The cloud computing market is still hot, but the surge in data volume has brought huge challenges to transmission, storage and computing, especially network latency. At the edge of the Internet of Everything, more and more terminals are collecting information and data through sensor devices, and aggregating them to remote data centers through gateways and IoT platforms. With the rise of edge computing, the computing ecosystem has changed.
Heading to the edge
Edge computing breaks down the data originally processed by cloud data centers into smaller and more manageable parts, and distributes them to edge nodes for processing to reduce latency and speed up data processing and transmission. With the rapid development of the Industrial Internet and the Internet of Things, more and more data applications are becoming more sensitive to speed. As a supplement to cloud data centers, edge computing has broad prospects and plays an important role.
According to IDC statistics, by 2020, there will be more than 50 billion terminals and devices connected to the Internet. In the future, more than 50% of the data will need to be analyzed, processed and stored at the edge of the network. The market size faced by edge computing is very huge. Since 2016, edge data centers have become a hot topic for various industries in China, especially operators. They have a large number of first-level computer rooms or base stations in prefectures and cities. From the withdrawal of fixed networks, to the transformation of traditional computer rooms, to the Internet of Vehicles, VR, and the combination of enterprise intranets and LTE, the development of edge data centers has been very vigorous.
When talking about how Schneider Electric responds to the ever-changing market development and user needs, Lian, product manager of Schneider Electric’s IT business department, said that as a global leader in data center infrastructure construction and services, Schneider Electric has keenly grasped market trends and customer needs based on its profound industry insights and practical experience, and made timely business adjustments. “In the past, the layout of the IT industry can be described as a jujube-shaped distribution of ‘big in the middle and small on both sides’. With the rapid development of cloud computing and edge computing, the industry has clearly shown a development trend of ‘big on both sides and small in the middle’.” Lian, the relevant person in charge, said.
“Simplicity”
As business development places increasing demands on edge computing, enterprises are also putting forward demands on edge data centers such as flexibility, standardization, stability, and unattended operation and maintenance.
How can data center infrastructure solutions meet the technical strategies for edge business needs? UPS selection is very representative and may give us some inspiration.
The biggest difference between edge data centers and cloud and traditional data centers is that edge data centers are located at the edge of the network and are small in scale, but software and hardware are equally essential. In order to fully consider software and hardware subsystems such as refrigeration, power distribution, power supply, cabinets, and operation and maintenance management in a limited space, while taking into account extremely “simple” design and “easy” use, management and maintenance, Schneider Electric innovatively launched the Galaxy E series UPS.
Schneider Electric Galaxy E Series UPS
The Galaxy E series UPS is a 10-40kVA three-phase UPS that is easy to install, operate and maintain, and is very suitable for small and medium capacity applications. At the same time, the Galaxy E series UPS has great potential in the field of edge data center applications because it fully considers the concept of refined demand and high design standards.
Lian said that the “simple” and “easy” of the Galaxy E series UPS can be summarized into three major advantages. The first is the simple design. Built-in input, output and bypass circuit breakers, as well as emergency shutdown functions, do not require additional configuration and installation; the built-in Easy Loop test can verify the UPS performance before connecting the load, without adding a load group; the battery is easy to install; the pulley design at the bottom makes it easy to move. The second is easy maintenance. The Galaxy E series UPS can be integrated with DCIM applications. Users can use mobile phones and other terminals to remotely monitor through the cloud to comprehensively manage data centers located in different regions to ensure a balance of high availability and high efficiency. With the Schneider Electric EcoStruxure platform, users can monitor the operating status of each parameter throughout its entire operating cycle and analyze it. Once the system detects a sudden change in the performance of electrical parameters, it will give the user a remote alarm or prompt. Finally, it is easy to expand. The Galaxy E series UPS adopts an integrated redundant design and supports on-demand purchase. Up to 4 UPS can be connected in parallel, and the addition of parallel components can avoid adding parallel cabinets.
In addition, the Galaxy E Series UPS can also bring customers diverse choices and high value returns. Lian introduced, “The Galaxy E Series UPS can share the same battery pack and support third-party batteries, saving space while reducing battery costs; in double conversion mode, the energy efficiency can reach up to 96%; in ECO mode, the energy efficiency can reach up to 99%. It can also operate continuously and stably at 40 degrees Celsius.”
It is reported that the Galaxy E series UPS mainly focuses on applications in medical care, transportation, education, finance, equipment manufacturing, and non-traditional data center application environments. Currently, it has successful experience in these industries.