Green Data Center Location Should Consider Network Latency

Dec 27, 2022 | Development

Green data center location is one of the most critical factors in the data center industry. Whether it is for saving power or reducing carbon footprint, green data centers are implemented by many enterprises.

Why has Network Latency Become More Important?

Latency refers to the time delay in transmissions through a network. Latency is most important when transmitting high-speed signals because it can lead to inaccurate results and poor performance. For example, if latency is high and your voice needs to travel far away to reach someone, it will take a long for you to listen to the response, and it will feel like your conversation partner is slow in responding.

To understand network latency, we must understand how information travels through our networks. Data moves from one point to another through routers and switches at different points along the way. While there are many ways that latency can occur—from slow response times at a server end to multiple hops across routers—latency can also be due to long distances between two points.

In this case, latency is measured by how long it takes a packet of information to travel from point A to point B and back again. Keeping this definition in mind will help you compare locations for your data center.

In the past, network latency was less of an issue for most companies because network speeds were relatively slow. Companies were fine with paying more for colocation facilities in areas with lower latency times because it didn’t negatively impact their businesses.

However, Internet speeds have increased exponentially over the last decade, and many businesses now covet low-latency sites because they can improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Some examples include:

Faster load times for websites.
Rapid transfer of large files.
Immediate access to on-site information.
Improved response time for real-time communications like video conferencing and chat systems.

What does this have to do with green data centers?

It’s not just about the distance from one site to another: the number of network hops and whether they’re over a high-speed fiber-optic network or an old copper line can make a big difference in performance, especially for applications such as video conferencing.

Imagine this when you are in Jakarta and then access a cryptocurrency application whose data center is located in Europe or the United States. The data communication is between PoP, Data Center, and satellite touch and PoP in each country and region. Of course, data communication will require more electricity costs. For now, the data center contributes 2% of the world’s total carbon emissions.

We’ve talked before about how important it is to consider the environmental impact of data centers. Still, if you want to be truly green, you have to look at all aspects—not just how much energy and water are used to keep servers running, but also how much power is being lost in transmission and what the environmental impact of that loss might be.

By looking at all the variables, you’ll ensure your data center comes ahead on all fronts.

Selecting a Green Data Center Location

With so many factors to consider when selecting a location for a data center, it can take time to determine if one option is better. One crucial factor is how far away your users are from the nearest point of presence (PoP). If your users are spread across the country or around the globe, you want them to be close to their local PoP—this will ensure they don’t experience long wait times when accessing their data.

Some considerations for choosing a location to set up a green data center, such as:

Population and internet penetration rates. As a consideration of data center needs by comparing the current total capacity.
Location status in digital transformation (link to Harvard business review). The correct location for a green data center business is a location that has not reached Stall-out status and has exceeded Watch-out.
Support from local government. Ease of licensing and investment policies on ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) are essential factors in choosing a green data center location.
Availability of non-renewable energy supplies but cleaner ones such as liquid natural gas, which has a lower carbon emission content of 40% to 60% than coal.
Mature ICT infrastructure and supply of green data center materials must be guaranteed. At least import permits are not complicated.
Professional talents. The scarcity of digital talent is increasing, especially in countries with too many data centers. To determine this, we can look at associations and education about data centers and virtualization in the country.

There are many other considerations in choosing a green data center location. In short, Jakarta is one of the most strategic locations to set up a green data center.

Why Jakarta?

This is an exciting topic among IT and ventures capital leaders. To be included like us, commercial real estate companies also see Jakarta as a strategic location for green data centers.

Apart from being the center of government and administration in Indonesia, Jakarta is also the center and hub of digital infrastructure. In addition, the population reaches 10 million, with 30 million internet users coming from Jakarta’s satellite cities, such as Bekasi, Bogor, Depok, and Tangerang.

As a digital infrastructure center, Jakarta serves more than 205 million internet users in Indonesia. Most internet users in Indonesia spend at least 4 hours every day accessing the internet. The trend of internet users and usage in Indonesia is increasing.

Efficiency is one of the cores of a green data center. For this reason, building a data center closer to users can reduce energy use in the data transmission process.

Even the slightest network latency can ensure smooth application access when the capacity has reached hundreds of millions of users. And improve user experience. Competition continues to increase in the digital era, and everyone is racing to be faster and easier. This is the importance of network latency when choosing a green data center location.

A Perfect Location for Disaster Recovery Center.

A DRC is a backup site for a business’s digital operations. For example, banking, airlines, manufacturing companies, and online marketplaces use it to mitigate downtime risks.

Indonesia has a more conducive political condition than most countries in the world. The availability of energy such as LNG, geothermal and nuclear is also abundant. Especially in Jakarta, the disasters that have occurred for decades are floods, although not all areas in Jakarta are affected by flooding.

These factors are considered in choosing a disaster recovery center or DRC.

DRC is different from an active server for productivity. Network latency is not an essential requirement in an emergency. What considers a DRC is a reliability and availability.

Thus, a Green DRC in Jakarta, Indonesia, can be an option for companies worldwide. Especially for European companies that are experiencing rising electricity prices.

Low Latency Supporting ROI

Data centers increasingly appear in rural areas to take advantage of the abundance of cheap land. However, because the capital costs to build a data center are so high, the location of a data center is often chosen based on existing infrastructure, such as a fiber network and access to power, which may not be optimal. Because of this, the latency between the center and its users may be higher than necessary, which can negatively impact the overall return on investment (ROI) for the owner of the data center.

From the point of view of data center users, the closer to their users, the more optimal their digital costs will be. Business competition in the digital era is getting more challenging, with many startups emerging and becoming successful. Learning from businesses that have been sidelined from the digital transformation scene, user experience is a key determining factor.

When a business fails to get closer to the user, it can lead to turning the customer into another business. Turning users into other businesses can hurt your ROI. So, network latency is a crucial consideration today.

For example, you have an application or website that people in Indonesia widely use. Initially, the user experience was not problematic, but over time as the IT load increased, some users experienced difficulties using the application.

At the same time, other businesses have positioned their servers closer to those users. Of course, over time, your users will turn to businesses that are more committed to user satisfaction.

Conclusion

After knowing the importance of network latency as a consideration for choosing a green data center location, it shouldn’t be difficult to accept that Jakarta is a very strategic location to establish a green data center.

Currently, Indonesia requires more than 10 data centers to meet the needs to support digital activities locally. In addition, a green data center in Jakarta can help European countries overcome the energy crisis without importing coal.

This is why several venture capitalists have started pouring their significant investment funds into the green data center business scene. The prospects are clear, and the momentum is just right.