Preparing the data center for IoT in 2015

The Internet of Things is marching toward the data center mainstream and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of this technological trend. According to a report by Gartner, over 26 billion devices will make up the Internet of Things by 2020, and a large number of those devices will show up in the data center. The acceleration of IoT adoption will cause its fair share of IT hiccups, however, and many companies are already dealing with transition challenges as they integrate IoT technology into their day-to-day operations. Companies considering IoT adoption or those who already have integrated the devices can review the following strategies for tips on how to make their facility more secure and efficient.

Growing power demands require innovative solutions
One of the hardest challenges for IT staffs to solve as they integrate IoT devices into their facilities are ramped up power demands. Data Center Knowledge pointed out that a facility's current source of power may not be sufficient for the demands of the data center five years in the future - much of this anxiety is driven by the expectation that greater adoption of IoT devices will make facilities even more rampant consumers of energy than before.

Many companies have already reacted to this trend by moving their data center operations to locations where renewable energy is more readily available. It seems a prudent move for businesses to take a hard look at the trajectory of their company's data center energy needs and decide if it's in their best financial interest to relocate the facility in the near future.

IoT adds new functionality and complexity to the data center.

Device management will become a top priority
TechTarget pointed out that the surge of devices connected to the data center has the potential to quickly overwhelm the facility's bandwidth. Smart IT teams can preempt​ this problem by investing in device management technology and integrating IoT devices step-by-step. This process will ensure that the IT staff understands how each piece of new equipment will impact power and bandwidth consumption as it is brought online. Use of convenient workarounds like serial to Ethernet gear will also make it easy easier to integrate new devices and device management technology into the data center without adding even more hurdles to the process.

Perle's serial to Ethernet converters connect serial based equipment across an Ethernet network. The Perle IOLAN range of Console Servers, Device Servers and Terminal Servers feature built-in support for IPv6 along with a broad range of authentication methods and encryption technologies.