Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has introduced what it calls a Micro Datacenter — an equipment rack-sized cabinet that’s meant to be a modular piece of a data center.
The concept is as simple as it sounds; it’s a shard of the data center put into a form that’s physically easy to move to where it’s needed (relatively speaking). It even has wheels.
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The product is being officially launched today at the Gartner Data Center Conference. But HPE has been talking about it since at least July, when this promo video was published.
The idea is to push computing power farther out in the network. One easy-to-understand use case is an oil platform at sea — a location that’s difficult to reach and probably lacks cellular coverage. The operations at these platforms create masses of data for analysis; rather than beaming it all back to shore, a company could put the data center at the platform itself.
The Micro Datacenter incorporates HPE’s converged and hyperconverged equipment as well as Edgeline, the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) computing line. Users can populate the cabinet with different combinations of compute, storage, and networking.
It’s all controlled via OneView, HPE’s infrastructure monitoring and management software. Multiple Micro Datacenters can be combined to form a less “micro” installation, according to the video.
Conceptually, the Micro Data Center is following the trends that are stimulating mobile edge computing (MEC), where processing is done close to the end users, rather than in a centralized location.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a big motivator there. That’s why GE Digital is taking steps to move Predix, its IoT applications platform, into forms that fit at the customer edge.
HPE will offer the Micro Data Center through direct sales and channel partners. Pricing varies depending on configuration.
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