New System Architecture for Next-Generation Green Data Centers: Mangrove

With the aim of configuring next-generation green data centers, we introduce a new system architecture called “Mangrove” that achieves total optimization by vertically integrating servers, storage drives, networks, middleware, and facilities. Mangrove embodies resource pooling and the offloading of control functions to middleware, which are key concepts of the Next-Generation Green Data Center. An information technology (IT) platform based on Mangrove can use resources flexibly and efficiently, perform quick reconfigurations, and improve availability and reliability, thereby lowering costs and saving energy. Mangrove consists of a server/ storage architecture that pools hardware resources, storage functions running on the pooled resources via middleware, a scalable data center network, high-speed interfaces supported by low-cost, highly consolidated optical interconnects, and operations and management technology for optimizing virtual machine (VM) placement. This article describes the purpose and features of each of these Mangrove elements.