CoreSite Newsletter - News from the data center and interconnection industries as well as the world of information technology
Welcome to CoreSite’s Q2’2010 newsletter. In this issue, you will find articles on cloud computing, 40 and 100 GBPS ports, executive commentary on the new Energy Star rating for data centers, analysis on the declining costs of IP transit, the iPad's effect on data network usage, updates on all things CoreSite and more!
Also, enjoy Chuck Price's (CoreSite's SVP of Information Technology) account of "The Schizophrenic Life of A CIO."
Results From Q1'2010 Poll Question: Which of the following aspects of the data center industry most interest you?
+280 Respondants
+25% - Where data centers are being built
+25% - Peering and Interconnection
+18% - Efficiency
+12% - Improvements to Reliability
+11% - Security
+10% - Data Center Technology and Data Enhancements
Chuck Price | CoreSite SVP, Information Technology
I received an email from a colleague recently asking simply, “Chuck, would you say IT, in general, is getting easier or more difficult to manage?” As I mulled the question over, formulating what I thought would be a quick response, this seemingly straightforward question took on a myriad of complexities. I’ve been “managing IT” for almost 20 years at many different organizational levels, in many different industries, in large and small companies both public and private, in various countries and across numerous technologies. So, while it was tempting to provide a quick answer, this simple question deserved more! In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that my primary perspective in considering a more robust answer is as a C-level IT executive with a clear bias toward focusing IT on adding real business value. So, grab your coffee and hang on to your hats…
First, I think it’s worth separating the notion of managing technology from managing IT. The answer to my colleague’s question with respect to the former seems more self-evident to me: the rate of evolution in nearly every type of technology is driving exponential complexity over relatively short periods, thereby presenting a broader, more complex set of solution-options when considered from a systems perspective (more generally, Moore’s Law [see Wikipedia]). So, yes, I believe that managing technology is absolutely becoming more difficult/complex. The rapid advancement of technology is simultaneously making the world a smaller place and presenting new challenges globally and locally in every discipline. Technology is “creating a world that is massively interconnected, with broad-based convergence of systems of all kinds, both man-made like supply chains or cities; and natural systems like weather patterns or natural disasters.” (Capitalizing on Complexity: Insights from the Global Chief Executive Officer Study, IBM Institute for Business Value and IBM Strategy & Change, 2010) But, while the former is certainly a serious topic requiring serious consideration, given my bias shared with you in the first paragraph, I’ll turn now to what I believe it takes to successfully manage IT to create business value.
It’s old news by now that the average tenure of a CIO is approximately 2.5 years. Research has been conducted to better understand the primary drivers for this, but the findings generally point to one thing: the contemporary role of the successful CIO is changing from one of “head technologist” to a more complex synthesis of softer skills aimed at more effectively participating on senior executive teams to add business value both tactically and strategically. The fine print for CIO’s, in my experience, is “…and you better keep your IT house in order too!” Today’s successful CIO’s must reconcile seemingly opposing mindsets and balance juxtaposed expectations to provide day-to-day, top-notch IT support and influence business strategy by leveraging technology. In my experience, the timing and “symphony” of supporting current business needs, managing organization change and contributing strategically is easily as much art as it is skill. The good news is, I believe that well-intentioned technologists who desire a contributing seat at the executive table can learn these softer skills by leveraging the experience of others.
As a self-confessed student of leadership, I’ve read far and wide to gain better insight into successfully achieving the artistic balance my empirical evidence (read: scars!) has led me to believe must exist. The best articulation I’ve found on this is a very new work by the IBM Institute for Business Value titled The New Voice of the CIO: Insights from the Global Chief Information Officer Study. (http://www.ibm.com/voiceofthecio) This research, based on input from 2,500+ global CIO’s, resonates with my experience better than anything I’ve ever read. I’ll hit the key points here, but by all means read the work firsthand for the details and full benefit!
The three primary goals of a contemporary, successful CIO should be to:
(1) Make innovation real
(2) Raise the ROI of IT
(3) Expand your business impact
The challenge with each of these goals is in how one, over time, fulfills the necessary roles and juxtaposed expectations that drive success in these three areas. The IBM study goes so far as to define these seemingly contradictory, but actually complementary, roles as follows:
(1) To successfully "make innovation real," one must balance being an insightful visionary and an able pragmatist.
(2) To successfully "raise the ROI of IT," one must balance being a savvy value creator and a relentless cost cutter.
(3) To successfully "expand your business impact," one must balance being a collaborative business leader and an inspiring IT manager.
The study goes into far greater detail for each of these roles, going well beyond a simple definition. For each role they also provide ideas to tune into the art of each role, turning a potential weak area into a strength for you and your organization.
So, to attempt a simple answer to a seemingly simple question from my colleague, I would have to say, yes, managing IT is also harder today than yesterday due primarily to the changing business expectations on the many roles of the senior IT leader.
The successfully schizophrenic CIO of today is one who can naturally take on the most appropriate role needed by his or her company, with artful timing and fluidity, always aimed at delivering business value, not just IT projects. This will ultimately be the easiest for those senior IT executives who can successfully make the transition from “head technologist” to “business value creator” by leveraging the experience of those who have gone before them…or through their own hard-earned scars!
