眼界大开 - 边缘数据中心到底长什么样？

把边缘数据中心装进盒子

Putting the Edge in a box

October 26, 2022

译 者 说

超大规模数据中心和微型数据中心仿佛同一个硬币的对立面，但其实是云计算基础设施相互补充共生的状态。这两种技术的共同目标是无论何时何地，都可以有效和高效地提供数据和应用。边缘数据中心按需服务可以提高企业生产力和灵活度，并实现物联网的发展。要保障从“大云”到“小节点”这个端到端过程能够正常工作，所有的环节都需要到位，包括本文提到的微型边缘数据中心应用实践中的常见现象和问题。

总之无论是超大规模数据中心还是微型边缘数据中心，都是最终用户获取云计算产业服务的重要组成部分，我们都应该全力以赴的重视和投入技术和精力去把它做的更强更节能。

边缘数据中心并不都是国际标准的集装箱的样子。

Edge data centers aren’t all ISO shipping containers.

当你想到数据中心这几个字时，浮现在你脑海里的可能是巨型的建筑，这些建筑物非常安全，充满了储存大量数据的机柜。这样的想法无可厚非。

When you think of data centers you probably think of massive buildings which are very secure and full of cabinets that store a copious amount of data. And often you’d be right to think that.

当然，"边缘数据中心"是与众不同的。首先，他是被安置在边缘侧更小的单元结构中，可以放在室外，更靠近应用场景，同时也靠近通信链路，例如通信基站，它们依靠移动设备与基站连接，也依靠基站把数据回传到云端。

The Edge is different, of course. Here the resources are installed in smaller units that can be placed out of doors, close to applications, and also close to communication links such as cell towers, which they rely on to link up with their mobile devices, and also for backhaul to the cloud.

尽管诞生不久，但边缘计算已经诞生了自己的制造尺寸标准。数据中心由安装在国际标准运输集装箱中的几个机架组成，或者是安装在一个国际标准尺寸大小的定制周转箱中。

But in its short lifetime, the Edge has spawned its own cliche: Data centers consist of a few racks installed in a standard-issue ISO shipping container, or else in a customized box the size of an ISO unit.

之所以这样设计是因为边缘数据中心的设备必须被运送到它们将运行的地点，而这些设备是坚固的、可靠的，可以方便地安放在标准的铰接式卡车上，运送到需要它们的任何地方。

There’s a reason for that. Edge resources have to be delivered to the sites where they will operate, and those units, are rugged, reliable, and can conveniently be placed on standard articulated trucks for delivery where they will be needed.

但这并不是实现目的唯一办法。

But that’s not the only way to do things.

“边缘数据中心”就像一个电信柜

Edge like a telco cabinet

英国创业公司 Dataqube旨在让数据中心市场在部署边缘数据中心资源时拥有了不同的想法。

UK startup Dataqube is aiming to get the data center market to think differently when deploying Edge data center resources.

总部位于英国剑桥的 Dataqube 正尝试采取一种不同的方法来围绕边缘数据中心提供服务，或许是借鉴与其关系密切电信市场的做法。其方式的本质就是把边缘数据中心的设施被安置在一个命名为“节点”的方形柜子里。

Based in Cambridge, UK, Dataqube is looking to take a different approach to deliver capabilities around the Edge, perhaps taking a leaf out of the closely-related telecoms market. Its Edge facilities are literally housed in square-shaped cabinets it calls ‘pods’.

该公司成立于2020年，其边缘数据中心节点大体上来说就是基于灵活的路边机柜实现部署。Dataqube说它们比传统的集装箱式边缘数据中心更容易运输和迁移，声称它们可以在24小时内实现启动并运行。

Founded in 2020, the company’s Edge pods are basically flexible roadside cabinets. Dataqube says they are more transportable and relocatable than the traditional containers, claiming they can be up and running within 24 hours.

Dataqube公司的首席运营官Steve Pass向DCD展示了他们努力克服各种外在条件约束，扩大他们公司产品规模的雄心。

Dataqube chief operating officer Steve Pass told DCD about the company’s ambition to scale out its offering, bypassing limiting factors adopted by others.

Pass 表示，该公司希望避免许多传统数据中心公司使用过的现实世界已经存在的陈旧方式。

Pass said that the company wanted to avoid the bricks-and-mortar approach that many traditional data center companies have used.

他说："从根本上说，Dataqube是一个灵活的、可扩展的数据中心解决方案，"他指出，Dataqube可以按照任何特定的尺寸或形状建造“节点”。

“Fundamentally Dataqube is a flexible, scalable data center solution,” he said, noting that Dataqube can build pods to any particular size or shape.

