servers in oil. "It is a non-conductive and non-corrosive liquid that absorbs up to 1,500 times more heat than air," says Pierre Batsch, head of the company's development in France. Thus there is no need for air conditioning, false ceilings, cold aisles, etc. While Alibaba has already announced a similar project for some of its servers, other players such as "cryptomone mining" factories or the financial world are also interested in this solution.

Microsoft has decided to immerse part of its infrastructure in the ocean. "Water is 800 times denser than air. When you touch it, you are in contact with many molecules, which means you can transfer heat faster and more efficiently," explains Ben Cutler, project manager at Microsoft. But this initiative is met with some criticism: "Will the heat released have an impact on the marine ecosystem? Wouldn't it be better to reuse it?," persimmates an expert. These remarks will not discourage Microsoft, which has not finished making waves.

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Source : L'Express