Communications and Computing 2009 Benchmark: Data Center Summary

Server virtualization has saved many a data center, pulling them back from the brink of disaster as they ran low on space, power or cooling capacity. Virtualization has led directly to server purchases slowing in the last two years, and projected purchases declining for the next couple of years. Already 30% of organizations are seeing an actual reduction in the number of servers they operate—and not just because of the economy. Virtualization is not a cure-all, though. Storage growth is likely to become the next crisis, and one which virtualization often exacerbates. A perennial favorite problem, it will be thrown into high relief as server growth slows but storage growth doesn’t. We see a strong correlation between those expecting rapid storage growth and those planning to build new data centers. We also see a continued rise of iSCSI use, especially in small and midsize companies, as part of a network convergence strategy. We do not see fibre channel over Ethernet (FCoE) as a significant force in the market in the next couple of years, though. It is still a small-niche solution as a convergence strategy. Partially in conjunction with the converging, iSCSI-enabled data center network, 10G Ethernet has spread to a third of organizations already and will be in half within two years. 10G is most prevalent in network cores, but is seeing significant use in connecting storage to the network, as well. This high-speed connectivity will hasten the spread of iSCSI and the convergence of networks, especially for green-field deployments that have never known a separate fibre channel network.