Infrastructure & Hardware

RETN brings Remote IX services to Japan

RETN, a leading independent global network services provider, has announced a strategic partnership with JPNAP, one of Japan’s leading high-capacity Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), becoming an official reseller of JPNAP services. This agreement marks a significant step in RETN’s broader expansion of its Remote IX offering across Asia. This partnership unlocks streamlined access to JPNAP's extensive network for RETN customers, enabling direct peering with key Japanese and international networks. As demand for Japanese content and services grows globally, international telecom companies are increasingly looking to enter the Japanese market without having to invest in infrastructure locally. JPNAP's strategic location and high concentration of network operators make it a critical interconnection point for Asia. RETN’s Remote IX services will open the key Asian markets, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Korea, connecting customers to JPNAP and enabling them to capitalise on Japan’s digital economy. At the same time, Japanese networks benefit from RETN’s extensive Eurasian infrastructure, creating a two-way bridge between Japan and the rest of the world. William Manzione, Product Manager at RETN, says, "RETN is recognised as a top-tier premium reseller at major IXPs in Europe - including LINX, AMS-IX, and DE-CIX - and is now applying the same successful approach in Asia. The Asia-Pacific region is a key growth market for our customers, with Japan playing a major role in that opportunity. Partnering with JPNAP allows us to deliver superior connectivity and provide a cost-effective gateway to the Japanese market." Hidekazu Yokouchi, Vice President at JPNAP, adds, "We are delighted to welcome RETN as a trusted partner. Together, we are expanding access to JPNAP and strengthening the Japanese internet ecosystem, making it easier for international companies to engage with Japan and its growing digital opportunities. RETN's global network and expertise in delivering connectivity solutions make them an ideal partner to help us connect more networks to JPNAP." For more from RETN, click here.

Durata acquires Tolley Fabrications

Durata, a leading provider of critical power and modular data centre infrastructure solutions, is accelerating its growth and strengthening its position in the rapidly expanding global critical power and data centre market with the strategic acquisition of Tolley Fabrications, a fabrication specialist based in County Durham, UK. This acquisition marks a significant milestone for Durata, bringing its fabrication process in-house for the first time. By integrating critical manufacturing processes, Durata seeks to enhance quality control, streamline operations, and deliver scalable data centre solutions at speed to its international client base. The move forms part of a broader growth strategy that aims to enable the company to deliver on the growing global demand for critical power and data centre solutions. John McGee, Managing Director of Durata, says, “We are thrilled to welcome Alan Tolley and his highly skilled team to Durata. Their expertise in precision fabrication perfectly complements our vision of delivering integrated data centre infrastructure solutions. “This acquisition is not simply about achieving greater efficiency and operational control, it represents a strategic investment in our long-term capability and significantly strengthens how we deliver for our valued clients worldwide.” Alan Tolley, the founder of Tolley Fabrications, concurs, “Joining forces with Durata marks an exciting new chapter for us. “We have worked hard to build a strong reputation for quality, precision, and reliability, and now we have the opportunity to take that expertise even further as an integral part of a forward-thinking company that is committed to long-term investment and growth. “This move brings real potential – not just for our combined teams, but for the customers we support. “Becoming part of the Durata team gives us the opportunity to expand our reach globally, evolve our capabilities, and offer enhanced solutions to a rapidly evolving market.” With this acquisition, Durata desires to capitalise on the unprecedented global demand for scalable, innovative, and efficient data centre solutions, as well as to position the company to meet the complex and evolving needs of businesses across the globe. Several key factors are highlighting the critical importance of robust data centre infrastructure. The exponential rise in cloud services, the explosion of data generated by the proliferation of smart devices, the increasing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI), and the ever-increasing demand for faster internet speeds, such as 5G, have made data centres more critical than ever before. John says, “With our fabrication capabilities now integrated in-house, we have complete control over the entire design, build, delivery, and ongoing maintenance process – enabling us to move faster, work smarter, and remain agile and responsive to adapt to our customers' evolving needs. "As AI, cloud technologies, and smart devices reshape industries worldwide, we’re leading the way in providing the critical infrastructure that powers this transformation. “Durata is at the forefront, delivering innovative infrastructure solutions that empower businesses to scale rapidly and operate with greater resilience. “Our integrated fabrication capability ensures we remain agile and responsive to global market dynamics, setting new standards for quality and speed in data centre delivery.”