"我们的节点不是按照特定的固定尺寸，或某种尺寸建造的，这意味着我们可以部署各种尺寸的边缘数据中心。我们希望尝试并挑战构建数据中心的传统方式"。

“Our pods are not built to a particular fixed size, or a certain dimension and this means we can deploy Edge data centers of all sizes. We want to try and challenge the traditional ways of building data centers."

Dataqube:数据中心的另一种形式--DataQube

Dataqube: A different approach to data centers– DataQube

多样的形状规格

Different types

从本质上讲，Dataqube的外包装是坚固的柜子，其方形的占地面积足以容纳一个标准服务器机架。它们可以以任何方向连接在一起。

Essentially, Dataqube’s boxes are rugged cabinets with a square footprint big enough to hold a rack. They can be linked together in any orientation.

这种机柜完全可以安装在室内或室外，因为其本身提供了一个足够保护所有的内部设备的IP等级的外部结构。

The cabinets themselves provide an IP-rated outer structure to protect all internal equipment, and can be installed indoors or outdoors.

有些柜子里有专门的配套设备，包括电源分配单元（PDU）和开关设备，而另一些柜子里装有不间断电源(UPS) ，Dataqube说，如果需要的话，可以提供相当于T4等级的数据中心可靠性，因为它还能再增加发电机。

Some cabinets hold specialized kit including the power distribution units and switchgear, while another will hold an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), which Dataqube says can deliver reliability equivalent to Tier 4, if required, Generators can also be added.

每个柜子的顶部都有空间，用于冷却系统，所有的柜子都有内置的灭火监测报警功能，同时拥有一个自动灭火系统。

Each cabinet has space on top, for a cooling system, and all have built-in fire suppression and detection, with a self-activating fire extinguishing system

每个“节点”外部都安装了内置的24 7安防监控和入侵探测报警系统。

There’s also built-in 24 7 security monitoring and intruder detection using CCTV installed on the exterior of each pod.

机架柜可支持高达30kW 的IT负载，如果客户选择液冷设备，可将其扩展至100kW。

The IT rack cabinets can support up to 30kW IT load, which can be extended to 100kW if customers take up the option of liquid cooling.

Dataqube 的 Pass 表示，该公司可以把这种边缘数据中心直接安装到现有的结构和基础设施建筑中，同时也不用做任何改动。

Dataqube’s Pass says the company can fit its data centers into existing structures and infrastructure, rather than having to alter them.

“我们有能力按照自己的意愿进行建造，无论是用标准规格，还是定制不同形状或尺寸。如果有必要，我们甚至可以围绕现有基础设施状况去建造数据中心。”

“We have the ability to build however we want to, whether this is in straight lines or in different shapes or sizes. We can even build our data centers around existing infrastructure if this is necessary.”

在建设数据中心时，成本也是一个关键的考虑因素，Pass说，建设这些边缘数据中心的成本比更传统的方式要便宜50%。他补充说，部署“节点”也比更传统的数据中心更快。

Cost is a key consideration too when building out data centers, and Pass says that building out these cubes is up to 50 percent cheaper than in more traditional ways. Deploying the pods is also quicker than the more traditional data centers too, he adds.

Pass说，这种节点可以扩展到相当大的系统，他指出迄今为止最大的安装容量是60MW，尽管Dataqube的一些小节点一般都在7到10KW之间。

The pods can extend to quite large systems, says Pass, who notes that the largest installation so far was 60 megawatts, although some of Dataqube’s smaller pods can be between 7 to 10 kilowatts.

正如你所料，节点有严密的安全防护措施–DataQube

As you'd expect the pod has tight security measures in place– DataQube

Dataqube的商业投资

Investment in the business

该公司目前由2022年8月任命的首席执行官Claude Sassoulas所领导。

The company is currently led by CEO Claude Sassoulas, who was appointed in August 2022.

Sassoulas 接替了 Dataqube 的创始人 David Keegan，他之前在 InterCloud 担任了四年的首席运营官，InterCloud 是一家位于巴黎的欧洲“软件定义网络”的解决方案提供商。

Sassoulas replaced Dataqube founder David Keegan in the role, and most recently spent four years as COO at InterCloud, a Paris-based European software-defined cloud interconnect provider.

