The Data Center Frontier Show

Even in a month where Equinix very notably rolled out its fully managed private cloud service for enabling enterprises to easily acquire and manage their own NVIDIA DGX AI supercomputing infrastructure, the better to build and run custom generative AI models, there was yet another, not unrelated, announcement from the foundational provider of colocation data centers and digital transformation solutions.  It was in the context of the AI platform rollout with NVIDIA that Equinix this month also issued its annual Global Interconnection Index (GXI) 2024 Report, which uncovers digital infrastructure trends driving the decision-making of both enterprises and service providers.  The Equinix statement announcing managed services for the NVIDIA DGX AI supercomputing platform noted that the service includes the NVIDIA DGX systems, NVIDIA networking and the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform. For the platform offering, Equinix installs and operates each customer's privately owned NVIDIA infrastructure and can deploy services on their behalf in key locations of its International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers globally.  Equinix also emphasized that its NVIDIA DGX service offers high-speed private network access to global network service providers, enabling quick generative AI information retrieval across corporate wide area networks. In addition, the service provides private, high-bandwidth interconnections to cloud services and enterprise service providers to facilitate AI workloads while meeting data security and compliance requirements. Through its offering of NVIDIA DGX AI supercomputing infrastructure services, Equinix contends that enterprises can scale their infrastructure operations to achieve the level of AI performance needed to develop and run massive models. The company also revealed that early access companies using the service has included leaders in sectors including biopharma, financial services, software, automotive and retail, many of whom are building AI Centers of Excellence to provide a strategic foundation for a broad range of rapidly developing LLM use cases. As a related study Equinix commissions each year, the operator's GXI Report comprises a survey of global IT leaders to gather insight on what’s behind the digital economy. Based on the study's latest findings, Equinix stated its belief that the industry has hit a tipping point in resourcing decisions, vis a vis the notion that buying dedicated IT hardware now puts customers at a competitive disadvantage.  For this episode of the DCF Show podcast, Data Center Frontier editors Matt Vincent and David Chernicoff met with Steve Madden, Equinix VP of Digital Transformation and Segment Marketing, to discuss some of the GXI 2024 report's more meaningful findings related to current data center trends and predictions in digital transformation, IT and spending, including the operator's nearly concurrent AI managed services offering. For instance, the GXI report found that enterprises are growing at a 39% CAGR -- 25% faster than service providers -- reaching 12,908 Tbps of total capacity. DCF asked Madden: Since the global pandemic, how much have enterprises leaned on digital providers to focus on responding to business needs, and does Equinix expect such trends to continue going forward?   Also, the GXI report found that 80% of enterprises will design and run new digital IT infrastructure using subscription-based services by 2026. We asked Madden: What does that mean for data centers? The report also found that by 2025, 85% of global companies will have expanded multicloud access across several regions. We asked: How will data centers best be able to manage such demand?  In his remarks, Madden pointed out that Equinix has the most cloud on-ramps of any data center operator in the world, and predicted that the majority of multinational enterprises will be multi-cloud connected in multiple regions around the world in the near future. Madden noted that nowadays -- i.e. in the post-pandemic age of AI -- enterprises are looking for strategic partners, not just vendors, in composing their infrastructure, and seek to do so with a set of key providers to help them move more quickly in their digital transformations.

This month on the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, we read down site founder and Editor at Large Rich Miller's annual data center industry trends forecast. This week's article read looks at how AI is driving design updates for power and cooling, why air permitting at scale is a hot potato for the industry, and optimal site selection for Green MegaCampuses. Rich Miller has delivered his annual article containing his top data center industry forecasts, predictions and insights for the year ahead. Of chief concern among the 8 key themes forecasted to define the year is how the AI boom will ripple through the digital infrastructure sector in 2024, impacting the availability of data center space, the supply chain, and factors of pricing, cooling, power and design. Since our industry coverage at DCF throughout the year will frequently refer back to this forecast article, we've decided to enumerate all eight themes throughout several podcast episodes this month.  For this episode, we read down the article's themes 6 through 8: 6.  AI Drives Design Updates for Power and Cooling 7.  Air Permitting at Scale is a Hot Potato 8.  Site Selection Optimizes for Green MegaCampuses "Artificial intelligence is hot," writes Miller. "So hot that the AI boom is creating a resource-constrained world, driving stupendous demand for GPUs, data centers and AI expertise. All three are likely to be in short supply, but none so much as wholesale data center space. This is the trend that dominates our annual forecast." Read the full forecast: The Eight Themes That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2024