I wish you fair winds and following seas…and great success on your journey…
Chuck
Chuck Price is CoreSite’s senior vice president of information technology. View Mr. Price’s full biography here.
How to Ensure Long-Term Value from Next-Generation Solutions
Paul Roehrig | Cognizant Director of Strategy, Cloud Business Solutions
It will take time for cloud-enabled, next-generation solutions to fully mature, but near-term gains are already available. There are several tactics decision makers can employ now to build the trajectory for long-term value.
+Cloud vs. “not cloud” is really the wrong debate. Many firms are already exploring cloud services, and that’s the right thing to do, but it’s time to think past the delivery “how” to the business “what.” Don’t just tick the “cloud” box. The goal is long-term value and risk management, so savvy technology decision makers are taking steps to broaden the sense of what is possible and start thinking in terms of disruptive value from next-generation business solutions that are cloud-enabled.
+Build a vision -- not just slides -- for next-generation solutions. “Build a vision” is not particularly compelling advice, but unfortunately, many companies are now tearing headlong into cloud services without particular ends in mind. A near-term cost cut sounds like a great idea until the CIO wakes up one day with dozens of cloud delivery engines embedded, increased business risk, rising costs (surprise!) and a service management nightmare. Decision makers should dig deep to focus on their company’s sourcing goals -- flexibility, cost savings, scalability, limited capital expenditure, etc. Keep in mind that help is available. Service providers, advisory firms, etc. are all positioning to help you navigate new service models and business implications.
+Look for an alliance ecosystem. Enterprise clients need a tapestry of services to maintain basic IT service continuity, while simultaneously working to improve business productivity. Some service providers are moving into the aggregator/integrator role, while others are intent on becoming well-run delivery engines. Nobody can do it all well, so decision makers should assess provider capabilities to manage and participate in more complex technology ecosystems.
+Don’t think of next-generation solutions as regular BPO. Traditional horizontal BPO services -- think call centers, HR, payroll, etc. -- don’t usually address mission-critical business process issues, usually don’t leverage cloud technology enablement, don’t employ consumption-based billing, and generally don’t materially impact balance sheet issues. Although there are some similarities between the new class of cloud-enabled solutions and BPO, they aren’t the same beast and require vastly different decisions and management processes.
+Pilot and get smart about next-generation solutions. Broad enterprise adoption of cloud-enabled, next-generation solutions will take a few years, and that’s actually pretty swift for a major shift. But there are near-term benefits and advantages available for many firms, so now is the time for firms to start figuring out what makes business sense (vs. another sourcing headache). Pick less-critical functionality -- storage, email, platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and SaaS offerings seem to be the most common pilots -- and get smarter about cloud services by trying them out. Then go search for true business solutions.
+Strengthen service management to lower risk. The Yankee Group predicts that in 2010, 30% of businesses will invest in IT service management tools to manage cloud environments, but why fix something that’s working (sort of) already? It comes down to risk management. Whether bundled into an outsourcing deal or implemented separately, investing here is usually money well spent for most large companies. This is because solid service management is fundamental to operational control, delivery and business transparency, as well as longer term, next-generation deal success.
+Build sourcing contracts with an eye on long-term value. Even though major technology shifts are happening relatively quickly, clients usually can’t wait months or years as a new technology matures. Deals happen in real time, so major sourcing agreements should be crafted with cloud-enabled value built in. This doesn’t mean vague “value propositions” but real savings built into long-term contracts tied to innovations like cloud services. Keep in mind that this is a shared risk/reward path. Companies looking for out-tasking deals shouldn’t also ask for real transformation, but for those seeking genuine competitive advantage from technology, now is the time to architect contracts that encourage -- or demand -- dramatically higher levels of value.
Paul Roehrig is Cognizant’s Director of Strategy for Cloud Business Solutions. Prior to joining Cognizant, Paul was a Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, where he researched and advised senior IT leadership on a broad range of outsourcing topics, including sourcing strategy, trends and best practices. Paul can be reached at Paul.Roehrig@Cognizant.com.
Since Ethernet’s conception by Bob Metcalfe and the team of engineers at XEROX PARC in the 1970s, Ethernet technology has continued to evolve to meet the increasing bandwidth, media diversity, cost and reliability demands of today’s Internet. Ethernet and IP have become the underlying technologies that enable ubiquitous Internet access over a variety of wired and wireless media - from high speed home broadband to wireless networks in remote villages. Internet traffic starts, transits and ends on an Ethernet interface.
Development History
In 2006, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 Working Group formed the Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG) to investigate the need for an Ethernet technology faster than 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The HSSG concluded that the capacity requirements driven by the ubiquity of the Internet and high bandwidth content was rapidly outgrowing the capacities of networks that could be built with 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Two new Ethernet rates were proposed: 40 Gigabit Ethernet for server and data center applications, and 100 Gigabit Ethernet for network aggregation and backbone applications. In January 2008 the IEEE P802.3ba Task Force was formed to develop the 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet standards. The Task Force reached major milestones in October 2008 and in March 2009, when Drafts 1.0 and 2.0 of the specifications were finished. Draft 3.0, the last revision with technical changes, was finished in November 2009 and the final Draft 3.2 was submitted for approval as the new standard in April 2010. The IEEE approved the 802.3ba standard on June 17, 2010 as an amendment to the IEEE 802.3-2008 specification.
