< PreviousVertiv introduces new chilled water thermal wall to support density and efficiency of large slab-floor data centres Vertiv has introduced the Vertiv Liebert CWA, a new generation of thermal management system for slab floor data centres. For decades, hyperscale and colocation providers have used raised floor environments to cool their IT equipment. Simplifying data centre design with slab floors enables the construction of new white space more efficiently and cost-effectively, but also introduces cooling challenges. The Liebert CWA was designed to provide uniform air distribution to the larger surface area which comes with a slab floor application, while also allowing more space for rack installation and compute density. Developed in the US, the Liebert CWA chilled water thermal wall cooling unit is available in 250kW, 350kW and 500kW capacities and is available across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), as well as the Americas. Liebert CWA technology utilises integrated state- of-the-art controls to facilitate improved airflow management and provide an efficient solution for infrastructures facing the challenges of modern IT applications. The Liebert CWA can also be integrated with the data centre’s chilled water system to improve the operating conditions of the entire cooling network. The product’s layout is engineered to maximise the cooling density and to meet the requirements for cooling continuity set by the most trusted and established certification authorities for data centre design and operation. “The launch of the Liebert CWA reinforces our mission to provide innovative, state-of-the-art technologies for our customers that allow them to optimise the design and operation of their data centres,” said Roberto Felisi, Senior Global Director, Thermal Core Offering & Emea Business Leader at Vertiv." “As the Liebert CWA can be quickly integrated with existing cooling systems, customers can leverage all the benefits of a slab floor layout, such as lower installation and maintenance costs, and a greater availability of white space.” Genetec has announced that it has been authorised by the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) Programme as a CVE Numbering Authority (CNA) . The mission of the CVE Programme is to identify, define and catalogue publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. It is sponsored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is operated by the MITRE Corporation in close collaboration with international industry, academic and government stakeholders. A centralised system and process for cataloguing cybersecurity vulnerabilities helps stakeholders like software developers, device manufacturers, and IT teams to rapidly discover and correlate vulnerability information to protect systems against attacks. Information technology and cybersecurity professionals use CVE Records to ensure they are discussing the same issue, and to coordinate their efforts to prioritise and address the vulnerabilities resulting in faster early-stage vulnerability management, better coordination and more effective cyber hygiene. As a Common Vulnerability and Exposures (CVE) programme partner, Genetec is authorised to publish CVE Records to communicate consistent descriptions of vulnerabilities. Using these standardised and publicly disclosed CVE Records can result in significant time and cost savings. “Genetec becoming an authorised CVE Numbering Authority is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to strong cybersecurity practises. Being part of an international community that is relied upon to identify, catalogue and publish vulnerabilities allows Genetec to communicate these vulnerabilities so they can be addressed swiftly. This provides our customers with greater assurance that their physical security solutions are protected and held to high cyber security standards,” said Christian Morin, CSO & VP of product engineering at Genetec. Genetec authorised as a CVE Numbering Authority Versatile, power efficient, all-purpose embedded box PC with industry-leading features Review Display Systems (RDS) has announced the introduction of the BOXER-6646-ADP, the latest addition to its range of fanless embedded Box PC products from AAEON. Featuring a compact form factor, the AAEON’s BOXER-6646 is a versatile, all-purpose computing solution. Powered by 12th Generation Intel Core processors with dual-channel DDR5 support and equipped with industry-leading features such as a DIO port, multiple 2.5GbE LAN, and four display ports, the BOXER-6646 is capable of support-heavy processing workloads and provides a versatile industrial computing solution. The power-efficient BOXER-6646 benefits from a hybrid CPU architecture of up to 12 cores and 16 threads, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, and DDR5 support. With a 28W CPU alongside Intel Gaussian and Neural Accelerator technology, the BOXER-6646 is able to handle high-speed industrial computing while ensuring low power consumption. The BOXER-6646 features a compact mechanical form factor equipped with multiple 2.5GbE LAN ports, three 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 slots, and a quadruple display interface featuring both HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.4. With a wealth of high-speed connectivity, the BOXER-6646 has potential as a durable autonomous mobile robot (AMR) solution. The BOXER-6646 chassis contains a removable 2.5in SATA drive bay for additional storage on top of the 64GB system memory offered through the device’s DDR5 support. “ The launch of the Liebert CWA reinforces our mission to provide innovative, state-of-the-art technologies" NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 10LMG launches ‘SenseIQ’ – an all-in-one IoT services solution for smart buildings LMG has announced the launch of its complete IoT services solution, SenseIQ. A wide variety of physical sensors feed into IoT gateways, centralising the data either on the user’s network or on the cloud. This allows building owners to monitor temperature, humidity, indoor air quality (IAQ), zone-by-zone power usage, as well as occupancy and space utilisation via a variety of IoT sensors. The SenseIQ hardware - sensors, gateways and backhaul connectivity - is simple to install and seamlessly integrates with the cloud-based software. Providing a cohesive interface for SenseIQ, LMG’s software platform is designed to provide an accessible intuitive dashboard for users - allowing them to analyse, view and manage all building data from one central hub, controlling all of their IoT inputs from a web browser or a mobile app. The software is also able to integrate with users’ existing building management applications, to ensure a unified, connected operation throughout the building. The SenseIQ dashboard is built around a detailed 3D render of the user’s building, allowing maximum visibility of every data point from every device, in every location. This data provides complete clarity as to how the building is performing against certifications, such as the WELL Building Standard, in real time. Mike Hook, Executive Director at LMG, said: “Demand for the insight into building performance that IoT tech provides is growing rapidly in the aftermath of the pandemic. Both landlords and tenants need to be reassured that their workspaces are healthy, safe and sustainable, and with the recent unprecedented increase in energy prices, are performing as efficiently as possible. However, it’s very easy for building control and maintenance to become siloed and disconnected, thereby wasting resources, money and energy, and ultimately ruining the experience for occupants. SenseIQ is designed as one simple, complete package, focused on hard commercial and UX benefits." Lacework has announced the inaugural launch of a new annual initiative, “Secured by Women", that aims to honour, bring visibility to, and increase opportunities for the women making history in today’s tech and security landscape. The initiative offers people the opportunity to put the woman they think is making a noticeable impact in cybersecurity, across the UK (and in the US and Europe), forward for recognition and an award. And for every nomination submitted, Lacework is donating to Girls Who Code. At the end of the initiative, five women, nominated by their peers, were selected as the first Secured by Women leaders. Lacework has sponsored each individual to attend one of the following upcoming major security conferences: RSA, Black Hat USA, Black Hat EMEA, or AWS re:Invent. Those recipients unable to attend a conference are awarded the opportunity to donate the value of this sponsorship to a charity of their choice. Despite comprising nearly half of the workforce, women only account for 38% of those in the STEM industry and 25% in the cybersecurity industry, according to analysts. Lacework's Secured by Women not only celebrates the groundbreaking women shaping modern security, but is also designed as an ongoing initiative to help more women secure a seat at the table and a voice in the decision-making process, alongside all of the opportunities that they deserve. “In the security industry, we often talk about visibility - how to increase visibility into our technology environments to better see and understand our risks and potential threats. In that same spirit, now is time to increase visibility for the incredible women in the space who are leading, innovating, and revolutionising modern security,” said Meagen Eisenberg, Chief Marketing Officer of Lacework. “With this ongoing initiative, we hope to shine a light on this and create more urgency around increasing opportunities for women in security to showcase their amazing contributions and capture leadership roles.” Lacework launches annual Secured By Women Initiative Meagen Eisenberg Investment in cybersecurity mental health set to increase – Infosecurity Europe poll Infosecurity Europe has shared findings of a recent Twitter poll addressing cybersecurity budgets and investment in 2023. When questioned on which aspect of cybersecurity they’d like to see more investment in, mental health topped the list with almost 45% of respondents identifying this as a priority. Collaboration and threat-intel sharing were also voted for by 38%, highlighting the need for the cybersecurity industry to work together to build an environment of trust and transparency in order to exchange knowledge, resources and ideas. Nicole Mills, Exhibition Director at Infosecurity Group, said: “Cybersecurity is an ‘always on’ industry that demands time, patience and resilience from all those involved. Whether it’s trawling through false positives, analysing threat intel, or managing the response and repercussions of a data breach - the nature of the