Truckin' Storage

5:45 PM -- Forget forklift upgrades. Rackable Systems Inc. has one that's haulable. The vendor just released Concentro, a portable data center in a shipping container that can be driven right to your door.

Concentro is "designed to augment or replace traditional data centers of any size," Rackable says. It packs up to 3.5 Pbytes of storage or 1,200 of Rackable's own rackmount servers in a 4-foot-by-40-foot unit. Rackable uses Intel Xeon quad-core processors for extra density.

"[T]raditional brick-and-mortar data centers often lack the flexibility and infrastructure to meet the exploding demand for ever more computing and storage resources," states Rackable's press release. "Rising real estate costs and space restrictions are also driving the need for data center designs that move beyond traditional building structures."

Indeed, Rackable can drive your needs to any remote site -- within driving distance, that is.

It's backup that backs right up to your loading dock; petabytes for your parking lot.Rackable won't say what Concentro costs, but it's likely more than a your average RV. VP of marketing Colette LaForce says it's roomy enough inside to house plenty of people and servers. It's good on power, and it comes in a light, nondescript color to prevent absorption of solar rays and to "alleviate security concerns." There's even a little 10-foot vestibule where you can hang out.

Questions remain. Do operators other than the driver come with the container? Do you need a tent to work there? Where's the restroom?

Stay tuned.

Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and Switch