Technology Overview
The 802.3ba amendment specifies extensible architectures that accommodate 40 Gigabit Ethernet, 100 Gigabit Ethernet, and a variety of physical layer specifications. These flexible architectures support physical layer specifications that are technically feasible and cost effective using today’s technology, as well as future technology without rewriting the standard. The following objectives were adopted by the IEEE 802.3 Working Group at the March 2008 Plenary meeting to ensure that 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet will be seamlessly compatible with existing Ethernet networks. They also enable vendors to reuse their existing technology and intellectual property:
+Support full duplex only
+Preserve the 802.3 Ethernet frame format
+Preserve the 802.3 minimum and maximum frame sizes
+Support a bit error rate (BER) better than or equal to 10-12
To ensure that 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet can be carried over optical networks, an objective was adopted to provide appropriate support for Optical Transport Network (OTN). The IEEE has worked closely with the Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) SG15 to define interoperable Ethernet and optical standards. 40 Gigabit Ethernet can be transported in OTU3, and 100 Gigabit Ethernet can be transported in OTU4 as defined in the ITU-T G.709 hierarchy (Amendment 3, October 2009).
Finally, a number of physical layer objectives shown in the table below were chosen to provide specifications for a diverse combination of reaches and media, so that many new Ethernet applications can be supported. Some of the key problems to be solved were choosing the best solution for signaling that uses available technology while still meeting market needs and cost targets. For example, 100 Gigabit Ethernet signaling could use 10 x 10 Gb/s, 5 x 20 Gb/s, 4 x 25 Gb/s, 2 x 50 Gb/s, or 1 x 100 Gb/s lanes.
As with any new generation of technology, one design goal was to leverage as much existing technology as possible to take advantage of volume production and simplicity. Three media modules will be used by 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet: QSFP, CXP and CFP.
40 Gigabit Ethernet QSFP Modules
Created for high density short reach interfaces and targeted for data center applications, QSFP is a small compact form factor with low power consumption for limited distances. This module is used for a variety of Ethernet and InfiniBand applications including 40GBASE-CR4 and 40GBASE-SR4, and is the preferred optical module for 40 Gigabit Ethernet because its small form factor and low cost. Though specifications are defined to support 40GBASE-LR4, a QSFP to support this reach is not expected until 2011-2012. The QSFP module has the same faceplate size as an XFP but is slightly shorter (8.5 mm high x 18.35 mm wide x 52.4 mm long).
100 Gigabit Ethernet CXP Modules
The CXP module was also created for high density short reach interfaces and is targeted for limited distance data center applications, but has more channels than a QSFP to support higher bandwidth interfaces. CXP modules are used for 100GBASE-CR10, 100GBASE-SR10 and InfiniBand 12X QDR. It is slightly larger than an XFP (27 mm wide x 45 mm long).
40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet CFP Modules
The CFP is a new media module that was designed for longer reach applications. Its dense electrical connectors and integrated riding heat sink enable a variety of interfaces, and this module is used for 40GBASE-SR4, 40GBASE-LR4, 100GBASE-SR10, 100GBASE-LR4 and 100GBASE-ER4. The CFP module is large and complex, because of the 10 Gb/s electrical to 25 Gb/s optical conversion circuitry that is needed for 100 Gigabit Ethernet – it’s about twice as wide as a XENPAK (14 mm high x 82 mm wide x 145 mm long). The 100GBASE-ER4 40 km long reach interface is not expected to be available until 2011-2012.
From Standard to Shipping Interfaces
System component and optical media vendors started work a few years ago to be able to manufacture components which can be used by equipment vendors to build 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. In 2009 there were several test equipment and media module technology demonstrations, and switch/router vendors announced 100 Gb/s slot capacities and the first 100 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. As the 802.3ba standard is now finalized, the industry expects many new interface announcements by network hardware vendors, and a variety of interfaces to be available on the market in the summer and fall of this year.
First generation 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces may seem expensive compared to current 10 Gigabit Ethernet prices. Though the technology cost choices were chosen so that for example, 100 Gigabit Ethernet will be cheaper than 10 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet as the industry develops, these are likely initially an application for early adopters. In the near term, n x 10 Gigabit Ethernet LAG may be more cost effective depending on the application. Based on historical Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet prices, we can expect 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet prices to fall significantly in 2011/2012. The media modules and component costs are initially higher on the first generations of the technology, and volume production and second generation technology will increase density and lower prices.
What’s Next?
