DataCenterKnowledege reports on Mark Bramfitt's latest project.

Feds Prep Buying Guide for Modular Data Centers
August 24th, 2010 : Rich Miller

Another view of the a data center built by Colt using its new modular design.

In another sign of the momentum for modular data center designs, the federal government is developing a guide to help agencies choose among the growing number of container-based offerings. Industry consultant Mark Bramfitt says he is working with the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to develop a guide to evaluating container data centers and next-generation modular designs

Here is Mark's blog post.

Container/Modular DC Guidebook Under Dev - Call for Comment

Under the auspices of the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the federal General Services Agency, I am drafting a guidebook that charts a process of choosing from available container-based and modular data center technologies, with a focus on energy efficiency and the provision of supporting infrastructure.

While it would be impossible to stay current with every development in this area, we are interested in providing a clear snapshot of the industry today, with the primary goal of describing a specification and deployment planning process that will be relevant in the future.

There are many who think containers will not work. But, there are many who are also excited about the possibilities.

Will a container-powered cloud computing offering prove to be a compelling cost-cutting strategy for the Obama IT team? It remains to be seen. But the creation of a buying guide for these products suggests that modular data center designs will, as Bramfitt puts it, be “relevant in the future.”