Published on March 03, 2010

Data Center Containers: The New Wave or a Passing Fad?

The idea of a data center in a portable container (sometimes called containerized data centers or modular data centers) might initially sound like a revolutionary concept that will sweep the industry. Nevertheless, the truth of these data center containers is likely to be a little more modest than some proponents might suggest.

Data center containers have been developed by companies such as HP, IBM, and Sun, and they have been hailed as a potential replacement for standard data centers, with their typical real estate and construction needs. According to NetworkWorld, Microsoft director of data center research Daniel Costello stated at the GigaOM Structure 08 conference that data center containers are “key to the industry’s future.” Sentiments such as this give the impression that companies that still maintain traditional data center facilities should expect some major changes as data center containers steal the spotlight from traditional facilities.

To be sure, data center containers are a fascinating approach to creating or upgrading facilities, and their portability and lack of traditional construction make them sound like a logical progression of data center technology. Microsoft even has a new data center facility in Chicago that makes extensive use of these containers (albeit indoors inside a larger structure, rather than as standalone structures outside). Nevertheless, despite predictions of their ascendancy as an industry-wide standard, data center containers are likely to be limited to certain niche applications.

To read further, please visit the Data Center Journal website:
http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3615&Itemid=41