As higher speed electrical, optical and system component technologies are developed, Ethernet will continue to evolve to become cheaper and to support higher density interfaces on switches and routers. Even though the 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet standards have just been adopted, work on the second generation of technology using 25 Gb/s electrical signaling between the ASICs and media modules has already begun. Design work on smaller and more efficient QSFP2 and CFP2 media modules is in development, and these are expected to be available in 2014. Some likely future additions to the Ethernet standards are:
+Serial 40 Gb/s over 2 km SMF (already begun in IEEE P802.3bg)
+40 Gb/s over 40 km SMF
+100 Gb/s backplane Ethernet
+Duplex and WDM MMF specifications
+4 x 25 Gb/s MMF and copper form factors
One thing is certain: no one is asking for networks to be slower. The “killer app” is not a single application; it is ubiquitous high bandwidth on-demand personalized content, which will continue to drive higher bandwidth requirements. To meet these requirements, the need for Terabit Ethernet is already being discussed in the industry and by network operators. 400 Gb/s Ethernet is a possible next choice by expanding 4 x 25 Gb/s to 16 x 25 Gb/s signaling, and more choices will become available as second generation 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet is developed. It is clear that Ethernet will continue to evolve as network and bandwidth requirements change to meet scale and cost requirements.
More Information
For more information on Brocade please visit: www.brocade.com.
Greg Hankins is a Global Solutions Architect at Brocade, specializing in the Ethernet switching and IP/MPLS routing product lines. He works with service providers and Internet exchanges around the world as a consulting engineer, customer advocate, and technology evangelist and is an active member of the network operator and peering community.
Identifying the Right IP Transit Provider Amidst Increasing Price Competition
Sue Su | Arbinet Vice President of Data Services
There are both positives and negatives associated with the decline of Internet transit pricing over the past few years. The benefit? Customers save on IP network cost and as a result, can afford multiple providers to improve network performance and redundancy. The challenge? It is now even more difficult to identify quality Internet routes and at lower prices, customers tend to over-commit to long-term contracts and expose themselves to higher financial risks.
IP Transit Market Pricing – Historic Trends
IP transit, traditionally sold “per megabit per second per month (Mbps)” most often requires monthly bandwidth commitments on a yearly term. Currently, North American and West European customers benefit from the world’s lowest Internet rates. A study conducted by TeleGeography states that during Q2 2009, the median price of a fully committed GigE port (1,000 Mbps) in major North American and European cities was around €6.8 ($10.24) per Mbps, signifying a 20% drop per year over a 3-year period.
IP transit pricing in Asia and Latin America still remains comparatively high, but is not necessarily an indication of a non-competitive market. Instead, the higher prices may be reflective of higher cost structures. For example, a significant share of Asian traffic must traverse higher-cost submarine cables. Most North American and European IP traffic can be routed via terrestrial fiber networks at lesser costs. While declining submarine cable prices will help reduce IP transit costs in Asia, Latin America and Africa, the cost difference will not be as drastic as the levels seen in North America and Europe.
Current IP Transit Market Pricing
There is still intense competition among the leading ISPs, but price decline seems to be stabilizing over the past few months. Some ISPs are still offering highly aggressive rates but only with a high volume and long-term commitment. Buyers who are not sure about their traffic growth pattern may not necessarily benefit from such deals. Even though price/Mbps may appear competitive, when looking long-term, the bandwidth over-commitment can drive the effective price/Mbps much higher than comparable rates.
With many IP transit providers now offering extremely comparable pricing levels, buyers must go through the following steps to ensure they identify the right transit provider for their unique situation:
(1) Fully understand their own IP traffic profile
(2) Investigate service providers beyond price to identify the highest quality provider
(3) Find a cost-effective IP multi-homing solution.
Determining the Ideal IP Transit Provider
In the world of IP transit, there isn’t really one “best” ISP as “best” will be defined differently based on the individual buyer’s traffic profile. Each buyer’s IP transit requirement is also different. Furthermore, not all routes are carried the same by each IP backbone provider and even the world’s largest ISPs couldn’t have control of a remote off-net host. However, there are key indicators that help identify what a quality route is. They are latency (delay), packet loss and jitter. Quite obviously, a connection with high bandwidth, low latency and minimal packet loss is considerably more favorable than one with low bandwidth, high delay and high packet loss.
When making a buying decision, ideally buyers should be able to test with multiple ISPs simultaneously before entering into a long-term commitment. However, this is costly with the ISPs and not feasible with the hassle of multiple connections. Through platforms like Arbinet’s IP Exchange, buyers can use one physical connection to test out different providers on a usage and short-term basis, then determining the most suitable upstream ISP. The buying decision can be made easier with increased visibility of route quality through different providers, even though their prices may be the same.
Optimize Internet Routing Quality
The ability to route traffic over multiple ISPs using certain quality indicators is not new to the industry. BGP has provided, and still does, a good way to simultaneously route traffic to multiple backbones based on the shortest AS path to a destination. However, BGP is utterly indifferent to congestion, packet loss or latency. Real-time applications such as voice, gaming and streaming suffer significantly in the event of the smallest increase in packet loss, latency, or jitter.
