Data centres running out of space and power

Report claims high density devices to blame for capacity crisis.

Data centres are facing a "capacity crisis" in which almost half are running out of physical space, new research has claimed.

A survey of over 100 enterprise data managers reported that almost 90 percent of data centres are three-quarters full.

The study from the Aperture Research Institute found that more than 43 percent of respondents said that 90 percent or more of their data centres are in use.

"Compounding these concerns is the fact that servers and racks are using more power than ever before. Nearly 38 percent of respondents said that their average rack is using from 7 to 18 kilowatts or more," the study warned.

"As well as putting pressure on the power supply infrastructure, such a high density will also increase demand for cooling and increase the risk of downtime. "

Aperture Research Institute believes that one of the reasons for the rise in power density is the use of blade servers.

Some 90 percent of respondents indicated that their companies had blade servers in their data centres, but nearly 74 percent said that less than a fifth of their new servers would be blade servers.

"Data centres are facing a crisis because of the increased demands on their physical resources and management," said Steve Yellen, vice president of marketing at Aperture.

"There is a gap between IT and data centre facilities that is resulting in a rapid increase in high density equipment without thinking about the ability of a data centre to reliably support that capacity.

"With these data centres stretching thinner and thinner, more and more instances of downtime and failure are likely to occur."

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