Traditional data centers aren’t always able to meet the demands of a large number of users who need to retrieve data in real time. The dramatic increase in the use of big data is putting pressure on data centers to increase their data transmission speed to accommodate more internet users. Data centers are therefore shifting from storage to real-time data analysis on demand as their primary function.
This functionality shift makes blockchain an increasingly attractive option for verifying data set changes across multiple data centers. However, this approach also requires an infrastructure that can provide rapid, secure data transmission for sources that require high bandwidth such as data, video and voice. Many data centers are now changing their traditional network architecture to one that can accommodate the data processing demands of block chain systems.
Infrastructure Changes
Traffic in traditional data centers is primarily between clients and servers, but server-to-server traffic predominates in internet data centers that support cloud-computing applications. Internet data centers must also provide an uninterrupted experience for a large number of users with diversified demands. The network architecture of these data centers therefore needs to be more efficient to handle the traffic spikes they routinely experience.
The architecture currently in use by most data centers is a tree network consisting of three levels, including core, aggregation and access layers. This model can be effective when transmissions are primarily between client and server, but less so for applications requiring high bandwidth where latency becomes a concern. Large data centers are now migrating to a spine-and-leaf network architecture, which is more efficient at transferring data directly between servers.
However, the cabling for this architecture is much more complex since a leaf switch is needed to connect each spine switch. The main distribution area (MDA) of a data center using a spine-and-leaf architecture also has a higher server density, which requires greater cooling capacity. An MTP-to-LC module is beneficial for this architecture, since it can achieve the full mesh of the leaf switches without breaking the spine switch’s 40G port into four 10G channels.
Data centers will be able to secure their data more effectively once their infrastructure can support the required traffic. Blockchains are becoming a popular solution to data security, since they distribute data across multiple servers using cryptographic methods. This approach makes blockchains difficult to hack, since each block typically contains only a cryptographic hash of the previous block. Blockchains were originally used to protect cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, but they’re also being used to provide data security outside the financial sector. Data centers that store sensitive data have been among the first to adopt blockchains as a secure storage method.
Future Demands
Data center infrastructures will need to support many more devices with internet connectivity due to the increasing proliferation of 5G networks and the Internet of Things (IoT). They will also need to meet the demands of increased traffic and secure storage during this transformation. A spine-and-leaf network architecture will provide an economical solution to distributed data management through the use of servers that can tolerate higher densities. This architecture has already enabled large data centers to upgrade their bandwidth from 10G to 40G and will help ensure the transition to 100G networks in the near future. Data centers will adopt blockchain technology to improve the security of their data storage.
Conclusion
Green Revolution Cooling’s liquid-cooled server racks can help you use blockchain technology in your data center by reducing build-out costs as much as 60 percent and cooling costs by up to 95 percent. Our immersion cooling systems provide up to 100 kW of cooling power per rack, allowing you greatly increase hardware density. GRC’s modular, pre-engineered solutions also allow you to deploy in any powered shell, including warehouses and breweries.