Leveraging intelligent IP multi-homing and route optimization solutions from companies such as Arbinet, buyers can capitalize on the multitude of ways to not only reduce costs, but create efficiencies throughout their network. This is accomplished by truly understanding their traffic profile and optimizing routing through multiple ISPs based on near real-time loss, jitter and latency. Arbinet’s system creates an optimal IP routing table for each buyer for them to override best-effort BGP routing to improve routing quality. What Arbinet discovered is that its optimized Internet significantly outperforms single backbones and standard BGP-based, multi-homing transit. For example, in a test to compare to BGP multi-homing with 8 Tier 1 ISPs, OptimizedIP improved jitter by 61%, packet loss by 95% and latency by 5%. The increased optimization significantly improves the performance of a company’s network, even more so when the company is using IP for voice, video, gaming and other quality sensitive applications.
Arbinet’s OptimizedIP also provides ISPs the ability to compete against one another not just on brand, price, or on-net SLAs, but on quality to a specific route. This is a variable that is not commonly considered by all buyers of IP transit, since they usually choose one or two providers to handle the majority of their IP transit needs. By utilizing some of the intelligent network analysis and delivery tools available, efficiency, higher quality, and cost reduction can be achieved, making a significant impact on profitability and network performance.
Sue Su is Vice President of Data Services responsible for managing Arbinet’s data business which offers an innovative layer 2 IP Exchange for buying and selling IP transit. She has been actively involved in building and growing IP services for more than 13 years. For more information on how your company can benefit from these and other cost-saving network tools, please contact Arbinet at datasales@arbinet.com.
Industry Insights: Energy Star Rating for Data Centers - Help or Hype?
David Dunn | CoreSite SVP, Strategy and Marketing
Background
Approximately half of the nation’s electricity consumption comes from office and industrial buildings. Given the rising costs associated with direct and indirect energy consumption, it’s imperative that the public and private sectors focus on overall energy consumption and efficiency benchmarking. Data centers and their associated electrical consumption continue to grow as communications, information processing, and storage demand increase rapidly. In 2006, the EPA estimated that data centers represented approximately 1.5% of the U.S.’s total electrical demand (to the tune of $4.5 billion) and that the combined data center consumption could double by 2011.
Given the rising energy consumption of data centers, the EPA sought to establish an Energy Star rating for this relatively new real estate asset class. In 2007 the EPA collected data from 120 participating data centers. The sample ranged in size, location, and whether or not the data centers were stand-alone or within multi-use facilities. Just this month, the EPA approved an annual Energy Star label for data centers using "Power Usage Effectiveness" or "P.U.E." as its primary metric.
How It Works and How It’s Measured
The annual Energy Star rating is based on a scale of 1 to 100 (with 100 being most efficient), benchmarked to similar buildings. Thus, a data center with a rating of 50 is in the 50th percentile for data centers or performs better than 50% of all similar buildings. To earn an Energy Star rating, a data center must earn a score of 75 or higher.
The EPA selected the annual P.U.E., metric as the method for determining efficiency. P.U.E. is the most cited and best current single data point to use in benchmarking data center efficiency. As many people already know, P.U.E. is broadly defined as "total facility energy divided by IT load" and generally runs between 1.4 and 3.0 (the lower the better, all else being equal).
Many people disagree as to what energy should be included in the numerator and the denominator, so it’s important to at least measure the data points that the EPA will use in calculating P.U.E. The EPA defines "total facility energy" as all of the energy delivered to a building, from all fuel sources. Further, the EPA defines "IT load" as the output of the UPS. Fortunately, both of these data points are typically easy to track as everyone receives a power bill (it’s definitely a question as to whether someone in IT actually sees the power bill, but that’s another issue) and UPS units typically have built-in consumption meters. It’s worth noting that to earn an Energy Star rating, you must submit annual data through their portal. Monthly reports or snapshots won’t cut it.
Hype or Help?
The Energy Star program, a joint venture between the EPA and DOE, claims to have saved Americans approximately $17 billion on their utility bills since the program’s inception. That’s pretty impressive. However, as of 2009, less than 4,000 buildings (across the country) were Energy Star certified. It remains to be seen whether or not data center users and providers will embrace Energy Star ratings, but should we?
I believe that we should. We all share a common goal (utility providers notwithstanding): reduce energy consumption given a constant level of output. An effective way to initiate this change is to introduce measurement and competition. The Energy Star rating does both. First, to earn a rating, you must measure data. Measurement forces a data center manager to know where they stand on UPS and total energy consumption. Monitoring data over regular intervals may show design flaws or poorly functioning equipment, which can lead to a long-term reduction in consumption. A second benefit is that the Energy Star program introduces competition. For example on light bulb packaging, for years the Energy Star certification has been a 3rd party stamp of efficiency and can lead to differentiation and higher margins on products designed more efficiently. How do you stack up to peers or competitors in the industry? These questions can now be more readily answered. The Energy Star website even has form press releases to help companies beat their respective chests.
The program isn’t without some significant flaws though. The most notable of which, I believe, lies in using P.U.E. as a single efficiency metric. Nearly all data centers become more efficient as overall utilization of the systems increase. All else being equal, if you reduce your IT load, it’s likely that your P.U.E. will increase. A data center or IT manager incentivized to earn an Energy Star rating or attain the lowest P.U.E. may not do all they can to reduce the IT load of the data center, even when a reduction in IT load will result in a lower overall consumption of energy.
