Text Kai-Uwe Wahl ––– Photography
The large number of new digital business models means the Chinese economy needs IT services that offer flexible access, but companies are reluctant to build and operate their own data centers. A planning and construction phase of up to two years would simply be too long in the fast-moving Internet world, so demand for scalable IT services is growing.
The cloud offers a whole range of as-a-service solutions that are available with a few clicks of the mouse – from infrastructure services such as storage space and computing power to complete business applications. The huge demand for cloud services is reflected in the latest economic data. In 2018, for example, the market for cloud data centers enjoyed double-digit growth in all regions of the world and expanded by as much as 88 per cent in China. There is currently a real boom in the construction of new data centers in China. The number of hyperscale data centers required for cloud services is growing particularly fast. In 2018, there were already as many as 430 of these centres in operation worldwide, more than 30 of them are in China.
A further 130 such data centers are being planned around the world. The server infrastructure of a hyperscale data center is designed for maximum scalability to satisfy customers’ constantly fluctuating demand for IT capacity. Large cloud providers operate their data center with a hyperscale infrastructure comprising thousands of largely identical computers that adapt dynamically and automatically to current requirements.
The quick and easy route to a new data center
Rittal experts are helping data center operators in China design new centres and build them quickly. One of these customers is the Chinese cloud and data center provider Chindata. The challenge of the project with Chindata was getting a new data center up and running as quickly as possible to meet the market’s high demand.
Technical details of the hyperscale data center for Chindata
Rittal installed a modified version of the Rittal TS 8 enclosure system in the new Chindata hyperscale data center. The IT racks have 52 height units in this model variant. Intelligent power distribution means Chindata can control individual modules in a targeted way and use the monitoring function to record energy consumption very precisely.
Hot aisle containment with indirect, adiabatic cooling units is being used to cool the IT systems so as to optimise energy efficiency. All in all, at 1.12, the PUE (power usage effectiveness) value of the system surpasses the statutory reference value of 1.4 set by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Over 8,000 Rittal TS 8 IT racks and more than 250 hot aisle containment units have been installed, which makes the data center one of the biggest in China.
The company selected Rittal as its implementation partner. “In cooperation with Rittal, we have succeeded in building a brand new hyperscale data center in the record time of just seven months. The expert consultants at Rittal provided us with innovative ideas for the cooling concept and the modular structure of the IT racks from the outset. They also oversaw the entire process,” says Jessica Song, Vice President Director Planning and Design Academy at Chindata.
Chindata already operates five data center at strategic locations in China – including Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Shanxi and Hebei – as well as a further 220 smaller centres. Covering an area of more than 130,000 square metres and with an IT capacity of up to 16 megawatts, the new Guanting Lake New Media Big Data Industry Base ranks among China’s largest data centers.
One of the success factors in its rapid construction was the precise planning and coordination between the team in charge of building operations and the experts from Rittal. This ensured work could be carried out on the data center components in parallel to the construction phase, for example. Rittal gradually installed pre-configured modules in the data center as building work progressed. This tightly synchronised approach and the modular concept ultimately made it possible to complete the new data center in record time.
Chindata is already planning to build more cloud data centers and will continue to work with Rittal as a solutions partner.
