micro-datacenter

A micro-datacenter (MDC) is a relatively small, modular system that serves smaller businesses or provides additional resources for an enterprise. An MDC may be designed to solve different sets of problems or to process types of workloads that cannot be handled by traditional facilities or large modular datacentres.

An average container-based datacentre typically hosts dozens of servers and thousands of virtual machines (VMs) in a 40ft shipping container.  In contrast, a micro-datacentre is likely to contain fewer than 10 servers and fewer than 100 VMs within a single 19in box. MDCs, like containerized data centers, feature built-in security systems, cooling systems and flood and fire protection.

Micro-datacenters are often used for edge computing, to bring computing resources closer to end users. The model can be used for remote office/branch office (ROBO) environments and organizations that have a geographically dispersed user base. In that case, intermediary micro-datacenters can be installed at remote locations to replicate cloud services locally, improving performance and the ability to quickly access and make use of perishable data.