As we weigh the benefits of actually having a standard against the costs of using an imperfectly designed standard, I come down on the side of having a standard. Not all will be satisfied and not all will make decisions or care about the Energy Star rating. But if we are able to reduce some portion of energy consumption as a result, isn’t it worth it?
David Dunn is CoreSite's senior vice president of strategy and marketing. View Mr. Dunn’s full biography here.
The Impact of the iPad on Data Networks
Hunter Newby | Allied Fiber CEO
The reality is that the tablet is not a new hardware device concept. The Newton and others have been around, tried and failed for many years. Even more recently the Kindle, Nook and other digital book pads have given it a go with some success, but the iPad is something completely different. With the integration of a touch screen, a powerful, lightweight machine and most importantly, a network behind it, society has entered a new playing field.
The runaway success of the iPad is really the concept of ubiquitous network access from this intuitive device. Truthfully it is a “concept” though because the reality of it is that the network is not really there to support ubiquity - yet. People are led to believe it, or perhaps they want it to be that way. Maybe it is just that people know this is the future and they are willing to live with just a taste of it because that is so much better than having none at all.
What the iPad has done is equivalent to an arc leap of electromagnetism. It is a practical matter of physics, but it is almost unexplainable. The iPad exists because there is a wireless network to make it useful, but because it exists and is useful, more people use it - thus causing a need to increase the network capacity so that the network supply can be created to meet the demand, making it even more useful, and so on, forever.
For those that were not aware…
“James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was a Scottish theoretical physicist and mathematician. His most important achievement was classical electromagnetic theory synthesizing all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and even optics into a consistent theory” (Wikipedia)
Maxwell had four very important equations, the fourth being probably the most important of them all. It is called - Amperes Law with Maxwell’s Correction.
“Maxwell's correction to Ampère's law is particularly important: It means that a changing magnetic field creates an electric field, and a changing electric field creates a magnetic field. Therefore, these equations allow self-sustaining "electromagnetic waves" to travel through empty space.” (Wikipedia)
Man did not invent this. This is of nature. Maxwell interpreted it. The iPad is functionally a part of it. The natural course of evolution is directly tied to physics in this sense. Nothing is really new. The devices we use may be, but practically speaking it is all still a matter of the same laws that govern the world within which we live. Anything that makes our lives more efficient is adopted, embraced and from a product standpoint successful. Apple has cracked this code.
The question is not what impact the iPad will have in wireless networks and the fiber-based backhaul networks that necessarily must be in place to support them, but rather what the impact has already been. The impact is psychological, physical and irreversible.
What has been done cannot be undone. Over 2 million iPads have already been sold – and this is just the first version of the truly 3G mobile wireless iPad that we have seen. The impact is that people are now aware of what is possible and they want more. The only way out is through and the only way through is up!
Hunter Newby is CEO of Allied Fiber and one of the most trusted thought leaders in the world of data centers and interconnection. We encourage you to learn more about Allied Fiber or visit Mr. Newby’s bio page.
Customer Success Stories: Global MSP/Cloud Company Grows at CoreSite New York
Rick Ellenberger | Logicworks CEO
The Company
Logicworks focuses exclusively on delivering high-availability hosting solutions to savvy, high-growth clients who require maximum business and application uptime.
The company specializes in providing cloud computing, complex managed hosting, managed database, business continuity, managed security, migration, and implementation solutions. Logicworks’ team of experienced personnel are experts at high-availability architectures, database clustering and replication, co-sourcing, virtualization platforms, compliance solutions, applied innovation, and other aspects of complex managed hosting. Logicworks caters to the media, healthcare, e-commerce, financial services, SaaS, and other industries with demand for a provider who specializes in "hosting the hard stuff."
The Data Center Need
Logicworks had a need for a recently-built, carrier-neutral New York data center that would support at least 150 Watts per square foot and one that possessed SAS 70 Type II certification. The data centers needed to have a robust and reliable infrastructure including regularly tested standby generators, established disaster recovery plans, and additional power redundancy and diversity provided by multiple power distribution units (PDUs).
Additionally, Logicworks needed room to grow with increased demand for their cloud and managed hosting offerings. A provider with usage-based power pricing and branch-circuit monitoring was a plus with the volatile power draw environment.
The desired data center would possess a carrier-dense environment, to allow for diverse upstream bandwidth provided by diverse carriers, for multi-gigabit aggregate capacity out of each facility. Well-connected, carrier-neutral data centers allow Logicworks the cost-effective, efficient addition of bandwidth for customers in expansion mode.
Lastly, the data center would need to meet or exceed the compliance standards of Logicworks’ diverse customer base. These organizations can have extremely strict regulatory requirements as they come from industries such as healthcare and financial services.
The Decision
As a result of Logicworks’ due diligence process, CoreSite was identified as a data center provider that could meet all deployment requirements within the New York City area, in close proximity to Logicworks headquarters. 32 Avenue of the Americas, was already known as one of New York City’s interconnection hubs, more than adequately addressing the need for a carrier-dense data center environment.
Upon further research, Logicworks found significant synergy between existing CoreSite customers and prospects and their own customers and prospects. This alignment of interests solidified a common goal, providing peace of mind that the CoreSite data center was built to and would continue to be managed in a manner befitting Logicworks and Logicworks' customer base.