For this episode of the DCF Show podcast, Data Center Frontier spoke with Sam Rabinowitz, CEO of Lantana, a supplier and provider of LED luminaires for the data center industry -- especially for hyperscalers, but also for energy-efficiency retrofits in mature facilities. Key discussion points include the following: 0:15 - Lantana broke into the data center industry by working with a hyperscaler customer to design and implement rapid deployment prototypes for their initial data center builds on the interior structure, including lighting. 3:14 - Lantana's LED fixtures run cool and are energy-efficient, achieving up to 90% efficiency over nearly a decade of use. The LED lighting fixtures are UL certified for elevated ambient operating temperatures, providing operational flexibility for data centers in hot environments. 5:45 - Sam explains how Lantana's focus on energy-efficiency and materials efficiency can lead to cost savings and a positive impact on the environment. 13:26 - Sam emphasizes the importance of a "micro to macro" approach in greening data, starting with individual components, and scaling up to entire campuses and programs. 15:46 - Data Center Frontier Editor in Chief Matt Vincent asks for takes regarding the impact of AI on the data center industry. In response, Sam discusses the need for new products and approaches to designing and engineering data centers to accommodate for chip-level heat. 19:32 - Matt asks about Lantana's plans for 2024. In response, Sam describes Lantana's new products as being tailored for digital infrastructure and expansion of the hyperscalers, as well as furnishing renovations for increased energy efficiency in data centers of all sizes. 26:46 - Sam emphasizes the importance of lighting in data centers for safety and functionality, and the discussion compares it to cabling as a core, fundamental element of every data center. Visit Data Center Frontier.

This month on the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, we read down site founder and Editor at Large Rich Miller's annual data center industry trends forecast.  Since our industry coverage at DCF throughout the year will frequently refer back to this forecast, we've decided to enumerate all eight themes throughout several podcast episodes this month.  Today's read looks at how pricing for AI capacity will probably only continue to trend higher, and how data center supply chain relationships will matter more than ever in 2024. We also examine how more momentum for modular data centers' prefabricated IT ethos should take hold in the coming year. "Artificial intelligence is hot," writes Miller. "So hot that the AI boom is creating a resource-constrained world, driving stupendous demand for GPUs, data centers and AI expertise. All three are likely to be in short supply, but none so much as wholesale data center space. This is the trend that dominates our annual forecast." For this episode, we read down the article's themes 3 through 5: 3.  Pricing for AI Capacity Will Continue Higher 4.  Supply Chain: Relationships Matter More Than Ever 5.  More Momentum for Modular Read the full forecast: The Eight Themes That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2024

Data Center Frontier's founder and Editor at Large Rich Miller has delivered his annual article containing his top data center industry forecasts, predictions and insights for the year ahead.  Of chief concern is how the AI boom will ripple through the digital infrastructure sector in 2024, impacting the availability of data center space, the supply chain, and factors of pricing, cooling, power and design. Since our industry coverage at DCF throughout the year will frequently refer back to this forecast, we've decided to enumerate all 8 themes throughout several podcast episodes this month.  For this episode, we read down the article's first two themes: 1. The AI Boom Creates a Data Center Space Crunch 2. Rethinking Power on Every Level  Read the full forecast at Data Center Frontier: The Eight Themes That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2024

Data Center Frontier Show podcast discusses microreactor and SMR nuclear power generation for data centers. Guests James Walker and Jay Jiang Yu explore the advantages of microreactors, their potential impact on the industry, and safety concerns. They also talk about deploying functional systems in data centers, working with Idaho National Labs, and the prospects of nuclear power for remote locations.

Brian Kennedy, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Natron Energy, discusses the benefits of sodium-ion battery technology for data centers. They explore the unique chemistry of Natron Energy's batteries, its safety features, high power density, and fast recharge capabilities. The podcast also covers technology comparison, battery longevity, applications in critical power and peak load shaving, sustainability advantages, and major industry partnerships.

Steven Carlini, VP of Innovation at Schneider Electric, joins the show to discuss challenges of AI in data centers. Topics include power demands of AI workloads, innovative cooling solutions, managing extreme rack power densities, liquid cooling for AI, and updates to environmental sustainability metrics.

Data center operations leader Brian discusses implementing renewable power strategies in data centers, including a year-long project measuring the viability of 24/7 carbon-free energy. They also address the importance of addressing noise disturbances, enhancing community relations, and increasing efficiency in data centers. EdgeConnex aims to achieve low power utilization efficiency and 100% renewable energy by 2030 while considering the environmental impact on surrounding communities.

