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远程数据中心管理工具已成为必选项

Remote Data Center Management Tools are No Longer Optional

新冠大流行使得数据中心中的先进工具成为首选。由Maria Korolov向Data Center Knowledge提供。

The pandemic has made implementation of advanced tooling in data centers a priority. By Maria Korolov for Data Center Knowledge

在新冠病毒流行之前，远程数据中心管理工具是可选的，许多数据中心管理者出于网络安全的考虑没有选择强大的远程管理工具。然而现在，由于许多员工居家办公，以及因防疫带来的数据中心通行限制，这些远程管理工具成为了必需品。

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote data center management tools were optional, and many data center managers held off on the more powerful options due to cybersecurity concerns. Today, however, with work-from-home employees and quarantine-related data center access restrictions, these tools are a necessity.

新冠大流行给企业预算带来影响，为了满足自身日益增长的数据中心需求，企业正将目光越来越多的投向服务器托管和云服务。对于服务器托管运营商来说，远程管理工具已经成为一个关键的平台优势。

The pandemic has put a crimp in enterprise budgets, however, so companies are increasingly looking to colocation and cloud for their increased data center needs. For colocation providers, remote management tools have become a key platform differentiator.

根据八月份公布的一份IDC调查，78%的企业认为这场大流行已经影响了他们对于数据中心资源的需求，这表现在供应链约束、物理通行限制、商务应用以及居家办公者的需求增加。

Responding to an IDC survey (results published in August) 78 percent of companies said that the pandemic has impacted their data center resources in the form of supply chain constraints, limited physical access, and higher demand from business applications and work-from-home users.

72%的企业反馈将计划增加服务器托管运营商的使用，这一数字也高于去年的52%。另外，46%的企业称会为自己的数据中心增加远程监视和控制技术的投资

And 72 percent of companies say they plan to increase their use of colocation providers – up from 52 percent the previous year. In addition, 46 percent said they will invest in remote monitoring and control technology for their data centers.

“但是经济的不确定性实在太大了”，IDC分析师Jennifer Cooke说，“尽管远程管理工具确实有意义，我也不认为每个人都急于购买和安装。”

“But there’s absolutely a lot of uncertainty about the economy,” said IDC analyst Jennifer Cooke. “I don’t see everyone rushing out to buy and install this, even though it makes complete sense.”

同时她也提到，许多机构愿意期望将远程管理变成一项服务，而不仅仅是前期出资或者只是将工作量转移到云端和托管服务商。

Instead, she said, many organizations are looking to get remote management as a service, instead of making an upfront capital expense – or just shifting the workloads to cloud and colocation providers.

Cooke告诉Data Center Knowledge，提供远程管理工具，例如数据中心基础设施管理DICM的供应商，越来越注重将他们的工具转化为服务以及增加更多的高级功能和系统集成。

Vendors providing remote management tools, such as data center infrastructure management (DCIM) providers, are increasingly looking at providing their tools as a service and adding more advanced features and integrations, Cooke told Data Center Knowledge.

例如在十月份，数据中心基础设施和软件供应商维谛技术宣布与霍尼韦尔合作，提供他们的DCIM软件与楼宇管理软件的集成。

For example, in October, data center infrastructure equipment and software vendor Vertiv announced a partnership with Honeywell to provide integration of its DCIM software with building management systems.

Cooke说，远程管理发展的趋势并不是面对疫情的临时措施。

The move to more remote management is not a temporary reaction to the pandemic, Cooke said.

“新冠为我们已经意识到的这些加快了速度”，她说，“这些趋势始于数字化转型，而我们加速了这一趋势”。

“COVID-19 put a foot on the gas pedal for shifts we were already seeing,” she said. “Those trends started with digital transformation and we’ve accelerated that trend.”

