Finding the Sweet Spot Between Consolidated and Distributed Data Centers

By Nikos Koutsoukos, Crossbeam Systems

In recent years, there has been an enormous push to consolidate data centers in order to improve management control and take advantage of consolidation technologies like virtualization that provide enormous cost savings by eliminating hardware and reducing power consumption.

Despite the benefits of consolidation, we’re noticing the emergence of a counter trend among some of our mobile operator customers – that is, the move back toward more distributed data centers. As carriers move to adopt 4G network technologies to accommodate growing bandwidth and IP data traffic demands and the use of video and other IP-based multimedia services, they are finding that highly consolidated data centers pose management, cooling and power problems, and lack hardware that can truly support the network load.

The extreme performance levels carriers must maintain in order to deliver high-availability, high-throughput services in today’s mobile environment pose a huge challenge. According to predictions from Gartner, by 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide. This is compounded by a shift in how people are using their mobile phones. According to a recent Morgan Stanley study, the average iPhone user only spends 45 percent of his on-device time making voice calls.

These demands can’t be supported by a single large consolidated data center, especially if each mobile connection created by each device needs to secured – which slows network performance. The reality is that no one network device can solve this issue. It simply doesn’t exist – despite performance claims you might hear from vendors.

The move back to more of a distributed strategy is not so much about going back in time, but rather about finding the sweet spot between consolidation and distribution – what some of our customers are terming ”limited-distribution data center.”

In this scenario, the mobile operator will seek a middle ground between these two poles, perhaps deploying five or six data centers, rather than a single one or 30 of them. The benefits that limited-distribution data centers can achieve  including improved performance, better traffic load distribution, better disaster/recovery and resiliency  are starting to outweigh the benefits of a single consolidated data center (e.g., fewer staff members and reduced operational expenses).

Moreover, a limited approach provides a more scalable foundation from which to grow the subscriber base and deliver new cloud-based services, without fully sacrificing the management and operational control of a consolidated approach. As with most things, it’s never really black and white. Rather, it’s about finding the balance between control and flexibility that mobile operators are discovering as we move into a more IP-based market.

Nikos Koutsoukos is the director of product line management at Crossbeam Systems, a leading network security platform provider, where he is responsible for developing the strategy for the company’s product lines. Before joining Crossbeam, he held a number of senior marketing and management positions, including senior director of business line management at 3Com Corporation.