Reshaping data centre infrastructure the Huawei way

Huawei is reshaping the data centre, from its architecture to the way power and cooling are handled, right down to operations and maintenance (O&M).

In a session at DCD Singapore 2019 titled Leading the way in DC R(E)volution Soma Shekar V, Regional Director, DC Facility Solutions, Singapore, Huawei explained that the company has thought out of the box to bring a better data centre experience to enterprises.

Shekar showed current and ideal states for a data centre. TTM stands for time-to-market, while PUE refers to power usage effectiveness. O&M refers to operations and management or maintenance.

Architecture-wise, GPUs are boosting server performance, while all-flash storage is shrinking footprints, Shekar said. Huawei equipment already feature such technologies.

“Network architecture is going to drive the way the data centres are going,” he added, noting that three-tier architectures are mocing to network fabric-based architectures.

One common challenge is a discrepancy between a projected PUE value on paper and the PUE on the ground. Huawei offers data centres with certified PUE so that there is less of a gap between projected and real PUE values, Shekar said. When it comes to cooling, solutions have become more complex as infrastructure has become more demanding.

“Data centres can no longer tolerate the non-availability of cooling,” he said, sharing that a 9kW rack would likely shut down if there is no cooling.

Huawei's FusionCol indirect evaporative cooling technology addresses the challenge by using ambient cooling from the atmosphere to provide cooling inside a data centre. Partial failures do not lead to full shutdowns, and faults can be rectified within 15 minute, Shekar said.

Improving O&M, on the other hand, boils down to providing solutions that augment what people can do. Self-diagnosing and self-healing solutions would be ideal, Shekar said.

Many of Huawei's solutions are backed by artificial intelligence (AI). FusionCol can adjust operating temperatures based on weather information, while its iPower data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) software can predict when devices are likely to fail in the near future.

The time taken to build, scale or reconfigure a data centre has also become critical. “Alternate ways are needed to build and expand data centres, not just in terms of space but also in terms of flexibility,” Shekar said.

Huawei's data centres are integrated in the factory, pre-tested and pre-configured before delivery. They can be implemented in four hours to a week, with very little research and development onsite.

"All we need from clients is a piece of land to convert into a data centre. There is no traditional building required," he said.

Huawei built a large data centre for its cloud business unit in under 10 months, with the assembly of modules taking 13 days, Shekar said. The first phase is in production with a 1,000-rack capacity and 8 MW of capacity. Traditionally, a data centre of this size would require two to three years to complete, he said.

"This is the modern way (in which) Huawei offers solutions to its customers," he said.