据Shen Milsom & Wilke首席数据中心设计师Robert McFarlane介绍，除了维谛技术，其他的提供各种功能应用的顶级DCIM供应商包括施耐德电气，Sunbird软件，Nlyte软件，FNT软件以及Cormant。McFarlane同时也在Marist学院的研究所，为数据中心专业人员讲授数据中心设施的课程。

In addition to Vertiv, other leading DCIM vendors offering a wide range of capabilities include Schneider Electric, Sunbird Software, NlyteSoftware, FNT Software, and Cormant, according to Robert McFarlane, principal data center designer at Shen Milsom & Wilke. McFarlane also teaches a course in data center facilities at Marist College’s Institute for Data Center Professionals.

McFarlane告诉DCK，数据中心管理人员发现他们迫切需要的第一个远程管理工具是资产跟踪。

The first remote management tool that data center managers found they urgently needed was asset tracking, he told DCK.

“人们急速地安装新的服务器，同时希望数据中心内部的人越少越好，但是管理这些服务器的人不知道有多少服务器、它们在哪或者其他的一些信息，”他说，“他们哪里有空间安装服务器就安装在哪里，但是有空间并不意味着有足够的电力系统供应和冷量供应。”

“People were installing new servers rapid-fire, with as few people in the data center as possible, and people who were trying to manage them didn’t know how many there were, or where they were, or anything else,” he said. “They were installing them whenever there was space to put them – but that doesn’t mean that there was sufficient power or cooling available.”

DICM系统能做的不仅仅是追踪服务的安装位子，他说，它们能够分析环境，然后指出设备应该安装在哪里。“他们可以将服务器安装在能够实际工作的位置，而不是第一个开放的机架上”。

A DCIM system can do more than just track where the servers are located, he said. They can analyze the environment and indicate where equipment should be installed. “Instead of putting it in the first open rack space, they can put it somewhere where it can actually work.”

人工智能的未来

The AI Future

McFarlane说，利用人工智能（AI）来识别即将失效的和需要修补的或升级的设备，最前沿的DCIM解决方案可以走的更远。

The most cutting-edge DCIM solutions can go even further, using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify equipment that is about to fail or that needs patching or upgrading, said McFarlane.

几年前，这种类型的宣传都是市场营销，但是现在，主要的DCIM供应商已经开始让他们的AI技术集成更有意义，他说，“AI技术已经成熟了吗? 我不这么认为，但它必定会成熟的。

A couple of years ago, these kinds of claims were all marketing, but today, major DCIM vendors are starting to make their AI integrations more meaningful, he said. “Is it mature yet? I wouldn’t say it is. But it is certainly going to get there.”

施耐德电气是投资AI技术的DCIM供应商之一。

One of the DCIM vendors investing in AI is Schneider Electric.

“那是我们的方向，也是行业的需求所在。” 施耐德电气战略发展总监Russell Senesac说。“我们也看到了一大批供应商正在往AI的方向发展”

“That’s where we’re going and that’s what the industry is asking for,” said Russell Senesac, the company’s strategy development director. “We’re seeing a lot of vendors going that direction.”

但是他承认还是很长的路要走。

But he admits that there’s still a long way to go.

他告诉DCK：举个例子，如果能知道不间断电源中的电池什么时候会失效，那就太好了。

For example, it would be nice to know when the batteries inside an uninterruptible power supply were about to fail, he told DCK.

他说，施耐德提供了这一功能，但不是所有的系列产品都包含。此外，很多看客户将在很长一段时间内持续使用旧的产品。

Schneider offers this feature, but not across its entire product portfolio, he said. Plus, many customers will be continuing to use older units for a long time.

“如果你购买我们最新的产品以及最新的软件，你将会拥有这个功能。”他说。“但是有多少人的设备已经用了10年甚至15年呢？如果我是一个业主，那么除非我的建筑要着火了，不然我不会更新我的系统来实现那个功能。”

“If you buy our latest unit, with our latest software, you get this,” he said. “But how many people have units that are 10 or 15 years old? If I’m an actual business owner, then unless my building is going to catch fire, I’m not going to be able to retrofit my entire system to be able to do that stuff.”

阻力变小了

Less Resistance to Adoption

Senesac在客户态度方面看到了最大的改变就是自从疫情以来，他们对于使用自动化工具没那么抗拒了。

The biggest change that Senesac has seen in customer attitudes since the pandemic began is less resistance to using automated tools.