role, and being accountable for the security and safety of an organisation can be overwhelming. It’s amazing to see this recognition and to see that investments are being made into the wellbeing of these security professionals.” NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 11TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS 12As industries everywhere become more reliant on automation, IoT, machine learning, AI, and of course everything ‘as a service’, are we as future-proof as we think? In a world where technology is changing faster than ever before, on and off the planet, we need to be sure to build the foundations of our own technology on rock solid foundations. David Savage, founder and CEO of Excelerate Technology, talks through the case for the R Word - Resilience. Fear, uncertainty and doubt - or ‘FUD’ as it’s sometimes known - creeps in when one least expects it. For that reason, one should have as many plan Bs as possible. Be spoilt for choice, not scrabbling about when time or circumstances are already against you. Today, we rely so much upon technology in our daily lives, not least in business and public services, but what we often don’t pay enough attention to is what to do when things go wrong. Connectivity lies at the heart of our solutions, be it hardware, vehicles or software. Delivering a solution that can cope with things not working as they should is non-negotiable in the case of the organisations we serve. Dig deeper therefore and connectivity on its own is not the end of it. What customers ultimately want is a solution to the challenge they are facing, something working through problems outside their control, whether it’s a terrestrial network suddenly being unavailable or being in the middle of nowhere beyond the infrastructure we all take for granted. In our world, success is most often measured in terms of resilience. This can be a challenge when the world around us seems to be changing on a penny. Resilience is the watchword Low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, such as the 3,000 or so that Starlink has put into the constellation, for example, is undoubtedly a fantastic move forward for global connectivity for businesses and consumers alike. As industries everywhere become more reliant on automation, IoT, machine learning, AI, and of course everything ‘as a service’, are we as future-proof as we think? In a world where technology is changing faster than ever before, on and off the planet, we need to be sure to build the foundations of our own technology on rock solid foundations. David Savage, CEO and founder, Excelerate Technology Rock solid in a changing world TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS www.networkseuropemagazine.com 13What’s not so clear right now, however, is just how resilient they are, or where the data is travelling to and from. Is it landed in the UK, and how robust are they in countering cyber threats? The pace of technological advancement means that some customers may make uninformed decisions based on misunderstandings or misinformation, particularly those who are not so tech aware. This may not be too much of an issue for the general public, but where resilience is the watchword, for mission-critical communications, a greater understanding of the security and network is required to ensure complete system and data integrity. Furthermore, all companies, especially the public sector and Government, work with a technology-agnostic service supplier to ensure that resilience and interoperability are part of the conversation so that minutes aren’t lost when seconds matter. Futureproof your communications As our reliance on digital and cloud-based services evolves, the importance of delivering a seamless uninterruptible service increases exponentially. This can only be achieved with an integrated, hybrid technology and connectivity approach. Ensuring future-proofed security, system integrity and a 100% operational continuum is an absolute must nowadays. Imagine what this means for first responders and emergency services personnel who may be deployed anywhere on the planet, where mission-critical connectivity is essential to protecting and saving lives. When my company entered this market more than two decades ago, it was sometimes difficult to convince customers of the importance of robust and ubiquitous connectivity. Back then, only 3% of the UK had access to broadband and there weren't enough practical applications to drive interest. Today, however, zero outage is a prerequisite, yet even with the introduction of LEO on such a grand scale, thinking through issues of futureproofing is no less important. Indeed, with the ever-greater complexity of threats on and offline, the stakes are even higher. Bonding connectivity (4G, 5G, satellite, WAN, LTE, LAN and WiFi) is the holy grail today, but it’s not straightforward to achieve. Anyone looking at options to ensure they can communicate from any location, at any time, needs to ask themselves this one question; is what I’m buying fit for purpose now, and for how long? But there are other questions to ask. Is the technology agnostic enough – independent of operating software or third-party service provider protocols and charging models – such that you can break off and use new network technologies or bearers? Likewise, is its integration seamless and easy to use, so colleagues are connected