Sassoulas将Dataqube描述为 "颠覆性的"。它已经获得了大笔的风险投资，最近一次是2021年12月法国投资管理公司Rgreen Invest的A轮融资，金额为2600万欧元（2900万美元）。

Sassoulas describes Dataqube as “disruptive”. It has raised significant investment, most recently 26 million ($29m) in Series A funding from French investment management company Rgreen Invest in December of 2021.

这是 Rgreen 进入数据中心市场的第一个项目，该公司的目标是投资于数据中心行业的可持续发展项目。

It's Rgreen’s first venture into the data center market, with the firm intent on investing in sustainability projects.

当确认获得Rgreen的投资时，当时的CEO Keegan说。"我们的愿景一直是开发一个支持数据中心行业根据企业社会责任实现减少二氧化碳目标的可持续的解决方案"。

When the investment from Rgreen was confirmed, then-CEO Keegan said: “Our goal has always been to develop a sustainable solution to support the data center industry in its drive to reduce CO2 targets in line with CSR policies.”

可持续性是Dataqube的关键

Sustainability key for Dataqube

数据中心的能源需求在科技公司的日程上占有重要地位，而边缘数据中心的来临将进一步增加电力成本预算。

Data center energy demands are high on tech companies’ agenda, and the arrival of the Edge will add yet more to the power budget.

集中式数据中心一直在努力减少对环境的影响，选择像瑞典这样可以免费供冷却的地理位置，同时将先进技术整合到大型设施中以获得经济规模效应，并签署大型供电协议价格来支撑他们获得可再生能源的使用。

Centralized data centers have been working hard to reduce their environmental footprint, choosing locations like Sweden, where cooling is available for free, consolidating technologies into large facilities to get the economies of scale, and signing large power supply deals that give them access to renewable energy sources.

所有这些条件选择在边缘数据中心的安装地区都是不太可能具备的。但尽管如此，Pass表示，Dataqube已经能够采用某些技术方式，将这些劣势扭转成为一项地理优势。

All these options are not available - or may be problematic - at the Edge. But despite this, Pass says Dataqube has been able to adopt certain techniques that turn the Edge into an environmental advantage.

一个显著区别是机柜的尺寸。传统的集装箱被设计可为施工人员进入和管理，爬到机柜里面进行作业和运维管理操作。

One obvious difference is the size of the cabinets. Conventional containers are designed to be accessed and managed by humans who will climb inside to work on the racks.

Dataqube 的小型模块可以直接从外部打开访问操作。帕斯表示，这意味着它们使用了更少的成本，但就消除机柜内部的“操作工空间”本身就是一个好处。

Dataqube’s smaller modules are accessed from outside. This means they embody less raw material, but the elimination of “human space” inside the cabinet is itself a benefit, says Pass.

他表示，如果边缘侧没有“操作工空间”，数据中心运营商可以减少电力的消耗，因为不需要照明，也不需要保障工程师正常行动的空调系统。

Without human space, he says, operators can reduce power consumption because there’s no need for lighting, or air conditioning for engineers.

说起制冷系统Pass也是非常的骄傲。Dataqube 机柜使用了外部空气冷却的风冷设备(制冷量高达30千瓦) ，同时液冷的可以给高密服务器场景提供从30千瓦到100千瓦的制冷量。

He’s also proud of the cooling options. The Dataqube cabinets use outside air cooling for the air-cooled option (up to 30kW), and liquid cooling for the more dense options from 30kW to 100kW.

液冷领域的投资

Liquid cooling investment

2022年早些时候，Dataqube就已经投资了制冷行业品牌LiquidCool，并获得其产品的独家市场权。

Earlier in 2022 Dataqube invested in cooling specialist LiquidCool, and gained exclusive market rights to its products.

LiquidCool早在2014年就首次与DCD进行过交流，并在2017年推出了液冷的边缘数据中心设备，其中每个刀片服务器都被单独密封在一个独立的模块中，冷却剂在其中循环流动。

LiquidCool first spoke to DCD back in 2014, and launched a liquid-cooled Edge appliance in 2017, in which each blade is separately sealed in a module in which coolant circulates.

Dataqube发明了一种新的边缘数据中心模组，它是由LiquidCool的早期技术发展而来的。MiniNode是一个密封的盒子，用于边缘数据中心场景，如基站和其他恶劣环境。里面的液冷系统使用的是环保型电介质液体。

Dataqube has access to a new Edge module, developed from LiquidCool’s earlier technology. MiniNode is a sealed box for Edge applications like cell towers and other harsh environments. The liquid-cooled system inside uses eco-friendly dielectric fluids.