例如，解决许多问题（如网路交换机宕机）的第一步是关机，然后重启。

For example, the first step to fixing many problems, such as hung network switches, is to turn them off and turn them back on again.

他说，“你已经习惯了有人在数据中心里跑来跑去拔这拔那。”

“You used to have someone running around the data center unplugging things,” he said.

此过程的自动化在之前是禁止的，他说，“人们称‘如果我们使用这种功能，那交换机被入侵只是时间问题。’”

Automating this process used to be taboo, he said. “People said, ‘If we had that capability, it’s only a matter of time before someone hacks it.’”

他说，疫情打破了这些障碍。

The pandemic broke down those barriers, he said.

“对于那些能够让他们拥有更多控制权的远程访问应用程序，客户过去会说不行，但是现在会说可以，”他说。然而这不意味着网络安全已经被遗忘，他补充到，客户仍然希望有合理的保护措施。

“For applications around remote access that enable them to have more control, they would have said no in the past, and they say yes now,” he said. That doesn’t mean cybersecurity has been forgotten, though, he added – customers still want to see that proper protections are in place.

远程管理的领导者

Remote Management Leaders

Raymond James的股票研究总经理Frank Louthan在6月份的一份研究简报中称，远程访问，特别是数据中心门户网站，已突然成为数据中心供应商的业务驱动力。

Remote access, specifically, data center portals, have suddenly become a business driver for data center providers, according to a June research brief by Frank Louthan, managing director for equity research at Raymond James.

他在一份比较QTS Realty Trust、Equinix和Digital Realty的报告中写道，直到2020年3月才出现这种情况。“像他们一直以来那样，客户更喜欢长途跋涉到现场。”

That wasn’t the case until March of this year, he wrote in a report comparing QTS Realty Trust, Equinix, and Digital Realty. “Customers preferred to make the trek to the facility – just like they always had.”

他写道，疫情冲击导致所有的远程访问平台业务一飞冲天。

After the pandemic hit, he wrote, usage of all remote access platforms skyrocketed, he wrote.

三家公司都提供跟踪报告常规数据。然而QTS由于更好的易用性、特色、功能性以及支持移动端平台等脱颖而出。

All three companies offer the ability to track and report common data. QTS stood out, however, with better ease of use, features, functionality, and support for mobile platforms.

上个月，Frost & Sullivan为QTS远程管理平台颁发了2020年全球远见创新奖。

Last month, Frost & Sullivan gave QTS its 2020 Global Visionary Innovation Award for its remote management platform.

根据QTS第二季度财报，超过17000个用户在使用QTS的名为Service Delivery Platform的远程管理工具，这比上季度增长了20%。并且使用的时间也比疫情前提高了一倍。

According to its second quarter earnings report, more than 17,000 users are now taking advantage of QTS’s remote management tools, called the Service Delivery Platform, up 20 percent from the previous quarter. And the amount of time users spend on the platform has doubled from pre-pandemic levels.

QTS产品首席技术官Brent Bensten说，即使数据中心访问限制放宽以后，实地访问QTS设施的客户人数依然很少。

Even after restrictions on visiting data centers were relaxed, the number of customers physically visiting QTS facilities remains low, said Brent Bensten, CTO of products at QTS Realty Trust.

他告诉DCK，“我们有新的协议，这样人们就可以在需要的时候进出”。

“We have new protocols in place so that people can come in and out if they need to,” he told DCK.

实际情况是，不仅现有客户坚持远程访问平台，新客户只是虚拟参观而没有实地访问就采购了服务。他说“越少的人来到现场，人们感染病毒的风险就越小”

Instead, not only are existing customers sticking with the remote access platform, but new customers are buying services without physical visits, just virtual tours. “And the less people on our sites, the less risk to people from the virus,” he said.

QTS收入增长最多的是带宽升级功能，这一功能与上一年相比，使用率增长了85%，其次是交叉链接，它业务量增长了30%。

QTS’s biggest revenue growth was in the bandwidth upgrade feature, where usage was up 85 percent compared to the previous year, followed by cross-connects, which were up 30 percent.