with each other and the technology around them, instantaneously, or at least with just the touch of a button on a user interface? While none of us wants a ‘black swan event’, which is impossible to predict but can have a huge impact, it’s vital we keep pace with evolving threats and insure against them. Technology, such as live video streaming, is only good if it has failsafe connectivity and interoperability underpinning it. This is even more prevalent now with projects such as the Hybrid Connex Digital Ambulance of the Future, a technology initiative partnering with the NHS to bring a resilient connectivity solution to the UK ambulance sector. This solution combines 4G, 5G and satellite, ensuring that ambulance crews are never without a connection to significantly improve patient experiences while transforming a large part of the way ambulance services deliver ‘see and treat’ care. It is absolutely possible for the current healthcare problems to be alleviated by introducing a lot of these new services and solutions to reduce the number of patients needing to go to the hospital in the first place. Furthermore, the wider industry is utilising ubiquitous connectivity for streamlined operations, efficiencies and safety. The military and first responders are deploying such technology for situational awareness so that commanders can make swift decisions. So is the oil and gas sector for multiple applications, such as delivering subsea data back to shore and remote monitoring and management of nuclear sites to support both operations and emergency preparedness. The limitations are endless, but all reliant, again, on one thing – resilience. Being technology and network-agnostic is crucial to our approach. It means that, once we understand our customers' needs, we can help them achieve their goals with the highest level of success. We can clearly explain why we make our recommendations and can demonstrate the efficiencies and cost-effectiveness over the lifespan of the solution. These may not be immediately apparent to those unfamiliar with the technology. While widespread now, satellite technology is still evolving, and its transformation will only enhance public safety and healthcare, industry and consumer. But to do so, there needs to be a much greater understanding of the different network offerings to ensure that the right technology is used for the right application, whether that’s for keeping consumers more informed and connected, or for resilient mobile deployment in the world in which we operate. TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS www.networkseuropemagazine.com 14As our reliance on digital and cloud-based services evolves, the importance of delivering a seamless uninterruptible service increases exponentially. This can only be achieved with an integrated, hybrid technology and connectivity approach. Ensuring future-proofed security, system integrity and a 100% operational continuum. TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS www.networkseuropemagazine.com 15A modular data centre is, essentially, an integrated, predesigned set of modules selected and configured with possible expansion in mind, as well as the possibility of downscaling or altering functionality as and when circumstances require this. Modular data centres provide easy scalability, lower costs, more efficiency and significantly shorter time to market. What do you need to keep in mind when designing, specifying, building, testing and operating a modular DC? A modular data centre is, essentially, an integrated, predesigned set of modules selected and configured with possible expansion in mind, as well as the possibility of downscaling or altering functionality as and when circumstances require this. The data centre is fully functional from the outset, but can be scaled as the client’s business develops or as their IT needs and processes change. Anyone who needs to get up and running fast, or who works in an especially fast-moving market, could benefit from this design approach. A ‘building block’ approach can make it possible to quickly and independently develop and organise the most efficient DC architectures, networks and services possible. Each element can be freely configured: from software to physical infrastructure, backhaul, interconnects, networks, and meet-me rooms. A modular solution can be precisely tailored to customer needs and topology. The modular design approach offers enhanced flexibility to accommodate growth or changing requirements while providing an opportunity to spread investment costs over a longer time. Costs remain fixed until utilisation increases and depreciation can be managed in stages. All components of a prefabricated, pre-developed solution are highly standardised. A data centre can be up and running in weeks and the commissioning phase can be very short. This makes expansion easy, but can Carsten Ludwig, market manager DC, Reichle & De- Massari AG A multidisciplinary approach to developing application-based modular data centres TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS www.networkseuropemagazine.com 16iplinary to -based ata TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS www.networkseuropemagazine.com 17also make changing system functionality or meeting new client requirements harder. A flexible phased design allows greater freedom to accommodate specific client requirements