该公司还提供ZPserver（"零压力服务器"）单元--模块化密封单元，适合现有的服务器机架，并声称部分PUE为1.03。

The company also provides ZPserver ("Zero Pressure Server") units - modular sealed units which fit into existing server racks and have a claimed partial PUE 1.03.

LiquidCool声称。"一个液冷机架可以取代传统数据中心内的四个风冷机架，节省能源和空间，减少资金投入和维护成本。不再有复杂的空气处理系统、管道系统、过滤器或空调制冷装置"。

LiquidCool claims that: "One liquid-cooled rack can replace four air-cooled racks within a data center, saving energy and space and eliminating capital and maintenance costs. No more complex air handling systems, ductwork, filters, or CRAC units."

Pass表示液冷是降低功耗的最有效方法。“对我们来说，首要的是大幅减少我们使用的功率。我们使用液冷而不是风冷，因为它能更好地降低制冷功耗投入。”

Pass says liquid cooling is the most efficient for reducing power consumption: “The primary thing for us is to significantly reduce the power we use. We use liquid cooling instead of air cooling, as it is better for reducing power consumption.”

去年，数据中心行业的平均电力使用效率（PUE）为1.57 。Pass声称，通过Dataqube的液冷，这个数字可以降低到1.05 。

Last year the average Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) for the data center industry was 1.57 PUE. Pass claims that with Dataqube’s liquid cooling, this number can be reduced to as little as 1.05 PUE.

今年早些时候，Dataqube 公司投资了 LiquidCool 公司，并获得了该公司液冷产品的独家市场经营权。

Following investment in LiquidCool earlier this year, Dataqube has exclusive market rights to its products– LiquidCool Solutions.

维修支持服务

Maintenance support

为边缘数据中心资源提供服务可能是一个困难的雷区。集中式数据中心将所有的设备都集中在一栋大楼里，可以非常方便高效的提供现场技术支持。

Servicing Edge resources can be a minefield. Centralized data centers locate all the equipment close together in one building, and can afford on-site tech support.

相比之下，安装在像Dataqubes这样的小型分布式设施上的边缘数据中心，不能纯依靠企业内部技术支持。任何的技术操作都需要工程师抵达现场完成服务，或者至少提供一套设备和说明书交付给当地初级技术水平的工程师来完成现场的服务工作。

By contrast, Edge applications installed across small distributed facilities like Dataqubes, cannot rely on on-the-premises support. Any tech intervention will require an engineer to visit or, at the very least, a set of equipment and instructions must be delivered to local less-technical staff.

Pass说，Dataqube的客户有一个选择。他们可以从Dataqube购买维修和保养服务作为额外的售后，或者选择通过自己的方式来完成。

Dataqube customers have a choice, says Pass. They can either buy repairs and maintenance from Dataqube as additional aftersales or else opt to do it themselves.

"我们非常乐意客户选择自己来完成对这些边缘数据中心的维修保障"Pass说。"这也是我们许多客户选择的一项服务，因为对于那些在不同地点有多个部署的客户来说，他们发现问题和处理问题这些都要高效容易的多。"

“We’re very open with our customers about the option of servicing these pods,” said Pass. “It's a service that many of our customers take because they find this easier. It’s especially easier for customers that have multiple deployments across different locations.”

Pass说，对于那些选择自行对Dataqube进行维修的人，公司会同步帮忙观察这些边缘数据中心系统的性能状况。

For those that do take out the option of having their Dataqube serviced, Pass says the company is on hand to watch the systems’ performance.

"我们能够全天候监测洞察这些数据中心，也提供全面的设施或电气支持维护。因此，如果真的发生了什么事，即使只是有一个警告提示有什么异常，我们也能够迅速做出反应。”

“We are able to closely monitor these data centers 24/7 and offer full mechanical or electrical support maintenance too. So if something does happen, even if there’s just a warning that something isn’t right, we’re able to quickly react to it.

“因为我们在尽可能地给客户做到可持续服务，所以我们想尽可能地在我们的合作伙伴附近建立数据中心站点。但我们也希望确保我们在附近也有支持网络。为了做到这一点，我们与当地的合作伙伴和供应商合作，为我们的合作伙伴提供正确的支持，无论他们在全球的哪个国家。"

“Because we’re trying to be as sustainable as possible we want to build data cubes as closely located to our partners as possible. But we also want to ensure that we have support networks nearby too. To do this, we work with local partners and suppliers to offer our partners the correct level of support, no matter what country they are in.”