“人们正在增加容量，” Bensten说。不仅仅是居家办公用户的容量，还包括他们的云服务提供商的连接容量。“这是我们看到的最显而易见的事情。”

“People are adding capacity,” said Bensten. Not just capacity to handle users working from home, but also for connections to their cloud service providers, he said. “That’s the biggest thing we saw.”

下一个最大的使用增长点是，利用自动化来处理不同功耗和转移工作负载，以平衡基础设施。

The next biggest usage growth was for automation to handle power levels and to shift workloads to balance out the infrastructure.

他说，QTS四年前就开始构建自己的平台了，时间掐的很准。“当然，我们的是幸运的，”他说。“那时候，我们在想自己是不是疯了，但是现在，看到比我们大得多的数据中心公司试图做我们正在做的事情，这也是我们的战略得到验证。”

QTS started building its platform four years ago, he said, and the timing was perfect. “We’re blessed, for sure,” he said. “At the time, we thought, are we crazy? But now, seeing data center companies much larger than us trying to do what we’re doing is a validation of our strategy.”

他说，许多基本技术都已经实现了商业化。

Much of the basic technology is available commercially, he said.

他说：“我们已经从架子上把最好的工具拿下来，放在应用上面从而使它们更聪明。”出于安全考虑，他拒绝透露具体供应商的名字。

“We’ve taken off-the-shelf best-of-breed tools and layered on top of it to make them smarter,” he said. He declined to name specific vendor names for security reasons.

目前面临的挑战是怎样把全部系统整合在一起。他说，目前市场上缺少的是，能够将所有业务线索打包放进一个可操作操作系统的纽带。对于希望构建自己的远程管理平台的托管提供商和企业数据中心经理来说，这可能是他们必须自己构建的。

The challenge, he said, is to tie everything together. What’s missing in the market today is the orchestration piece that ties it all together into an operational system, he said. For colocation providers and enterprise data center managers looking to build their own remote management platforms, that’s something they might have to build themselves.

一些数据中心还有一段路要走

Some Data Centers Have a Way to Go

451 Research和施耐德在最近的一项调查显示，全球只有一半的数据中心服务提供商在使用DCIM技术。

Only half of data center service providers around the globe are using DCIM technology, according to a recent survey by 451 Research and Schneider.

大约42%的用户使用商业的DCIM工具，31%的用户使用自己开发的代码，而且大多数用户都将自己开发的代码与DCIM工具结合使用。在最大的服务提供商中，DCIM技术的采用率最高。

Some 42 percent use commercial DCIM tools while 31 percent use home-grown code, and most have a combination. Adoption rates were highest among the largest service providers.

报告的作者，标普智库的451Research机构的数据中心服务和基础设施高级研究分析师Danielbizo表示，疫情是潜在趋势的催化剂，而这些趋势已经在发展中。

The pandemic has been a catalyst for underlying trends that were already in motion, said report author Daniel Bizo, senior research analyst for data center services and infrastructure at 451 Research, now part of S&P Global Market Intelligence.

他对DCK说：“这场疫情推动客户对数据中心服务和远程管理的需求进一步上升。”。

“What the pandemic did was to drive customer demand for data center services and remote management even higher,” he told DCK.

除了“smart hands”服务之外，数据中心客户现在更多地依赖远程监控和容量规划工具来获得更好的远景预期。他说，这有助于企业客户转向更多的在线服务，并使他们更能抵御宕机事故。

In addition to “smart hands” services, data center customers are now relying more heavily on remote monitoring and capacity planning tools to get better visibility, he said. That helps enterprise customers shift towards more online services, he said, and makes them more resilient against failures.

他说：“停机、低水平运转将导致生产效率下降和收入损失增高。”

“The cost of downtime or underperformance – lost productivity or revenue – just went up,” he said.

