Accessibility to the internet these days is imperative for most people. The development of mobile devices such as internet-enabled phones, pads, slates and laptops means that there is a need for fast and reliable 24-hour access to the internet. There are currently hundreds and thousands of devices accessing data centres on an hourly basis, each able to call on dozens of different software applications.
This sheer level of usage is set to continue rising over the next three years and data centres like Telecity are having to prepare for even more traffic as both personal and business applications increase. There is a predicted rise in the applications that incorporate distributed file systems, with a higher level of synchronisation between devices and desktops, leading to duplication of data.
Greater technological sophistication within mobile devices also looks set to increase traffic, not only between servers and devices but also between devices themselves. Conference calling, video communication and file sharing will all see additional traffic added to the network.
Predictions are that internet traffic over the next three years is likely to have as much as 80% of usage emanating from mobile devices. This will lead to critical developments required in creating low-latency, higher performance connections to maintain the service effectively.
It is also thought that the increase in mobile devices, all utilising data centres such as Telecity’s, will mean a need for even greater bandwidth requirements. There is also likely to be an increasing number of downloadable apps available that will further put strain on data centres’ Ethernet connections. This will require both increased bandwidth and also latency sensitivity to successfully maintain a functioning network.
Such increases as the use of mobile videoconference calling require low latency for video streaming to be at an acceptable rate. While there have been certain developments in eliminating this problem it is clear that data centres of the future, like Telecity, will need to address this issue.
Over-subscription is another strategy that will need consideration, especially for companies that have applications that require a lot of information storage movement. Increased traffic levels, like any traffic problems, will cause bottlenecks, slow progress and service breaks if the data centre is not properly prepared to handle rises in flow.
There is a great benefit to be had from virtualisation, cloud computing and data centre control of information. They bring flexibility, scalability and economic advantages to companies. It is these issues that will be focusing the minds of data centre developers over the coming years to ensure accessibility and connectivity no matter where one is.
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