May 12, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Dell (dell.com) may be the next major computer hardware manufacturer to move into the containerized data center space after speculations have been confirmed that it is creating its own self-contained mobile data center.
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According to reports by Channel Register, Dell currently has a data center based on a stackable shipping container in development and multiple sources have confirmed that Dell's container plans will "extend beyond a one-off box."
"We have a (container system) in the works for a customer," a Dell insider told Channel Register. "We are looking at that space very, very closely."
Dell has reportedly been working with power, cooling and monitoring technology provider Liebert (liebert.com) and it is believed that Dell's container will use "refrigerant-based micro-channel coils with a refrigerant-to-water heat exchanger for external cooling connectivity."
With this new project in development, Dell will join such other major hardware vendors as Sun Microsystems and Rackable Systems and Verari that already have containerized data centers. Sun first announced its "Project Blackbox" offering in October 2006.
The shipping container data centers are believed to appeal to customers who are running out of space in their current data centers, providing backup computing gear for disaster recovery services or setting up operations in remote locations.
Sun has been seen as the frontrunner in becoming Microsoft's data center dealer since Rackable announced earlier this year it only plans to ship 20 to 50 data center containers in 2008. Channel Register suggests this new development may help put Dell in the running for supplying Microsoft's data center "container farm" in Chicago, if this is a direction the hardware vendor plans on taking.