Uptime机构一项类似的调查也证实了这一趋势——90%的数据中心表示将增加远程监控和管理系统的使用，73%的数据中心预计将更多地使用自动化技术。

A similar survey by the Uptime Institute confirms the trend – 90 percent of data centers say they will increase the use of remote monitoring and management systems, and 73 percent expect greater use of automation.

数据中心供应商Cyxtera在新冠大流行之前就开始实施远程数据中心管理系统，该公司数据中心产品副总裁Mitch Fonseca说，当COVID-19封锁开始在全球范围内执行时，这一手段起到了很大的作用。

Data center provider Cyxtera began implementing its remote data center management systems prior to the pandemic, and that head start made a big difference when the COVID-19 lockdowns started going into effect around the globe, said Mitch Fonseca, the company’s VP of data center products.

他对DCK说：“我们已经部署了超过10万个传感器来监测我们全球数据中心平台的温度、湿度和功率，Cyxtera目前每天生成超过1000万个数据点。”

“We have deployed more than 100,000 sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, and power across our global data center platform,” he told DCK. “Cyxtera is currently generating over 10 million data points per day.”

然而，起步较晚的数据中心在构建平台时可能会面临一些挑战。

Data centers that are late to the game, however, may face some challenges as they build out their platforms.

为数据中心提供技术支持的CDS公司CEO说：“很多公司已经在增加远程监控工具的投资，远程监控及管理的投资回报率为正。然而，部署和适当的集成需要时间和具备技能的人员。”

“Organizations are now increasing investment in remote monitoring tools,” said Daniel Newton, CEO at CDS, which provides technology services to data centers. “There is a positive ROI on monitoring and remote management investment. However, deployment and proper integration takes time and the people with the right skills.”

他说，大部分企业缺少具备部署、维护和优化远程监控和管理平台能力的人员。

Most organizations lack people with the right skills to deploy, maintain, and improve a remote monitoring and management platform, he said.

领先的DCIM供应商Sunbird的总裁Herman Chan说，远程管理工具的实现当然还有与新冠疫情相关的预算限制有关。

And, of course, there are the budget constraints associated with the pandemic, said Herman Chan, president at Sunbird, a leading DCIM vendor.

然而，即使是受到COVID-19影响很大的行业，如航空公司和零售业，也在重新分配预算，为DCIM等战略采购寻找资金。

However, even industries greatly impacted by COVID-19, such as airlines and retail, are re-allocating budgets and finding the money for strategic purchases like DCIM.

他向DCK表示：“由于每个人都居家办公，许多组织实际上已经加快了数字化项目的步伐，，因此对远程数据中心管理工具的需求变得至关重要，这些工具可以实时显示所有资产的状态和容量。”

“Many organizations have actually accelerated their digitization projects and, with everyone working from home, the need for remote data center management tools for real-time visualization of the status and capacity of all assets becomes critical,” he told DCK.

是什么推动了巨头们和提供商进入二级市场？

What’s Driving Hyperscalers and Data Center Providers into Secondary Markets?

Scott Fulton III对Data Center Knowledge说，世界各地最新的大型项目所在的地区在市场规模排行榜上通常排名较低。原因可能不像最初出现的那样明显。

The latest big projects around the world are in territories that have typically ranked lower on the market size charts. The reasons why may not be as obvious as they first appear.By Scott Fulton, III for Data Center Knowledge

至少从表面上看，这似乎是一个真正的趋势：随着超大规模云平台对小型和新兴市场数据中心建设投资的激增，大规模数据中心的建设者和托管提供商正在向这些地区扩张。他们仍然是主要的人口中心，至少从旅行社的角度来看是大城市。如今，在这场看似永无止境的大流行中，随着对数据中心服务的需求不断增加，这些地区正在加入一个不断扩大的IT基础设施和服务行业，在全球范围内拓展市场。

It would appear, at least on the surface, to be a genuine trend: Following up on the surge in investments in data center construction in smaller and emerging markets by hyperscale cloud platforms, wholesale data center builders and colocation providers are expanding into those same locales. They’re still major population centers, and at least from the perspective of a travel agent, big cities. Now, as demand for data center services continues to increase during this seemingly never-ending pandemic, these locales are joining a broadening IT infrastructure and services industry, expanding markets throughout the world.

