< PreviousTrends that will shape the data centres of the future datacentre trends www.networkseuropemagazine.com 40Data centres are vital to the continuity of daily operations in businesses and they house some of an organisation’s most critical and proprietary assets. They are already playing an important role for most businesses and this responsibility will only continue to grow in the future data economy. Businesses are now demanding fast-moving information as the world moves increasingly to the web, so the closer an organisation is to its data centre, the higher the performance of the service. Sustainability Now is the time for the data centre sector to take the lead when it comes to tackling climate change. In particular, cloud computing holds a large energy footprint which enables the data centre industry to drive a global shift to renewable-powered business. Stakeholders and customers of large technological companies are beginning to demand more accountability on climate impact which, in turn, is encouraging businesses to embrace sustainability and look for ways in which they can play their part. Innovation in energy efficiency and renewable adoption has been driven by some of the data centre industry’s largest customers such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Amazon Web Services. The bar is being raised for the entire industry as sustainability is a growing concern and is now at front-of-mind for many enterprise customers. With data centres responsible for at least 1% of global energy consumption, it could be argued that they have an ethical responsibility to lead an era of change and begin to take on the role of implementing measures that minimise the impacts that data storing is having in our ecosystem. As part of long term green strategies, companies are developing pledges to reduce their carbon footprint and invest in more sustainable energy solutions. Automation and AI Even in the last 10 years, automation has had a huge effect on the runnings of many elements of business, particularly within the technology industry. The routine workflows and processes of data centres including scheduling, monitoring, maintenance, application delivery and more, can now all be managed and executed without human administration through data centre automation. The massive growth in data availability and the speed at which businesses operate today means that manual monitoring, troubleshooting and remediation is too slow to be effective and can often put businesses at risk. Automation can make time-consuming tasks almost autonomous. Data centre automation is immensely valuable as it can free up human time and resources, as well as delivering insight into configurations and server nodes, whilst producing and programming all data centre scheduling and monitoring tasks. Edge Computing Edge computing continues to evolve and become more advanced. As this happens, data centres will be largely impacted, especially as edge computing becomes more closely integrated. It is a top supporter of data-heavy applications, particularly those associated with artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. This technology allows businesses to pull value from data sooner because it gets processed closer to its source. Companies can choose to shrink the overall size of their data before sending it to the cloud, which demonstrates why it makes sense to rely on edge infrastructure, especially if they find their data centre resources under strain. The Covid-19 pandemic in particular has highlighted the vital importance of data centres and what benefit they will bring to the future of technology. Data centre- provided cloud services have allowed remote workers to collaborate with colleagues, provide entertainment for those in lockdown, deliver online learning and enable everyone to shop online. This environment has highlighted the positive effects that data centres have had during the pandemic and has shown that it’s important we continue to adopt these habits in the future. n Unless you work in the technology industry, particularly within data centres, you wouldn’t necessarily understand how important they are for maintaining and operating a significant number of technological systems. Data centres are dedicated spaces within a building and are used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. Alan Hayward Sales & Marketing Director SEH Technology datacentre trends www.networkseuropemagazine.com 41Li-ion batteries can provide high-performance backup in uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems at data centres, as well as savings in cost and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, some operators are holding back due to concerns over safety. Li-ion battery technology has the ideal performance to deliver high-performance backup power from a compact and lightweight footprint. However, as the Li-ion battery industry has come to maturity, there have been some high-profile safety incidents. For example, a fire in an energy storage system (ESS) at Arizona Public Service facility in 2019 and Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond’s escape from a burning supercar. What these incidents have in common is thermal runaway, where a