As such, it was also evident that CoreSite had a superior understanding of the Logicworks business model and what was necessary to ensure success from a data center standpoint. The local vice president was also extremely knowledgeable, able to adeptly answer inquiries in a manner that drew direct ties to Logicworks' business objectives. The data center tour revealed immaculate surroundings as well as infrastructure and design that exceeded Logicworks’ expectations.
The CoreSite representative even demonstrated the logical progression for cage expansion should Logicworks need additional space, power and cooling in the future. CoreSite's SAS 70 compliance report was immediately delivered upon request along with a list of carriers and service providers available onsite.
Once CoreSite explained the benefits of their usage-based power pricing model for customers like Logicworks, there was no doubt that CoreSite New York would be ideal for the Logicworks data center initiative.
The Results
CoreSite’s New York data center is the foundation for the Logicworks cloud and managed hosting offering. As the company moves towards initiatives such as a public cloud offering and the solidification of Compliant Cloud to address the enterprise private cloud needs, we fully anticipate addressing the new demand by growing within the CoreSite data center at 32 Avenue of the Americas and at other CoreSite data center locations should the opportunity arise.
From the initial move-in process to provisioning to billing and everything in between, CoreSite has been easy to do business with. The data center has lived up to its reputation, so the service has been an added bonus. Logicworks' business has continued to grow and branch out into new product and service offerings. All-the-while, CoreSite has done what they could to be an excellent business partner. Logicworks looks forward to growing with CoreSite over the many years to come.
Logicworks Info
Logicworks is headquartered in New York City at 155 Avenue of the Americas, Fifth Floor | New York, NY, 10013 USA.
T: +1 212.625.5300
F: +1 212.625.5400
E: Info@logicworks.net
Rick Ellenberger is the Logicworks Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for the overall strategic direction and execution of Logicworks operations. For over 30 years, Mr. Ellenberger has led some of the most notable and innovative brands in enterprise communications and computing developing a unique leadership style that leverages world-class engineering and creative sales and marketing to deliver a track record of consistent success. Visit Mr. Ellenberger's bio page here.
CoreSite Peering Update
Dominic Tobin | CoreSite SVP, Operations
Year-Over-Year Analysis Shows Any2 Is Growing Fast!
Participation in CoreSite's Any2 Internet exchange has grown by 17% since June 2009! Existing participants are expanding as well, with 12 port speed upgrades including CoreSite's first 40-gig customer. In all, CoreSite's Any2 Internet exchange has 218 unique participants, with 111 networks peering on Any2Easy, CoreSite's route server peering offering.
Throughout the month of June, Any2 has demonstrated approximately 100 GBPS of average sustained traffic, with peak traffic in excess of 140 GBPS.
Any2 Northeast Now Includes Boston Along With New York, N. Virginia, and Washington, DC
CoreSite’s Any2 Northeast Internet exchange has been successfully extended to CoreSite Boston, making the fourth CoreSite data center on the distributed exchange point. Customers in Boston, New York, Northern Virginia, and Washington, DC now have the ability to interconnect with every carrier, ISP, and network present.
New/Recently Upgraded Peering Participants
Thank you to our newest members or members who have recently upgraded their ports!
Any2 Upgrades:
+Peer1 Network/AS13768 (upgraded to 10 GigE)
+Fireline Broadband, Inc./AS40511 (upgraded to 1 GigE)
+Bandwidth Consulting/AS26769 (upgraded to 10 GigE)
+Bharti Airtel Limited/AS9498 (upgraded to 10 GigE)
+Inforelay West, Inc./AS33597 (upgraded to 10 GigE)
+Cable and Wireless Americas Ops; Inc./AS1273 (upgraded to 10 GigE)
+Akamai Technologies, Inc./20940 (upgraded to 40 GigE)
+VPLS/AS35908 (upgraded to 2 GigE)
For a full list of Any2 peering participants, please click here.
For frequently updated information/posts regarding Any2, we encourage you to join CoreSite’s Any2 blog via the Any2 RSS feed. Dominic Tobin is senior vice president of data centers at CoreSite. View Mr. Tobin’s full biography here.
CoreSite News Update
Mark Jobson | CoreSite Marketing Director
Bay Area
As was released on May 27th, Phase I (2901 Coronado) of CoreSite's Santa Clara data center campus is now 100% leased. CoreSite built 2901 Coronado to LEED Gold certification standards, fitting with the customer’s rigorous energy-efficiency requirements. CoreSite’s Santa Clara data center features air-side economization, 95%-efficient UPS units in a 2N configuration, and the latest in energy-efficient technologies.
With an additional 12.6 acres at the Santa Clara development site and a site plan for 446,250 square feet of data center space, CoreSite’s portfolio contains a tangible development position in the Santa Clara data center market. Read the full release here.
CoreSite also owns and operates data centers in San Jose at 55 S. Market Street and at 1656 McCarthy Blvd in Milpitas. Both private data center suites and cage-to-cabinet colocation are available in the Bay Area.
Many thanks to the hundreds who attended the CoreSite/Hurricane Electric NANOG49 "Vintage Sci-Fi" after party at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco! See photos from the event on our website or our Facebook page.