留神边缘数据中心的“门”

Mind the doors

数据中心的权威机构ASHRAE（美国制冷工程协会）在最近几年中已经反复提到，在维修边缘数据中心设备方面尚且存在一个需要重视考虑的问题，

There is an additional issue to consider with servicing Edge equipment, which data center authority ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers) has flagged up in recent years.

传统的数据中心是有“门”的建筑，所以来访的工程师可以进入并打开一个机柜，而不会将其暴露在任何极端条件环境下。即使是集装箱式数据中心也为其设备提供了这种保护。

Traditional data centers are buildings with doors, so a visiting engineer can enter and open a cabinet without exposing it to any extreme conditions. Even containerized units offer this protection to their equipment.

但是像Dataqube的小型机柜直接向外界环境开放，由站在外面的工程师进行维护。打开机柜会使IT设备暴露在意想不到的温度或湿度下，或者使灰尘和污垢进入到机柜。

But small cabinets like Dataqube’s open directly to the air and are maintained by an engineer standing outside. Opening the box can expose equipment outside to unexpected temperature or humidity levels, or allow dust and dirt into the cabinet.

"许多对集中式数据中心来说不是问题的对象反而对小型边缘数据中心来说是真正的问题，"ASHRAE技术委员会成员Jon Fitch在2020年接受DCD采访时说道。

“Many items that are non-issues for brick and mortar data centers are real issues for small edge data centers,” ASHRAE technical committee member Jon Fitch told DCD in 2020.

电信网络已经是通过小型机柜中完成的边缘部署，但它们使用的加固设备，是按照AT&T在1970年代制订的类似NEBS规格完成的建造。

Telecoms networks are already deployed in cabinets, but they use hardened equipment, built to specifications like NEBS, defined by AT&T in the 1970s.

无论谁将IT设备放在路边机柜里，都需要确保整个装置拥有能够承受在各种条件下都能被打开的门，操作系统的工程师将采取比建筑物或集装箱式数据中心所要求的更多的预防措施。

Anyone putting IT equipment in a roadside cabinet will have to ensure that the whole package can withstand having its doors opened in a range of conditions, and that engineers operating on the systems will take due precautions beyond those required in a building or a container,

安全也是Pass热衷于解决的问题，他指出，Dataqube是由不锈钢制成的，没有可以从外部打开的门把手，也没有可以进入的读卡器。当然，视频监控增加了一个额外的保护层。

Security is something that Pass is keen to address too, noting that the Dataqube is made out of stainless steel, with no exterior door handles that can be opened up, and no card readers that can be accessed. Naturally, CCTV adds an additional layer of protection.

Dataqube为其客户提供附加的维护装置--DataQube

Dataqube offers its customers the added option of maintenance– DataQube

推动边缘节点发展

Powering the pods

今年3月，Dataqube宣布，它将向澳大利亚边缘数据中心公司提供了20个节点。Pass说，他们还在将在欧洲、美洲和非洲各地部署新建立的“节点”。

In March of this year, Dataqube announced that it will supply 20 of its pods to Australian firm Edge Centers. The company is also manufacturing pods to be deployed across Europe, America, and Africa, says Pass.

然而，他没有具体说明任何目标，也没有说明到目前为止已经部署了多少个，但他补充说，Dataqube将在未来6到12个月内积极进行这些部署工作。

However, he didn’t specify any targets or any figure on how many have been deployed so far but added that Dataqube will be active with these deployments in the next six to 12 months.

“我们最大的商机是向边缘数据中心市场提供灵活、可扩展和可持续的产品,”Pass 表示。

“Our biggest opportunity is to provide a flexible, scalable, and sustainable offering to the Edge market,” said Pass.

他补充说，整个行业面临的一个挑战是如何适应变化，他举了一个例子，即现在建立数据中心的方式与30年前没有太大的不同，然而世界和我们消耗能源的数据却已经有了飞速的发展。

He adds that a challenge for the industry as a whole has been adapting to change, using the example that the way data centers have been built now is not much different from what it was about 30 years ago, even though the world and the data we consume have significantly grown.

如果行业同仁能够团结起来，共同努力减少能源消耗，Pass相信数据中心行业的未来将变得更加可持续。

If the industry can come together and work on reducing consumption power, Pass is confident that the data center industry will become more sustainable.

深 知 社

翻译：

邓昊

世纪互联专家

DKV（DeepKnowledge Volunteer）计划成员

校对：

王谋锐

DKV（DeepKnowledge Volunteer）计划精英成员

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