short circuit inside one cell creates high temperatures. This propagates into other cells and causes them to break down, releasing hot, flammable gases. Safety relies on avoiding thermal runaway from ever initiating. Selecting an inherently safe Li-ion chemistry is a critical step. However, it is also vital not to overlook the importance that good mechanical, electrical and electronic design and construction can have on managing battery performance and containing heat. Li-ion family What makes Li-ion complex is that it is not a single type of battery. It is an umbrella term for an entire family of chemistries. These chemistries each have their own performance profiles, with relative advantages and disadvantages between the parameters of calendar life, power density, energy density, high and low temperature performance, and safety. These chemistries can be used individually or blended together to achieve a suitable balance of properties for a given application. The largest branch of the Li-ion family tree covers metal oxides, with the other two branches in use being iron phosphates and titanates. Titanates are relatively niche and are currently used for railway traction and powerful off-road vehicles. Metal oxides versus phosphates Metal oxides such as lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxide (NCA) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) have particularly high energy density. This makes them suitable for high-power compact batteries such as electric vehicles, where it’s possible for people to have the Gareth Hackett, Saft’s expert in large-format lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, explains how to specify Li-ion batteries that provide safety as well as performance. Gareth Hackett Saft Demystifying safety for UPS Li-ion battery systems li-ion battery systems www.networkseuropemagazine.com 42li-ion battery systems www.networkseuropemagazine.com 43need to escape. At Saft, we use NCA for satellite and space exploration batteries as it has the highest density. The safety drawback with metal oxides is that they contain oxygen. It can be released in the event of an internal short circuit, creating a thermal runaway situation as temperatures can reach 800-1000°C. The release of oxygen from the metal oxide blend makes it virtually impossible for a nitrogen-based or a fluoroketone fire suppression system to work effectively. Even with good design, the potential for thermal runaway leading to propagation makes metal oxides unsuitable for safety-critical sites such as data centres. When safety is critical, it’s essential to cut the risk by specifying phosphate chemistry such as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) or a blend of super lithium iron phosphate (SLFP). These do not contain oxygen and therefore the temperature never exceeds 250˚C, preventing thermal breakdown in the cell and making propagation to other cells extremely unlikely. In a data centre environment, a system based on phosphate technology will provide a calendar life of around 20 years. Even in cases where the ambient temperature reaches 35°C, the battery can be expected to last for 14 years. The drawback is that their energy density is around 30% lower than metal oxides and cell voltage is smaller. Building safety The other aspect of battery selection is whether a technology can meet building standards. Standards such as IFC 2018 and NFPA 855 control the potential risk by demanding that the energy content of Li- ion batteries is limited to 20kWh per system or 600kWh per installation and that an air gap of 3ft (around 1m) separates each system. However, operators may need larger and more powerful systems and this is where stringent testing can be carried out under the UL 9540A test method for evaluating thermal runaway. It covers a demanding set of tests to evaluate battery systems and their ability to withstand failure at the level of individual cells, modules and strings, as well as overall installations. Battery systems based on metal oxides have been found to pass UL 9540A testing in spite of propagation between cells and modules. There have even been cases during this testing where the battery module and some small internal cell components have been ejected during thermal runaway. An additional point is that a recommendation to come out of the Arizona Public Service fire was that air extraction systems should be able to handle the volume and temperature of gas generated during an incident. Phosphate-based systems produce significantly less gas at lower temperatures than oxide systems, making them more practical when it comes to ancillary systems. Battery system design Battery safety also relies on the mechanical design and manufacture of battery cells, as well as the protective casings and electrical connectors. Cell format and design can have a large impact on energy density, power density, longevity and safety. li-ion battery systems www.networkseuropemagazine.com 44In a battery system, the cells are combined in modules and strings with an electronic battery management system (BMS). Its role is to provide protection and communication with a UPS controller and also inside the battery system. An important function of the BMS is to monitor