From 4k video, to 3-D, to virtual reality and beyond, we’re in love with rich, immersive
media.
As content on the Internet has become more dynamic, the amount of bandwidth we consume
has skyrocketed, driving innovation in delivery and storage technology.
This is a look at the future of Internet infrastructure.
The activity you’re engaged in right now — streaming a video — is driving massive
growth in the amount of data that’s being transferred.
For perspective on how much data we’re consuming, 853 1.2 megabyte 5.25 inch floppy disks — like
what Oregon Trail used to come on — equals 1 gigabyte.
And there are 1,000 gigabytes in the 1 terabyte hard drives many of us have in our computers.
In 2016, global IP traffic passed a zettabyte for the first time.
That’s one billion terabytes.
Internet video accounted for half that bandwidth.
But in 2021, total worldwide traffic is projected to nearly triple to 3.3 zettabytes—that’s
3.3 trillion gigabytes of data.
More than two thirds of that traffic will be Internet video, with IPTV like netflix
taking up another 22%.
To keep up with the increasing demand for data and high-speed connections, service providers
have been driven to expand their network infrastructures and initiate projects like Google Fiber, heating
up the competition.
As a result, installation of large capacity 100Gb ethernet equipment grew 450% year-over-year
in 2016.
Google is also planning to use wireless alternatives that can deliver gigabit per second speeds
to reach remote areas where it’s too expensive to set up Fiber.
The other advancement we’ll see is the development of ultrafast 5G networks.
In 2016 the Obama administration announced a $400m, seven year public-private partnership
— spearheaded by the National Science Foundation — to jumpstart the effort.
5G will handle 1,000 times the traffic at 10 times the speed of existing 4G and LTE
networks.
Not only will you be able to download an HD movie in under 1 second, but it will free
up bandwidth to make room for what’s on the horizon.
Virtual Reality is incredibly data intensive, and soon millions of driverless cars will
hit the road as billions of additional Internet connected devices come online.
The Internet of Things is an absolute game-changer.
Nearly every machine and many objects that aren’t — like our clothes — will be
connected to the Internet.
[John Volakis] “They’re washable, they can be embedded in electronics.
I think eventually what we look forward to is to have circuitry, memory, as well as computer
functionality to be embedded within wearable circuits.”
You’ll be able to monitor your household appliances from your smartphone, buildings
will be able to self monitor to detect wear and tear and factories will anticipate when
its machinery — or more accurately, it’s robots — will break down, utility grids
will communicate with energy providers and customers in real time, and cities will become
smart as traffic lights, trash cans, water and gas lines will all be able to send service
and condition updates, saving people valuable time and resources.
This explosion of data-producing devices will lead to a revolution in how all that data
is stored.
The data center industry is one of the world’s most competitive markets.
In addition to investing in adequate security measures, companies big and small must make
their facilities run as efficiently as possible.
The widespread adoption of uninterrupted power supply and cooling systems are driving energy
reductions that weren’t possible even five years ago.
Thermal management units and an expanded use of free cooling technology is creating energy
savings of up to 70%.
And by harvesting the power of our natural environments like higher altitude locations,
night-time coldness, deep sea or lakewater, and subterranean geothermal energy, data centers
are proving that the push to create a better tomorrow doesn’t have to doom future generations.
In 2014 data centers in the United States were responsible for 2% of national energy
consumption, but thanks to new technology that figure that won’t grow significantly—even
as the amount of storage facilities does.
Another focal point is on speeding up the time it takes to install new capacity.
This is being achieved by pre-fabricating new facilities off-site, cutting development
time by 50%.
And the next generation of datacenters will use robots to make the system even more efficient.
[Jason Hoffman] “The reality is, when you look at all server
storage networking design, the intention is that a human being walks up and pulls something
out and pushes it back in.
Now if you ask the question of what if we had all that done by robotic systems?
What if we started physically automating the entire facility as well, then that changes
everything.”
A lot of these new facilities power the cloud, which is becoming the engine of futuristic
economic growth.
But some companies are putting so much data into the cloud, they need Amazon Web Services’
Snowmobile shipping container-sized data-transfer service.
It picks up to 100 petabytes of data from its customers for high-speed transfer into
the cloud.
In the near future, artificial Intelligence will become pervasive and cognitive capabilities
will help us analyze and manage the flood of data that’s on the horizon.
All this infrastructure development will pay huge dividends.
Right now, only half the human population is online.
As that number rises fast in the coming years, these newly connected places will be able
to leapfrog the slower, less efficient infrastructure of the past.
One technique — which could especially help in rural areas — is Li-Fi, which uses light
to transmit data.
Harald Haas — who pioneered this technology — demonstrated it in a Ted Talk.
[Harald Haas] “I can block the light of the solar cell.
So first you notice the energy harvesting drops and the video drops as well.
If I remove the blockage, the video will restart.”
[Applause]
LiFi technology clearly has a long way to go, but it serves as a reminder that much
of the internet infrastructure of tomorrow hasn’t been invented yet.
Thanks for watching.
Which technology do you think will have the biggest impact, and what did we leave out?
If you enjoyed this video hit the like button and subscribe.
And stay tuned, we’ll be profiling aspects of the future and key innovations every week
from here on out.
Until next time, for TDC, I’m Bryce Plank.