Hybrid Edge Data Centers: Reducing Transmission Times for Mission-Critical Applications

A new white paper from Belden explores why hybrid edge computing is the future of the data center market. As more mobile devices send data to the edge and the cloud, data centers will need to develop a hybrid approach to their infrastructure that addresses long transmission times that can lead to downtime for mission-critical applications.

According to the paper, “hybrid edge data centers can deliver latency-sensitive data close to users and integrate with core or centralized applications in public clouds or corporate data centers.” This type of data center is commonly being used by retail stores and restaurants to create efficiencies for businesses with multiple locations. The low latency offered by a hybrid data center also allows the business to create new services and technologies that keep their customers engaged. The paper provides several examples of this in action.

Healthcare is another area where hybrid edge data centers can be deployed, according to the paper. The healthcare industry is seeing a shift from in-person care to telemedicine, as well as a growing number of patients and providers that are reliant on connected devices such as CPAP machines, glucose meters, and electronic health records (EHRs). In these situations, the latency found when using a single data center can have significant repercussions.”To reduce latency, hybrid edge data centers move computing closer to patients and providers so data like high-res imagery and patient information can be processed and managed close to the edge for faster upload and processing speeds.”

“The data center’s traditional approach to networking has not kept up with technology. As applications and goals change, a more flexible topology is needed.” – Belden, “Planning Now for the Future: Hybrid Edge Data Centers“

The paper goes on to discuss three main considerations for hybrid edge data center operation. To meet the automation, connectivity, redundancy
and elasticity required of this type of data center, most are unmanned. They also typically rely on SD-WAN architecture and use leaf-spine topology. This more flexible topology is necessary because “traditional networks tend not to be as scalable, agile or flexible as they need to be to support automation and lights-out data centers,” according to the author.

The final section of the paper discusses cabling in hybrid edge data centers and the importance of interconnection points (meet-me rooms).

Download the full report, “Planning Now for the Future: Hybrid Edge Data Centers” from Belden to learn more about why hybrid edge computing is the future for data centers.