the voltage and temperature profile across the battery at the level of individual cells, as well as modules and strings. The BMS will then manage the charge or discharge of the cells with the aim of maintaining an even temperature across the entire system. The BMS controls safety risk by avoiding excessive temperatures, but it has the additional benefit of extending the battery life. Temperature affects the life of cells, so ensuring an even temperature will ensure all the cells will age at the same rate and will provide predictable performance. For large-scale batteries with strings housed in multiple cabinets, a master battery management system (MBMM) will oversee performance across all strings. Prioritising servers Another important point for battery management is that it is worth specifying a battery that is dedicated to data centre service, rather than for energy storage system (ESS). ESS batteries are designed as valuable assets for generating income – and as such, their BMM contains a fail-safe that prevents excessive discharge. In comparison, a UPS battery’s job is to prevent the cost of power loss. The Uptime Institute Global Survey of IT and Data Center Managers 2020 found that four in 10 outages cost between $100,000 and $1 million – and about one in six costs over $1 million. The impact can potentially be even greater when indirect costs and reputational damage are considered. For data centres that are mission-critical, operators need a battery system that can be discharged completely, supporting every last second of server time possible, even if that sacrifices the battery. Ultimately, a well-specified Li-ion battery system can ensure there is no compromise between safety and backup performance. n For data centres that are mission- critical, operators need a battery system that can be discharged completely, supporting every last second of server time possible, even if that sacrifices the battery. li-ion battery systems www.networkseuropemagazine.com 45The wheelbarrow effect: cloud security under pressure cloud security www.networkseuropemagazine.com 46This acceleration of what many call “digital transformation” is a good reminder of the importance of cybersecurity as a key consideration from the get-go when moving to a cloud environment. The good news is that the industry is moving in the right direction; Gartner predicts a further shift left for security and mainstream adoption of DevSecOps by 2022. Yet, scaling the cloud fast while prioritising security is no easy task, and with increasing cyberthreats, a critical digital skills gap in the cloud, and the deluge of data overwhelming security analysts, there are a number of factors to consider in order to securely migrate to the cloud. For IT teams under pressure, choosing the fastest way to migrate to the cloud may seem like the best solution. A ‘lift and shift’ approach, where applications are transported from on-premises to cloud environments regardless of what infrastructure they were designed to function in, is therefore disappointingly popular. It is not the most appropriate solution when it comes to security, and in fact, can increase risk. So, what is the answer for understaffed DevSecOps teams hoping to reduce cloud vulnerabilities, while also embracing digital transformation at rapid speed? The two solutions go hand-in-hand: automation and visibility. Security under pressure According to recent studies, around two-thirds of organisations believe security is the biggest challenge when it comes to cloud adoption, and many organisations worry they do not have the expertise to effectively address these issues. As the global cloud computing market grows, many enterprises are falling victim to the digital skills shortage, with cloud security positions particularly difficult to fill. In fact, reports from 451 Research highlight that 86% of companies struggle with the skills gap for implementing cloud. It is a challenge to find professionals with the breadth of knowledge to protect against the increasing sophistication of large cybercriminal gangs or ransomware groups. Along with these rising threats and lack of experience inevitably comes the execution of more ad-hoc cloud security tools to mitigate risk faster. This approach only adds to the layer of complexity, making an organisation even more vulnerable. The growth in cloud usage over the past decade is undeniable. Increasingly, enterprises across the globe are continuously taking advantage of the elasticity and scalability cloud provides - in some cases driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and the massive shift to online working, and now following the easing of restrictions, to support a hybrid workforce. Ryan Sheldrake Field CTO EMEA Lacework cloud security www.networkseuropemagazine.com 47Make the most of your presence NETWORKS EUROPE magazine is the longest established and industry leading technical journal for the network infrastructure and data centre marketplace. • NETWORKS EUROPE features editorial contributions from worldwide industry figureheads, ensuring that it’s the world’s best publication for information on all aspects of this constantly evolving industry. • Published every other month (x6 per annum), the magazine