5G is an acronym forever linked to 21st century technological advancement and all it entails. Although we may not fully grasp what 5G is capable of yet, we know it will likely dramatically change the world around us.
Another high-tech innovation that has quietly emerged as part of our everyday computing also happens to be an essential element behind the success of 5G. The technological marvel known as hyperscale is the flexible, ultra-large scale data center architecture commonly associated with the cloud.
Although the impact of hyperscale has managed to stay below the radar, the speed and bandwidth of 5G technology coupled with hyperscale computing horsepower will unlock new use cases that were once the stuff of science fiction.
5G Demystified
In simple terms, 5G stands for the 5th generation of mobile communication technology. Like each previous generation, 5G brings a dramatic increase in speed and bandwidth, along with a significant reduction in latency (lag time). Transmission over a high frequency band known as the “millimeter wave” (30 GHz – 300 GHz) is one key to this quantum leap in performance.
To accommodate the higher frequencies, a slew of new technologies including massive MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) antenna arrays, beamforming, and network “slicing” have been developed and must work together seamlessly.
5G is so fast and the latency so low that the internet of things (IoT) can finally be realized on a massive scale. The IoT is based on the premise of data-collecting sensors and intelligence embedded in millions of everyday objects like cars, machines, buildings, and medical products, allowing them to make important decisions on their own or with the help of external computers communicating in real time.
What is Hyperscale?
The zettabytes of data generated by 5G and the IoT must find a home somewhere. While some of it can and will be processed at the point of use and deleted, other data elements will be routed to small distributed edge data centers for analysis. These centers are strategically positioned to reduce latency and accelerate decision-making. Other 5G functions will undoubtedly require long-term, high-volume data storage or complex computing and data analysis capabilities.
Where Hyperscale Enters the Picture
The “cloud” is an appropriate metaphor for a seemingly endless source of computer infrastructure, big data storage, and enterprise software that only exists out in cyberspace somewhere. That somewhere is often within one of the 600+ colossal hyperscale data centers that can exceed 1 million square feet and contain 20,000 or more servers.
These advanced data centers leverage the latest in software defined networking (SDN), artificial intelligence (AI), and containerization technologies, allowing them to ramp up, redistribute, or redeploy computing resources effortlessly. These enviable traits have also made hyperscale a de facto anchoring technology for 5G networks and IoT use cases.
Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS)
ADAS has been with us for over half a century, beginning with features like anti-lock brakes and cruise control and evolving into fully autonomous vehicles. The real tipping point for ADAS adoption will the shifting of intelligence from the vehicles themselves to the edge and the cloud. 5G and hyperscale make this possible.
Vehicle to “Everything” (V2E) Communication
5G is the medium that will empower vehicles to converse with one another (V2V), with infrastructure like toll booths and signs (V2I), with pedestrians (V2P), or with computer networks (V2N). Imperceptible latency in the 1-2 millisecond range provides the necessary margin of safety. For perspective, 2 milliseconds is roughly ten percent of the time it takes for a hummingbird to flap its wings…once.
This new breed of intelligent vehicles will be backed by an even more intelligent network capable of tracking, guiding, and entertaining millions of drivers safely and efficiently. Only the power of hyperscale computing can enable this transformation.
Connected Health
Much more than just a use case, the concept of connected health brings together multiple healthcare innovations that share a common messenger in 5G and a common data processing and storage anchor in hyperscale. These advancements also share the objective of strengthening rather than replacing connections between healthcare providers and their patients.
This theme can be seen in virtual consultations or augmented reality (AR) training sessions that link medical experts to patents and students in remote locations. It also applies to a growing variety of wearable IoT devices that can give both patients and their physicians advanced warning in times of crisis.
New wearable, diagnostic, and remote surgical applications continue to reshape the healthcare landscape. The hyperscale engine supplying the artificial intelligence and automation behind potentially life and death decisions must be equally versatile and responsive.
Unmanned Data Centers
The best and most sustainable new innovations are those that can monitor, correct, and improve themselves over time. Hyperscale might fall into this category. As data center owners and operators take aim at net zero carbon footprints and on-site renewable energy production through solar, wind, and hydro-electric sources, they also reap benefits from the same low latency IoT temperature, power, and security sensing products they have made possible.
Hyperscalers continue to integrate automation and remote monitoring into their computing and operation practices. Less reliance on humans on site allows hyperscale data centers to be constructed in remote locations or inhospitable climates. These locales can produce additional dividends through reduced cooling energy needs or closer proximity to renewable energy sources.
A Hyperscale Future?
The alliance between 5G and hyperscale might be described as both awkward and inevitable. Hyperscalers have grown accustomed to operating in a less restrictive regulatory environment with a focus on content driving shorter data center lifecycles. Communication Service Providers (CSPs) have meanwhile favored a long game approach to data center planning and deployment consistent with five nines (99.999%) availability. Finding an acceptable middle ground will be essential as these partnerships evolve.
Despite the obstacles, we have only scratched the surface of what hyperscale and 5G (and generations of wireless technology to follow) can accomplish together. The cloud has lived up to its nickname by freeing individual users and businesses of the memory and computing constraints that once made hardware obsolete in months. The next and most important act for the hyperscale cloud could be enabling the cities of tomorrow.
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