根据对该领域专家的采访，现实情况更为微妙，对这一趋势的描述听起来更像这样：传统顶级数据中心市场名单之外的城市，正在成功地鼓励巨头们在其所在地进行建设。对他们有利的是，他们正在利用这样一个现象，那些顶级市场至关重要的资源——特别是在欧洲，尤其像是阿姆斯特丹那样，已经变得稀缺甚至不可用。

The reality is more nuanced, according to interviews with experts in the field, and a better description of the trend sounds more like this: Cities outside the traditional list of top data center markets are successfully incenting hyperscalers to build in their locales. In their favor, they’re leveraging the fact that vital resources in those top markets – especially in Europe, and particularly Amsterdam – have become scarce or even unavailable.

“FLAP-D市场（法兰克福、伦敦、阿姆斯特丹、巴黎和都柏林）利益竞争目前在地域限制上。” 房地产咨询集团Cushman&Wakefield在8月份发布的欧洲二级市场报告中称：“阿姆斯特丹已经宣布暂时暂停新建筑的开发，整个地区的土地和电力仍然紧缺。”

“Interest in the FLAP-D markets [Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin] now competes with physical limitations,” according to real estate advisory group Cushman & Wakefield’s August report on European secondary markets. “Amsterdam has announced a temporary development moratorium on new builds, and land and power remain scarce across the slate.”

郊区的内部交易

The Inside Deals for the Outskirts

早在六月份的时候，Facebook就宣布在芝加哥郊外的伊利诺斯州Dekalb启动了一个经典的H形超规模设施项目。由于超大国模数据中心是一种便于复制的建筑模式，两个月后，Facebook公布了在田纳西州Nashville郊外另一个几乎相同的项目。因而，正如北美数据中心管理负责人Jim Kerrigan对Data Center Knowledge所说，Gallatin经济发展署提出并通过了一项法案，特地为了吸引一个像Facebook那样著名的数据中心建设者，而不是一个分租提供商，也不是一个托管服务商。

Back in June, Facebook announced its launch of a classic, H-shaped hyperscale facility project in Dekalb, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. And because hyperscale is a building pattern, two months later, Facebook announced another nearly identical project just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. There, as North American Data Centers managing principal Jim Kerrigan told Data Center Knowledge, the Gallatin Economic Development Agency had proposed legislation, which passed, specifically to attract a data center builder of Facebook’s stature – not a multi-tenant provider, not a colo.

10月初，微软宣布在爱荷华州的West Des Moines建造两座数据中心。正如该镇经济发展主管在当地一份商业报纸上所说，这些项目将为该镇提供所需的资本流入，从而使已经推迟很久的，可以使整个地区受益的基础设施项目加速起来.

In early October, Microsoft announced the construction of two facilities in West Des Moines, Iowa. As the town’s economic development director told a local business paper, those projects will give the town the influx of capital it needs to accelerate long-postponed physical infrastructure projects benefiting the entire region.

“我不明白为什么微软会在爱荷华州的Des Moines投资。”克里根说：“我可以想象，那里有相对便宜的土地，如果不是免费的话，那也是廉价的电力。”

“I don’t understand why Microsoft dominates Des Moines, Iowa,” Kerrigan remarked. “I can imagine that there’s relatively inexpensive land, if not free, [and] inexpensive power.”

Kerrigan认为，像Dekalb和West Des Moine这样的地方目前可能无法满足的一个需求是低延迟。在更大的市场上使用的光纤连接和带宽可能不会出现在这里。他告诉DCK，这是一个信号，微软不打算将爱荷华州的数据中心用于Xbox或实时应用程序，因为在这些应用程序中，低响应时间和准确性是关键因素。

One possible demand that places like Dekalb and West Des Moines may not be able to fulfill for now, Kerrigan believes, is for low latency. The fiber connectivity and bandwidths available in larger markets may not show up here. That’s a signal, he told DCK, that Microsoft isn’t planning to utilize its Iowa sites for Xbox or real-time applications where low response times and high determination are critical factors.

