Solutions provider Circle B has launched a bare metal IT service in Maincube's Amsterdam data center, using recycled hyperscale hardware provided by circular economy advocate ITRenew.
The service provides infrastructure as a service on hardware built to Open Compute Project (OCP) standards, and is based in the OCP Experience Center which Circle B runs in the Maincubes facility. Although the partners don't mention the original source of the equipment involved, it is likely to be from OCP founder Facebook, which uses many thousands of servers in its nearby data center in Sweden.
Bare metal
"The service is already available, and we already have one test customer," Menno Kortekaas, technical director at Circle B Hardware, told DCD before the launch. "This is like a wholesale platform - you don’t order a single server, it starts from a single rack, but it could be an aisle or more. Sustainability is not a trend, but an urgent necessity."
By the end of the year, customers will be able to order OCP infrastructure online from a portal. OCP hardware can operate at a high density, with optimized power and cooling, and the use of recycled kit makes it more cost-effective, as well as greener.
The OCP Experience Center was originally intended to give enterprise customers a chance to test and investigate OCP hardware before installing it in their own facilities, but Kortekaas says that many people prefer to rely on a partner, so the Center has become a service provider. "Companies big enough to build their own data center don't need me," said Kortekaas.
Smaller companies can use Circle B's "remote hands" service, and locating in an independent data center not owned by a US company makes them more comfortable that the service will comply with European privacy rules.
“As concerns over the data center’s impact on global climate change become more acute, it becomes increasingly clear that the future of IT will center on sustainability and responsible digitization as a core pillar. The truth is that there is a better way to satisfy global data demands while minimizing the negative impacts that we currently see. Now, we’re building that sustainable future with the launch of this collaboration,” said Oliver Menzel, CEO of maincubes.
“Given the current global climate, it’s more important than ever that businesses adopt sustainable, circular models. Doing so confidently, without compromising quality or performance, and at the best economics requires a new approach,” said Ali Fenn, President of ITRenew. “We’re not just talking about the issues of carbon reduction and responsibly meeting data center demand with this partnership; we‘re taking action and delivering real solutions. Together with Circle B and maincubes, we have the opportunity and the imperative to make advanced solutions broadly available.”
The OCP experience Center was founded in Switch Datacenters' Amsterdam facility in 2018, but had to move to Maincubes in 2019, when Equinix bought the Switch facility.
In April, ITRenew announced it was supplying recycled OCP hardware to Hydro66's facility in Sweden.