Boston
The expansion project at CoreSite’s Boston data center at 70 Innerbelt Road in Somerville is nearing completion. The project includes 12,000 square feet of raised floor space and security upgrades such as additional mantraps, biometric scanners and cameras, and gated parking with perimeter fencing. The project should be completed by the end of July, with the raised-floor space ready for immediate occupancy.
The extension of CoreSite's Any2 Northeast Internet exchange to CoreSite Boston has been successfully completed. Now, Boston customers will have access to any network present at the company’s New York, Northern Virginia, and Washington, DC data centers. CoreSite private data center suites and cage-to-cabinet colocation are both currently available in Boston.
Chicago
CoreSite’s Chicago data center at 427 S. LaSalle continues to demonstrate strong colocation and peering demand. 1,000 square feet of the newly-issued, third floor data center space has been secured by a major, international carrier. Additionally, MERIT has announced their Chicago Peering Exchange is up and running and ready for peering.
Along with the Chicago Peering Exchange, CoreSite Chicago customers can access Any2 Chicago for their local peering needs. CoreSite private data center suites and cage-to-cabinet colocation are both currently available in Chicago.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles continues to garner CoreSite attention with numerous projects both recently completed and currently underway. The previously-announced expansion at 900 N. Alameda will be move-in ready in August, delivering 2 megawatts and 13,800+ square feet of energy-efficient, data center capacity to LA. The 24-hour Operations Support Center (OSC) is fully-functional at 900 N. Alameda, upgrading CoreSite's nation-wide, 24-hour data center monitoring capability. For those looking to reach an OSC team member, please email OSC@CoreSite.com.
The MMR upgrade initiative at One Wilshire (624 S. Grand) is underway, with miles of copper being extracted to make interconnection easier and more efficient. Here are some additional bullet points on the project:
+Installation of high density optical distribution panels in the MDF capable of interconnecting 576 strands or 288 MDF Fiber cross-connections, 8 times the capacity of the original fiber panels
+Installation of high density optical distribution panels in customer cabinets and cages
+Installation of over head custom fit wire basket to support bend insensitive backbone fiber replacing approximately 800 bend sensitive single cord fiber currently supported via fiber tray
+Removal of approximately 100 miles of cabling and installation of perforated doors on all cabinets has improved air circulation
New in April, CoreSite's Cloud Community launched in both Los Angeles (900 N. Alameda) as well as the Bay Area (1656 McCarthy), offering participants an interconnected, multi-regional cloud testing environment. Read the official release here. The participants receive free space, power, cooling, and bandwidth courtesy of InfoRelay. CoreSite private data center suites and cage-to-cabinet colocation are both currently available in Los Angeles, CA.
Miami
CoreSite has recently added new office space, a conference room, kitchen, and other amenities on the third floor of its Miami data center located at 2115 NW 22nd Street. The upgraded public use areas will enhance the onsite, data center experience for customer personnel.
Leasing at CoreSite Miami continues to be strong, with superior connectivity (access to 200+ carriers via onsite providers and dark fiber connectivity), robust and reliable infrastructure, and superior pricing delivering a compelling value proposition to area companies. CoreSite private data center suites and cage-to-cabinet colocation are both currently available in Miami, FL.
New York
CoreSite New York continues to demonstrate significant growth within the hosting/cloud/MSP industry as well as financial services, carriers, and many others. As was released on April 29th, Lexent Metro Connect - a leading provider of dark fiber networks in the New York Metropolitan area - extended their dark fiber network to 32 Avenue of the Americas. Read the official release here.
To be released in the upcoming weeks, CoreSite will announce the presence of Optimum Light Path at CoreSite New York as well. A division of Cablevision Systems Corporation, Optimum Light Path is an industry leader in providing advanced Ethernet-based data, Internet, voice, video transport solutions and managed services to businesses across the New York metropolitan area. CoreSite cage-to-cabinet colocation is currently available in New York.
Northern Virginia/Washington, DC
The recent 6 megawatt expansion at CoreSite Northern Virginia (12100 Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston) opened strong, with 10,000 square feet being leased to one of the world’s largest IT service providers. CoreSite partnered with Curt Holcomb and Jeff Groh and Jones Lang LaSalle in delivering the data center space at 12100 Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston to the Fortune 500 customer. Read the full release here.
CoreSite's recent expansion at the company's Washington, DC data center is also gaining traction in a hurry, with numerous market data feeds deploying at 1275K Street. The CoreSite data center is located within a mile of the U.S. Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Commerce, making it an ideal location for low-latency data transfer. CoreSite will issue an official release on this matter in the upcoming weeks. CoreSite private data center suites and cage-to-cabinet colocation are both currently available in the Northern Virginia/DC market.
If you would like to schedule a private tour of any CoreSite data center or join our event invitation list, please click here to email your information.
Mark Jobson is marketing director at CoreSite.
Thank you for taking the time to read through our Q2'2010 newsletter! Again, in the event any/all of the newsletter is not displaying properly in your email browser, please visit www.CoreSite.com/Newsletter_Q2_2010.php to view the articles in their entirety online.