另一方面，如果提前告知West Des Moines，因为Microsoft或Azure业务部门对这些设施服务的特定需求，市政当局可能会达成了一项协议，具体而准确地解决这些问题。这是关键：巨头们事先了解他们的使用需求，并且可以在他们的出价和与城市官员的交流中进行沟通。

On the other hand, if West Des Moines was informed ahead of time about the requirements of the specific Microsoft or Azure business unit that would consume these facilities’ services, the municipality may have put together a deal to address them specifically and precisely. And that’s the key here: Hyperscalers understand the profiles of their use cases beforehand and can communicate them in their bids and interactions with city officials.

设施服务决定了大型运行商的数据中心建立在哪里，规模多大。Kerrigan说，类似EdgeConneX等建设者推动了微软2016年与Dekalb的交易，使得Outlook和Office 365的连接更接近用户。碰巧的是，这些边缘位置有些是大型地铁区域，有些甚至是预先存在的超大型数据中心。在促进Comcast在全国范围内需要低延迟设施来处理有线电视客户的DVR应用程序后，EdgeConneX开始崭露头角。

It’s applications that decide where, and how big, a major operator’s data centers are built. Builders such as EdgeConneX – which facilitated Microsoft’s 2016 deal with Dekalb – brought connectivity specifically for Outlook and Office 365 closer to their users, said Kerrigan. It just so happens that some of these edge locations are large metro areas, and some are even pre-existing hyperscale facilities. EdgeConneX came to prominence after facilitating Comcast’s nationwide need for low-latency facilities to handle cable TV customers’ DVR applications.

然而，云运营商交易和服务器托管交易的区别并不像人们想的那么大。2019年4月，联邦快递在基础设施上与Switch Data Centers签订了长期协议。这导致快递巨头成为Switch 公司531兆瓦拉斯维加斯超级数据中心园区的主要租户。但它也使联邦快递能够获得更小的边缘设备，用于对延迟敏感的业务。Kerrigan指出，这次Switch取代了一家大型云运营商，也是因为交易让城市和政府发挥了巨大的能量。

Yet there’s less to differentiate a cloud operator deal from a colo deal than one might think. In April 2019, FedEx entered into a long-term agreement with Switch Data Centers for infrastructure. That led to the delivery giant becoming a principal tenant at Switch’s 531-MW Las Vegas SuperNAP campus. But it also enabled FedEx to attain smaller, edge facilities for latency-sensitive operations. This, noted Kerrigan, was because of the deal-making power of cities and municipalities – this time, with Switch in place of one of the big cloud operators.

他告诉DCK：“边缘计算七年前开始起飞的全部原因，是因为所有东西都在一个地方没有意义。现在超大规模的数据中心要变得地区化，大型数据中心正要进入三级地区么？我不认为这是一个新趋势，Faceboo早已经这么做很多年了。”

“The whole reason edge started taking off seven years ago,” he told DCK, “was that it made less sense for everything to be in one location… You’re saying, now the hyperscale guys are going to regional, huge data centers in tertiary areas? No, I don’t think that’s a new trend. Facebook’s been doing this for years.”

定制化建设

Build-to-Suit

高纬环球(Cushman & Wakefield)全球数据中心服务执行董事Dave Fanning解释道，向新兴市场扩张是每家数据中心供应商的计划之一。Dave Fanning是Europe report以及高纬环球2020年1月全球数据中心市场比较报告的合著者。但每个人的计划都被主要城市基础设施的匮乏所打断，尤其是欧洲四大市场：法兰克福、伦敦、阿姆斯特丹和巴黎。

Expansion into emerging markets was part of every data center provider’s plan, explained Dave Fanning, Cushman & Wakefield’s executive managing director for global occupier services, and co-author of the Europe report plus the firm’s January 2020 Global Data Center Market Comparison. But everyone’s plan was interrupted by the scarcity of physical infrastructure in major cities, particularly Europe’s big four markets: Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and Paris.