For this special episode of the DCF Show podcast, Data Center Frontier's founder and present Editor at Large, Rich Miller, returns for a visit. Tune in to hear Rich engage with the site's daily editors, Matt Vincent and David Chernicoff, in a discussion covering a range of current data center industry news and views. Topics include: Dominion Energy's transmission line expansion in Virginia; Aligned Data Centers' market exit in Maryland over a rejected plan for backup diesel generators; an update on issues surrounding Virginia's proposed Prince William Digital Gateway project; Rich's take on the recent Flexential/Cloudflare outages in Hillsboro, Oregon; and more. Here's a timeline of key points discussed on the podcast: :10 - For those concerned that the inmates might be running the asylum, the doctor is now in: Rich discusses his latest beat as DCF Editor at Large. 1:30 -  We look at the power situation in No. Virginia as explained by one of Rich's latest articles, vis a vis what's going to be required to support growth already in the pipeline, in the form of contracts that Dominion Energy has for power. "Of course, the big issue there is transmission lines," adds Miller. "That's the real constraint on data center power delivery right now. You can build local lines and even substations much more quickly than you can transmission at the regional level. That's really where the bottlenecks are right now." 3:00 - Senior Editor David Chernicoff asks for Rich's take on Aligned Data Centers' recent market exit in Maryland, related to its rejected plan for backup diesel generators. "Is this really going to be the future of how large-scale data center projects are going to have to be approached, with more focus put on dealing with permission to build?" wonders Chernicoff, adding, "And are we going to see a more structured data center lobbying effort on the local level beyond what, say, the DCC [Data Center Coalition] currently does?" 5:19 - In the course of his reponse, Rich says he thinks we'll see just about every data center company realizing the importance of doing their research on the full range of permissions required to build these megascale campuses, which are only getting bigger. 6:12 - Rich adds that he thinks the situation in Maryland illustrates how it's important for data center developers to step back for a strategic discussion regarding depth of planning. "The first thing to know," he points out, "is that Maryand was eager to have the data center industry. They specifically passed incentives that would make them more competitive with Virginia. They saw that Northern Virginia was getting super crowded...and they thought, we've got lots of resources up here in Frederick County, let's see if we can bring some of these folks across the river. And based on that, the Quantum Loophole team found this site." 8:20 - Rich goes on to note how "the key element for a lot of data centers is fiber, and a key component, both strategically and from an investment perspective [in Maryland] is that Quantum Loophole needed to have a connection to the Northern Virginia data center cluster in Ashburn, in Data Center Alley - which is not that far as the crow flies, but to get fiber there, they wound up boring a tunnel underneath the Potomac River, an expensive and time-consuming project that they're in the late stages of now. That's a big investment, and all that was done with the expectation that Maryland wanted data centers." 10:26 - Rich summarizes how the final ruling for Aligned in Maryland "was, effectively, that you can have up to 70 MW but beyond that, you have to follow this other process [where] you're more like a power plant than a data center with backup energy." He adds, "I think one of the issues was [in determining], will all of this capacity ever be turned on all at once? Obviously with diesel generators, that's a lot of emissions. So the air quality boards are wrestling with, on the one hand, having a large company that wants to bring in a lot of investment, a lot of jobs; the flip side is, it's a lot of diesel at a time when we're starting to see the growing effects of climate change, and everybody's trying to think about how we deal with fossil fuel generation. The bottom line is, Aligned pulled out and said, this is just not working. The Governor of Maryland, understanding the issues at stake and the amount of investment that has already been brought there, says that he is working with the legislature to try to 'create some regulatory predictability' for the data center industry. Because it used to be that 70 MW was a lot of capacity, but with the way the industry is going right now, that's not so much." 12:06 - In response to David's reiterated question as to whether the data center industry will now increasingly have to rethink it's whole approach to permitting prior to starting construction, Rich notes, "There's a lot of factors that go into site selection, you're looking at land, fiber, power. The regulatory environment around it, whether there's going to be local resistance, has also become part of the conversation, and rightfully so. One of the things that's definitely going to happen is that data centers have to think hard about their impact on the communities where they're locating, and try to develop sensible policies about how they, for lack of a better term, can be good neighbors, and fit into the communities where they're operating." 14:20 - Taking the discussion back across state lines, Editor in Chief Matt Vincent asks for an update on Rich's thoughts surrounding contentious plans by QTS and Compass Datacenters for a proposed new campus development, dubbed the Prince William Digital Gateway, near a Civil War historic site in Prince William County, Virginia. "This is one of the most unique proposals in the history of the data center industry," explains Miller. "It would be the largest data center project ever proposed. And of course, it's become an enormous political hot potato. It's the first time where we've really seen data centers on the ballot in local elections." 20:41 - After hearing some analysis of the business and political angles in Prince William County, Vincent asks whether Miller thinks the PW Digital Gateway project's future is in doubt, or if it's just that we don't know what's going to happen? 22:50 - Vincent asks Miller for his take on the recent data center outage affecting Flexential and Cloudflare, as written up for DCF by Chernicoff, particularly in the area of incident reports and their usefulness. In the course of responding to a follow-on point by David, Rich says, "I think the question for both levels of providers is, are you delivering on your promises, and what do you need to do to ensure that you can? Let's face it, stuff breaks, stuff happens. The data center industry, I think, is fascinating because people really think about failure modes and what happens, and customers need to do the same." 32:14 - To conclude, Vincent asks for Miller's thoughts on the AI implications of Microsoft's cloud-based supercomputer, running Nvidia H100 GPUs, ranking third on the world's top 500 supercomputers list, as highlighed at the recently ongoing SC23 show in Denver. Here are links to some related DCF articles: -- Dominion: Virginia’s Data Center Cluster Could Double in Size -- Dominion Resumes New Connections, But Loudoun Faces Lengthy Power Constraints -- DCF Show: Data Center Diesel Backup Generators In the News -- Cloudflare Outage: There’s Plenty Of Blame To Go Around -- Microsoft Unveils Custom-Designed Data Center AI Chips, Racks and Liquid Cooling