is produced in digital format, with a magazine viewing link (readable on all major electronic devices) e-mailed directly to subscribers on publication. • The readership consists of 26,000 industry professionals across Europe; with its core circulation covering the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy and Spain. • The magazine's highly focused editorial content caters exclusively for an informed audience consisting of network infrastructure professionals, including; data centre managers, facilities managers, CIO’s, CTO’s, ICT directors, consultants and project managers. • Key editorial content areas include; news, legislation and technical information from industry-leading companies and commentators, with detailed case studies, as well as the latest thinking in technology and practices. Advertising Advertising can be in the form of company or product promotion. You can contact our advertising team for details on costs. We accept adverts that are submitted to us in the form of image files saved as high resolution (>300dpi) *.pdf, *.png, *.jpg or *.eps format files. Sponsored content We publish sponsored or branded content in the form of advertorials, case studies, white papers and product/company features. Our advertising team can help with advice and costs. Contact sales@networkseuropemagazine.com for more details. NETWORKS EUROPE The magazine for network and data centre professionals Understandably, IT professionals harbour some anxieties around how to effectively configure and secure the cloud environment. As external and internal pressures mount, teams can be forced into making riskier decisions and implementing applications that are not wholly suitable for the business. In the industry, the ‘lift and shift’ approach is also known as the ‘wheelbarrow effect’: throwing an application into a ‘wheelbarrow’, transferring it to the cloud and letting it run as it is. The key drawback here, however, is that this application was never designed to work within a cloud environment and will therefore lack observability capabilities that could seriously risk cloud security. What’s more, the migration process will slowly come to a standstill once visibility is impaired, and teams will lose the ability to monitor all data in motion. With no clear line of sight into traffic, the cloud infrastructure can be plagued with misconfigurations, inefficiencies and easily penetrable vulnerabilities. It is therefore integral that IT teams avoid introducing non- cloud-native applications into the cloud environment, regardless of how much pressure they are under. Observability is key Visibility is essential when it comes to managing and protecting data in the cloud. As the need to scale and be secure is more important than ever for businesses, IT complexity increases, and it becomes even more of a challenge, if not impossible to manage what you cannot see. Without data analytics and visibility, SecOps teams may be unable to detect the most critical threats endangering their infrastructure. With today’s complex threat surface, it is all too common for the ‘already known’, less severe attacks to be detected, while the ‘unknowns’ – the Zero Day attacks – go unnoticed. Therefore, CISOs and their SecOps teams must prioritise a new approach that involves analysing data anomalies and behavioural outliers. While Zero Days typically evade traditional tooling, increasing cloud visibility greatly improves the chance of early detection, and automated Machine Learning (ML) solutions can pick up unusual behaviours and flag them as high-risk alerts for SecOps teams to take action. By implementing autonomous technologies that shift away from the traditional approach to security, the pressure on the human workforce is greatly relieved. Cloud security Ultimately, cloud security cannot be efficient without full cloud visibility. For many CloudOps teams, they are now also considering the implementation of software agents to function autonomously in the cloud and containerised environments. These agents carry out data collection from the workload running in the cloud environments, creating ever-evolving baselines and visualisations of the workload. They can learn from the baselines of the environment and alert on indications of compromise. Again, this technology can ease the pressure on SecOps teams, bolstering cloud security three-fold; not only vital to enabling better visibility, but also improving cloud security and supporting the overstretched IT workforce. While the ‘wheelbarrow effect’ is likely to exist for as long as digital transformation accelerates, it is key that teams remember that moving non-cloud-native applications into the cloud environment will only open the door to more risk. As pressure mounts for DevSecOps teams, it is understandable that many are seeking the quickest route to cloud adoption. Yet fast doesn’t always mean secure, and it is therefore essential that visibility and automation are viewed as integral to enabling a cloud-centric world. n The 'lift and shift 'approach is also known as the 'wheelbarrow effect': throwing an application into a 'wheelbarrow', transferring it to the cloud and letting it run as it is. cloud security www.networkseuropemagazine.com 49Next >