Data centres that fit into a shipping container in South Africa

While data centres used by hyperscalers and for artificial intelligence tend to capture the spotlight, those built to cater to users on the fringe of a network remain in the shadows.

These are known as edge data centres, facilities built similarly to conventional ones but typically smaller and designed for edge computing.

The idea behind edge computing is for IT architecture to be distributed as close to the end-user as possible.

This allows time-sensitive data, such as from IoT devices, to be processed near the point of origin by an intermediary server, allowing for minimal latency and the data to be cached near the client.

In addition to improved application performance, edge data centre providers also say this allows critical data to be processed locally and reduces backhaul costs.

By holding sensitive data closer to its source, it also minimises the need to transfer sensitive data over the Internet, promising enhanced data privacy and security.

While typical data centres are several stories high and take up large areas of land, edge facilities can be as small as a shipping container.

JSE-listed South African technology company 4Sight Holdings recently partnered with US edge connectivity provider Armada to roll out edge data centres at remote mining sites in Africa.

Armada’s primary product is the Galleon, a deployable and modular data centre running on-premise Microsoft Azure in ruggedised containers.

Galleons come in 3-rack, 6-meter or 6-rack, 12-meter configurations and are purpose-built for processing data on-site at remote mines, agricultural sites, oil rigs, and industrial facilities.

To facilitate high-bandwidth and low-latency data transfers, the Galleon can be fitted with dishes and associated equipment from satellite Internet service Starlink.

4Sight Holdings said that the Galleon reduced the costs and complexities associated with rolling out fixed-line connectivity to a remote site and transferring large volumes of data to centralised facilities for processing.

South African provider with 38 facilities nationwide

Open Access Data Centres (OADC) is a local provider catering to similar needs, with 38 edge data centre facilities nationwide.

With all of South Africa’s major data centres located in the Western Cape, Gauteng, or KwaZulu-Natal, OADC clients in other provinces have nearby access to similar computing facilities.

OADC uses “a core-to-edge architecture supporting clients in delivering improved application performance by serving data, content and applications closer to end users.”

The company added that it aimed to establish core data centres in major cities and edge facilities in major business and connectivity hubs nationwide.

OADC’s edge data centre locations include towns and cities like Laingburg, Colesburg, Jeffrey’s Bay, Ladysmith, Pietermaritzburg, Kimberley, Kroonstad, Secunda, and Polokwane.

It has also built two core facilities in Cape Town, one in Durban, and another in Johannesburg, as part of its service offering.

The company noted that these are located on core network routes and are interlinked over high-speed connections of over 100 Gbps.

The racks in its edge facilities are 1,200mm deep and 600mm wide, with a height of 47U. However, non-standard rack variations are also available.

OADC edge data centres also provide clients with redundant network infrastructure, multiple IP network routes, and on-site and off-site storage and back-up on a secure LAN.