Recommended Free Tools
iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
Data Center Knowledge’s March 11, 2018 roundup brought together five stories about the forces shaping data centers: power and network resilience, 5G edge infrastructure, physical security, workload orchestration, and how to measure useful computing output. These are historical reports, not descriptions of current services or product versions.
1. AWS Direct Connect disruption traced partly to a power issue
A March 7 report said a weather-related power issue at an Equinix-leased property was at least partly responsible for AWS Direct Connect connectivity problems. AWS reported lost links to Equinix facilities DC1–DC6 and DC10–DC12 in Ashburn, Virginia, and to CoreSite VA1 and VA2 in Reston. The service issue began around 6:20 a.m. Eastern on March 2, 2018, and lasted close to four hours.
The distinction between facility power and network connectivity matters: CoreSite said its facilities had not lost power. An Equinix spokesperson said, “When the weather impacting the entire East Coast affected power at a property we lease, we activated our contingency plans,” adding, “We regret that these actions didn’t prevent a service interruption for some customers.” The statements are quoted in Data Center Knowledge’s March 7 report.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The report said AWS did not offer an SLA for Direct Connect in the cited FAQ. Its recommended mitigations were redundant links and Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD), which can detect a link failure so traffic can switch to redundant connectivity. The incident illustrates that a resilient facility and a resilient network path are related but separate concerns.
#1 Best Overall
- Save valuable floor space: 6U wall mount server cabinet Dimensions: 13.78" H x21.65" W x17.72" D.Maximum mounting depth is 14.2"
- Keep critical network equipment secure: glass door and side panels are lockable to prevent unauthorized access. Front door can be installed on either side of the front of the cabinet to satisfy your door swing orientation preference
- Easy equipment configuration: Fully adjustable mounting rails and numbered U positions, with square holes for easy equipment mounting with top and bottom punch-out panels for easy cable access
- Durability: Made of high quality cold rolled steel holds up to 110lb (50kg) (Easy Assembly Required)
- PCI & HIPPA and EIA/ECA-310-E compliant
2. Vapor IO and Packet proposed a usage-based 5G edge cloud
A March 8 story described a planned partnership between Vapor IO, which was developing a distributed edge-data-center footprint, and Packet, a bare-metal cloud provider. The proposal was to place small compute sites near wireless users and let customers buy capacity as an operating expense, rather than requiring each carrier to build and operate its own infrastructure.
The companies described a first planned “5G-as-a-Service” site in Chicago later in 2018, as well as a proposed Vapor Kinetic Edge network connecting multiple tower locations in a city. The report describes plans, not proof that the Chicago site launched. Packet co-founder and CEO Zachary Smith said, “If you just want to put two special boxes in every city that matters in the world, I want to be able to make that happen for you.” The plans and quote appear in Data Center Knowledge’s March 8 interview.
The approach framed an infrastructure choice: build edge capacity in-house or purchase distributed capacity from a provider. The article supplied no independent cost or performance comparison between those options.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →3. Iceland mining-equipment theft exposed physical-security risks
Data Center Knowledge reported on March 5, 2018, citing the Associated Press and other reporting, that four burglaries in December and January led to the theft of 600 specialized cryptocurrency-mining computers valued at $2 million. Two burglaries took place at Advania’s facility. The report said 11 people, including a security guard, had been arrested.
Rank #2
- Save valuable floor space: 12U wall mount server cabinet Dimensions: 24.25" H x21.65" W x17.72" D. MAXIMUM MOUNTING DEPTH is 14.2".
- Keep critical network equipment secure: glass door and side panels are lockable to prevent unauthorized access; Front door can be installed on either side of the front of the cabinet to satisfy your door swing orientation preference
- Easy equipment configuration: Fully adjustable mounting rails and numbered U positions, with square holes for easy equipment mounting with top and bottom punchout panels for easy cable access
- Durability: Made of high quality cold rolled steel holds up to 110lb (50kg) (Easy Assembly Required)
- PCI & HIPPA and EIA/ECA-310-E compliant
Authorities reportedly monitored unusual energy consumption and asked local internet providers, electricians, and storage providers to flag suspicious requests. Iceland had attracted miners in part because of comparatively inexpensive renewable energy. The device count, estimated value, and arrest count are figures reported in 2018, not current equipment values or cryptocurrency-market data. See the March 5 report.
4. DC/OS 1.11 added edge, multi-cloud, and security features
In a March 8, 2018 article, Data Center Knowledge described Mesosphere DC/OS 1.11 as a major release for edge and multi-cloud operations. DC/OS was presented as a cluster-management platform based on Apache Mesos: it coordinates workloads across multiple machines as though they were one computer. Despite the name, the article said DC/OS runs on Linux.
The release features described at the time included:
- Kubernetes-as-a-service and autoscaling capabilities.
- Encryption for sensitive information in transit.
- Integration with Kerberos, LDAP, and Active Directory.
- Improved secrets management, including hierarchies and isolation for multiple teams.
Mesosphere co-founder and CTO Tobi Knaup said, “We really see customers using edge and multi-cloud operations as a competitive advantage.” The release description and quote are in Data Center Knowledge’s DC/OS 1.11 report. These details describe version 1.11 in 2018; they do not establish the features or support status of current DC/OS versions.
Rank #3
- Sturdy:4u server rack is construct from cold rolled steel, with a weight capacity of 110lbs(50kg); Electrostatic powder coat prevents rust and corrosion,quality finish
- Direct use:Open and use, not having to assemble it.Network rack can be placed flat or mounted on the wall,also can be installed vertically under the table
- Design Features:maximum mounting depth of 14 in,cables can be fixed on the side panel;Open frame server rack achieves effortless inspection, replacement and assemble
- Installation:wall mount network rack is easy to install,with instructions or videos for reference;Equipped with multiple accessories, suitable for different needs
- Application:EIA/ECA-310-E Compliant;wall mounted 4u rack fits all 19" racks and cabinets to hold various IT, network, and AV equipment;wall mount rack available in 4U, 6U, and 8U to choose
5. eBay’s DSE patent focused on useful work per watt
A March 7 report covered eBay’s Digital Service Efficiency (DSE), a method for relating energy consumption to marketplace activity such as searches, listings, and purchases. The article described the metric as transactions per second per watt and said the patent model also considers transaction revenue, related infrastructure costs, and carbon footprint. eBay had discussed DSE publicly in 2013; the patent was granted in January 2018.
DSE offers a different lens from Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). PUE helps describe a data center’s electrical and mechanical overhead, but the report said it does not show how productively the servers themselves are being used. DSE instead relates energy to service output. The story provides no eBay-wide numeric efficiency result, so the metric should not be mistaken for a published company-wide score. Read the March 7 report.
What connected the five stories
Together, the stories show that data-center performance is not one number or one layer. Power continuity does not guarantee network-path continuity; putting compute near users can shift infrastructure decisions toward distributed or provider-operated capacity; orchestration software can attempt to coordinate workloads across sites; and facility efficiency measures answer a different question from useful work per unit of energy. The roundup provides no head-to-head performance testing or comparative cost data for these approaches.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