and future changes in equipment, TIER levels and so on. Designing and specifying a system It is important to take a number of questions into consideration, related to the intended usage and type of DC: > What type of applications and functionalities do we need to support? > What are the minimum and projected requirements related to bandwidth, storage and traffic? > How much time until the DC needs to be up and running? > Is the DC located close to customer? Is it an edge facility? > Will it be used by a single customer or multiple customers? > Is this a greenfield or brownfield development? > Which containment measures and factors need to be taken into account? > Which considerations are important for the ‘non compute’ aspects, such as power, cooling, connectivity, DCIM, and housing? How sustainable is the complete solution? It’s also vital to have a clear roadmap including, but not limited to, the following steps: > Installation planning > Acceptance testing > Operations > Troubleshooting > Maintenance Depending on the relevant business and application areas your data centre needs to serve, the answer to these questions and considerations will be very different. This considerably adds to the decision-making complexity… A factor that significantly contributes to complexity is the fact that not all DCs are created equal – not just with regard to scale and equipment choices, but also in relation to the vertical market they serve. The type of vertical is an important factor when it comes to customisation that allows individual applications to run. For example, for a Hyper or CoLo DC, infrastructure underpins their entire business model, whereas for Financials, being able to support (near-zero latency) financial products and link to stock exchanges is key. Telcos need to support an ever wider range of requirements with their DC infrastructure, from enabling IoT and 5G to providing data transport and communications. Governments need to provide DC support for everything from administration and security processes to highly demanding Smart City applications and, increasingly, autonomous traffic. In healthcare, requirements can range from safeguarding TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS www.networkseuropemagazine.com 18and exchanging patient data to providing a foundation for digitally supported treatment, even remote surgery. Each of these applications introduces a very different set of priorities and requirements. There’s no ‘one size fits all solution’, and that’s a perfect opportunity for modular solutions. However, you will need to specify your required solution in great detail and take many overlapping and interacting factors and considerations into account. As DC design involves numerous and ever-increasing types of expertise, covering ‘computing’ as well as ‘non-compute’ components that all affect each other, a multidisciplinary approach is highly advisable. ‘Rainbow team’ When specifying and building a modular solution, dealing with multiple suppliers is practically unavoidable. It makes sense to have one single representative manage all of the different parties and ensure consistency, compatibility and interoperability of processes and products. It’s also important that every single discipline involved in creating the data centre works very closely together and exchanges information in a highly structured, standardised manner. Each individual competence area is currently highly specialised and rapidly developing. Customisation for example, has become too complicated be carried out by anyone but experts who understand all of the dependencies and variables. By assembling a ‘rainbow team’ of experts from all relevant disciplines, and appointing one single point of contact for client interfacing, a third party can take care of optimising the modular solution, regardless of the number of variations and product types, and the resulting complexity. The members of the team can come from inside one company, but could also come from different third parties – the main requirement is that each member complements the other members and possesses up-to- date knowledge in their field, and can quickly develop a ‘helicopter view’ of a given project, incorporating knowledge from other fields and finding synergies. For example, by taking a ‘rainbow team’ approach, computing and non-compute elements can be made to work together to save energy and water for example, and score high on KPIs such as efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability. Time to fault finding and repair can be vastly shortened and an overall higher quality level achieved, which supports competitive positioning. This can all be realised in a completely technology - and vendor - agnostic way. We safely conclude that a modular approach can cut down the costs normally associated with building and certifying a green DC while delivering long-term cost savings on expansion, operation and maintenance. This does require some very elaborate and often potentially complex decision-making. All in all, a ‘rainbow team’ approach with a single point of contact provides greater knowledge, focus and flexibility for selecting exactly the right solution for each customer. There’s no ‘one size-fits-all solution’, and that’s a perfect opportunity for modular solutions. TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS www.networkseuropemagazine.com 19Next >