Dave Fanning说:“这迫使他们加速向二级市场扩张，以弥补一级市场上的延误、暂停和可用土地与基础设施的匮乏。我们正预见到，这种情况在亚太地区也开始发生变化。

“It’s forced them to accelerate expansion into secondary markets,” said Fanning, “to compensate for the delays, moratoriums, and lack of available land and infrastructure in the primary markets. We’re seeing that start to evolve in APAC [Asia/Pacific] as well.”

去年，拥有欧洲近三分之一服务器的阿姆斯特丹由于缺乏基础设施支持，不得不停止新建项目。那里不仅缺电力还缺土地。但是Fanning也看到，在新加坡和香港这一迹象的早期症状也已经出现。他对DCK表示:“主要是国际一级市场，正难以跟上需求的步伐。

Last year, Amsterdam – the host of nearly one-third of Europe’s facilities – had to call a halt to new projects for lack of available infrastructure support. There’s not only a lack of power, but a lack of space. But Fanning is also seeing the earlier stages of this phenomenon popping up in Singapore and Hong Kong. “Primary markets, primarily internationally, are struggling to keep pace with demand,” he told DCK.

Fanning解释说，现代云基础设施包括了边缘节点的概念——子级的、通常是远程的设施，它们与至少三个云服务商的主要超大规模机房相互连接。这些节点可能包括本地可用区域。越来越多的企业将它们的应用程序托管在这些位置。但即使这样，它们也需要云之外的IT资产和基础设施，这些应当是完全可协调和可监视的，其中一些恰恰是边缘节点。

Modern cloud infrastructure, explained Fanning, includes the notion of edge nodes – subordinate, usually remote, facilities that are interconnected with at least three of the cloud provider’s major hyperscale locations. These nodes may include local availability zones. A growing number of enterprises are hosting their applications in these locations. But even then, they require IT assets and infrastructure that’s outside the cloud but still fully orchestrated and monitored. Some of these are the edge nodes.

Fanning表示:“我们已经看到很多数据中心运营商重心转向企业客户，开发我们所谓的‘定制化’数据中心应用程序。“这些需求是为混合定制的，可使用的容量在本地和云端之间分配。

“We’ve seen a lot of these data center operators,” said Fanning, “pivot towards the enterprise clients for what we would call ‘build-to-suit’ data center applications.” These requirements are custom-made for hybridization, where utilized capacity is split between on-premises and on-cloud.

高纬环球的执行董事告诉DCK，整体供应商在新兴的全球市场上肯定会相互竞争，但他们正在制定的功能，通常是由他们最重要的客户—巨头们自身提供的。而且，为了满足企业客户对边缘节点的需求，这些超级巨头被客户需求所折磨，要么离他们自己的客户更近，要么离他们的应用程序的数据来源更近。

Wholesale providers certainly compete with one another for capacity in emerging global markets, Cushman & Wakefield’s executive director told DCK, but the specifications they’re building to are often provided by their most important clients: the hyperscalers themselves. And the hyperscalers are consumed with satisfying enterprise clients’ need for edge nodes, either closer to their own customers, or to where their applications’ data originates.

Fanning说:“如果云服务提供商不能在规定的时间内自行进行开发，他们可能会依赖数据中心运营商，后者提供可用站点的速度比他们自己更快。”你会看到很多公司走上这条路，他们几乎都是这些大规模开发项目的巨头。”

“If cloud providers are not able to self-perform their own development in the timeframe required, they may lean on data center operators,” Fanning said, “who can provide availability on the site faster than they can do it themselves. You’ll see a lot of companies that go out there and almost exclusively chase the hyperscalers for these wholesale developments.”

因此，整体提供商和托管商确实是在跟随商业巨头们，只是以不寻常的方式。

So wholesalers and colos are indeed following hyperscalers – just not the usual way.

未完待续

翻译：

戴晓川

深圳市中电电力技术股份有限公司 解决方案经理

DKV（Deep Knowledge Volunteer）白金成员

校对：

孙宇宁

江苏捷电科技有限公司 技术总监

DKV（Deep Knowledge Volunteer）精英成员

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