The Right Data Center for the Job: The

Stratification of Data Center

ResponsibilitiesChris Crosby, CEO, Compass Datacenters

About Us

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• Compass Datacenters provides dedicated data centers

• Built using our patented architecture

• Uptime Institute Tier III certified design and constructed

• LEED certified

• Wherever you want it

• Controlled by you

• Ownership or lease

• Operations and security

• Expansion

• Simplify Capacity Planning

• Growth in 1.2MW Increments

• The building is the standard unit “Everything you want in your next data center. It’s in here”

Accelerated Evolution

• Rapid period of change

• Old rules no longer apply

• Structure

• Roles

• Decision making

• Data center role shift

• All-in-one versus matching need

• Avoid load group mistmatch

• Scale matters

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Driving the Change

• Convergence of data types

• Large rich packets (video)

• Billions of small packets (IOT)

• Value of data

• Inverse relationship with latency

• End user requirements/expectations

• Data must be as close to end user as possible – generational shift

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Not Ready for Primetime, Part 1

• The mega data center can’t do it all

• Geography

• Can’t get close enough to the customer

• Latency becomes a serious issue

• Applications processing capability

• We used to call billions of tiny packets DOS

• Now it’s business as usual

• “Intelligence” isn’t distributed

• Network

• Fat pipes are no longer enough

• Latency matters

• Hetero v. Homogeneous

• The big guys build for single apps

• Too expensive/inefficient for most enterprises

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Not Ready for Primetime, Part 2

• Existing “network” structures

• Single data center

• 2-level (maybe)

• Centralized with DR with usually some synchronous requirements

• Centralized w/big pipe to regional

• Regulatory environments pushing for more

• Not optimized for “next generation”

requirements

• Difficult to hold “localized” content

• Design didn’t anticipate volume

• Ability to process volume in real time

• Even if it isn’t your app set, it will affect the

public network6

The Stratified Structure

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• Hierarchical structure• 3 levels

• Data center(s) at each level have specific function

• Based on division of labor

• Improve processing capability• Distributed throughout the structure

• Better support for converged architecture

• Mission critical at all levels• Why?

• $10M - $20M investment in just a few racks of gear

• Even the “cloud” has 10-20 racks that runall the commodity infrastructure

Cost of Redundancy versus Software

• Mission critical at the edge

• Cost to put into the software versus the cost to put it into the hardware

• Just like in your car, what you can afford today is different than 5 years ago

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Co

st

Time

Data Center

Software

Roles

• Centralized hubs

• Primary applications processing/storage points

• Applications are “non-divisible”

• Edge data centers

• Regional centers

• Support one or more micro DC’s

• Perform regional processing/cache function

• Ex: Determine what goes upstream

• Micro data centers

• Initial interaction point

• Repositories for high demand content

• Located to provide lowest level of latency

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The Stratified Structure

• Requirements• Flexibility

• Must be able to adapt to shifts in demand

• Dynamic

• 80/20 rule

• Security• At all levels

• Ability to identify attacks

• Dynamic re-routing of traffic

• Mission critical at all levels• Maximize uptime

• Protect high cost equipment

• Converged equipment = more expensive

• Tier III/IV (hub)

• If size dictates, commodity compute storage at

hub

• Tier III (edge, micro)

• Geography• Data centers located where they are needed

• Especially at edge, micro levels

• Location decisions driven by customer locations

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Commodity Level

Converged Level

Not a return to the IT closet, true data centers at the edge

Planning for Stratified

• From tactical to strategic• More than we need a new data center in Cleveland

• Need to think in 5-10 year periods• Not 12-24 months

• Impact from outside, NOT just inside• Security

• Network

• Considerations• Applications

• End users• Locations

• Requirements

• Expectations

• Network• Technical and financial

• Management and control

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Summary

• Nature of data forcing the change

• Majority of existing data centers/networks not ready

• Stratified networks will become more prevalent

• 2 major considerations:

• Keep data closer to users

• Lowest possible latency—generational shift in workers

• Data center roles will become more specific

• Based on hierarchical location

• Planning will have to change

• Tactical to strategic

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