What is an Edge Data Center? Characteristics, Types, and Benefits

Characteristics of Edge Data Centers

The following factors sets an edge data center apart from traditional centralized data centers:

• Scale and size: Edge data centers serve local populations and are generally smaller than centralized data centers.
• Proximity to end-user locations: As they are located close to end-users and data sources, you will often find an edge data center at the base of cell towers, in proximity to industrial sites or urban areas.
• Modularity:They are designed to enable the deployment and scaling of modular units (adding or removing) in response to evolving needs.
• Energy efficiency: An edge data center is considerably more energy-efficient due to their small size, and localized operations. They use cutting-edge cooling and power techniques to lower energy usage, thus reducing their adverse environmental impact, increasing savings, and reducing carbon footprint.
• Specialized hardware: They employ Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) designed for high-performance computing. They also enable local processing along with real-time data analysis.

Benefits of Moving to Edge Data Centers

Migration to edge data centers ensues from the demand for high bandwidth, reliability, legal compliance, and low latency enabled by the real-time processing of data.

• Reduced latency: As an edge data center processes data close to the source, they reduce the time taken for data to travel, consequently minimizing latency. This is crucial for applications such as online gaming, financial transactions, and remote surgeries that require real or near-real-time responses.
• Bandwidth optimization: Edge data centers process and filter data locally, thus optimizing bandwidth usage. This reduces the volume of data sent to centralized data centers, which in turn eases network congestion and lowers data transfer expenses.
• Higher reliability: Edge data centers offer uninterrupted service for local users as they can operate it even when centralized data centers experience downtime or outages. This adds an extra layer of redundancy and resilience.
• Enhanced user experience: With the edge being closer to customers, data is delivered more efficiently and economically. This results in a better user experience.
• Regulatory compliance: Since an edge data center keeps data close to the devices generating them, they greatly facilitate compliance with laws that mandate processing and storing data within geographic borders.

Types of Edge Data Centers

Based on the purpose they serve, location, and size, edge data centers can be of distinct types. The following are the main types:

• Micro data centers: These are compact and self-contained units that can be set up swiftly to provide local processing capacities in underserved or remote locations.
• Regional edge data centers: These cover wider regions and support a greater range of applications with higher processing and storage capacities than micro data centers.
• Enterprise edge data centers: An edge center of this type is mostly found on company or organization property, supporting enterprise applications used in the finance, manufacturing, and healthcare industries, leveraging local data processing and storage.
• Mobile edge data centers: These are mobile and frequently used in military applications, disaster recovery and transient events.

Impact on existing data centers

There are numerous ways these data centers can influence traditional ones:

• Complementary role: While centralized data centers oversee large-scale data aggregation, long-term storage, and complicated analytics, edge data centers handle local processing and storage. They do not pose the threat of replacing traditional data centers.
• Lower load: By shifting local data processing to an edge data center, centralized data centers have more capacity to operate efficiently and focus on tasks that are more resource sensitive.
• Higher resilience: Edge data centers strengthen the resilience of the network because they can continue offering vital services to local customers even in the event of outages of centralized data centers.
• Cost implications: Although edge data center maintenance requires heavy investments, it brings significant long-term cost savings. This helps enterprises reduce operational expenses.

Use case: 5G and Edge Computing

The deployment of 5G networks is significantly enhanced by edge data centers that enable superior mobile experiences by providing faster and more reliable connectivity, essential for applications like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and high-definition video streaming. In smart cities, edge data centers support real-time data processing for efficient environmental monitoring, public safety, and traffic management. For industrial automation, an edge data center facilitates real-time monitoring and management of equipment and processes, improving safety and productivity while reducing downtime. Additionally, they empower IoT applications by offering local processing power, minimizing the need to transfer data to centralized data centers and accelerating data processing.

Sify’s Edge Connect

Sify’s Edge Ready solutions help businesses expand their core services to the edge devices effortlessly. Our services leverage advanced AI/ML, IoT, and data modeling, guaranteeing near-real-time decision-making while lowering latency. Our managed edge network platform facilitates digital transformation by integrating wired and wireless services, such as managed 5G and Wi-Fi. We connect 50+ edge data centers pan India, delivering a superior end-user experience centered on high performance. Our Internet Exchange as-a-service offers access to multiple cloud providers, ISPs, CDNs, OTT players, social media networks, enterprises, and national and international to further optimize and enhance network performance.

Whether you’re just learning about an edge data center or aiming to improve your current setup, we can help you offer great user experiences and enable the launch of business models and service bundles that lead to new revenue streams. To know more, get in touch with us today.