Schneider Electric has released white paper 165, “Types of Prefabricated Modular Data Centers”. The new white paper aims to eliminate ambiguity between the various form factors on the market today, and proposes a standardised set of definitions for the growing categories of modular and prefabricated data centre products and solutions.
A lack of standard terminology for describing modular approaches has made selecting the appropriate type difficult. Data centre systems or subsystems that are preassembled in a factory are often described with terms like prefabricated, containerized, modular, skid-based, pod-based, mobile, portable, self-contained, all-in-one, and more. There are, however, important distinctions between the various types of factory-built building blocks on the market.
White Paper 165 therefore suggests a framework that in addition to helping define and categorise different types of modular and prefabricated data centre equipment, seeks to act as a guide for choosing the best approach for customer installations based on their business requirements.
Modular and prefabricated data centre solutions have a wide and expanding range of uses for operators and have relevance to an increasing range of operational situations. The recent announcement of Schneider Electric’s own range of prefabricated data centre modules has helped broaden the range of uses and brings many more factory pre-tested components and configurations to market.
Understanding the limitations and benefits of each form factor helps ensure the optimal approach is selected. Ultimately, business needs around speed of deployment, scalability, space constraints, capacity, and cash flow drive the decision.
The flexible nature of modular or prefabricated solutions along with shorter lead times to deploy have created a growing level of interest as to what kind of products are available and what are the uses each type are most suitable for. “Types of Prefabricated Modular Data Centers” should provide a useful reference guide to anyone with an interest in this field and help to clarify the types and uses of products.