Data Centre Boom or Bust?

March 7, 2008: According to the connectivity and virtualisation specialist OnPATH Technologies, the current boom in data centres could easily turn into a bust if physical network infrastructure is not met with enough consideration.

Organisations such as Campos Research have indicated that in their studies up to 50% of respondents plan to either expand or build entirely new data centres over the next two years

Responding to this forecast data centre construction boom, OnPATH says that investment in construction could be in vain if proper consideration is not given to the physical layer.

“It's a problem we continually see. Data centres reach the capacity limit of their physical network infrastructure, which is then further exacerbated by planned and unplanned moves, adds, and changes of cables and equipment,” says Peter Dougherty, president and CEO of OnPATH.

“Over time, a rat's nest of optical and copper networks is inevitably created and companies face the reality of building a new data centre or investing even more resources into a bigger version of the same model.”

Dougherty adds that both are done without considering the root issue, and all the problems listed can be avoided simply by addressing the physical layer network infrastructure properly in the planning stages.

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