Hitachi Vantara launches Virtual Storage Platform 360

Hitachi Vantara, the data storage, infrastructure, and hybrid cloud management subsidiary of Hitachi, today announced the launch of Virtual Storage Platform 360 (VSP 360), a unified management software solution designed to help customers simplify data infrastructure management operations, improve decision-making, and the delivery of data services. With support for block, file, object, and software-defined storage, VSP 360 consolidates multiple management tools and aims to enable IT teams, including those with limited storage expertise, to more efficiently control hybrid cloud deployments, gain AIOps predictive insights, and simplify data lifecycle governance. Organisations today are struggling to manage sprawling data environments spread across disparate storage systems, fragmented data silos, and complex application workloads, all while grappling with overextended IT teams and rising demands for compliance and AI readiness. A recent survey showed AI has led to a dramatic increase in the amount of data storage that businesses require, with the amount of data expected to increase 122% by 2026. The survey also revealed that many IT leaders are being forced to implement AI before their data infrastructure is ready to handle it, with many embarking on a journey of experimentation, hoping to find additional ways to recover some of the cost of their investments. VSP 360 seeks to address these obstacles by integrating data management tools across enterprise storage to monitor key performance indicators, including storage capacity utilisation and overall system health, helping to deliver optimal performance and efficient resource management. It intends to improve end-to-end visibility, leveraging AIOps observability to break down data silos, as well as streamlining the deployment of VSP One data services. “VSP 360 represents a bold step forward in unifying the way enterprises manage their data,” says Octavian Tanase, Chief Product Officer, Hitachi Vantara. “It’s not just a new management tool—it’s a strategic approach to modern data infrastructure that gives IT teams complete command over their data, wherever it resides. With built-in AI and automation and by making it available via SaaS, Private, or via your mobile phone, we're empowering our customers to make faster, smarter decisions and eliminate the traditional silos that slow innovation.” “VSP 360 gives our customers the unified visibility and control they’ve been asking for,” claims Dan Pittet, Senior Solutions Architect, Stoneworks Technologies. “The ability to manage block, file, object, and software-defined storage from a single AI-driven platform helps streamline operations and reduce complexity across hybrid environments. It’s especially valuable for IT teams with limited resources who need to respond quickly to evolving data demands without compromising performance or governance.” "VSP 360 hits the mark for what modern enterprises need," states Ashish Nadkarni, Group Vice President and General Manager, Worldwide Infrastructure Research, IDC. "It goes beyond monitoring to deliver true intelligence across the storage lifecycle. The solution's robust data resiliency helps businesses maintain continuous operations and protect their critical assets, even in the face of unexpected disruptions. By integrating advanced analytics, automation, and policy enforcement, Hitachi Vantara is giving customers the agility and resilience needed to thrive in a data-driven economy.” For more from Hitachi, click here.

L2Tek brings 800G transceivers to UK data centres

L2Tek, a leading distributor of high-performance broadcast and AV components and sub-assemblies, has introduced a portfolio of 800G optical transceivers from leading manufacturers Eoptolink and Gigalight. These modules are aimed at UK broadcasters and data centre operators seeking to future-proof their networks and meet the rigorous demands of increasingly bandwidth-intensive applications. As data volumes surge and broadcast infrastructure continues to evolve, the need for faster, more efficient interconnect solutions has never been greater. L2Tek’s distribution of new 800G solutions seeks to ensure UK customers can access reliable, high-performance transceivers that support a wide range of deployment scenarios, from short-reach data centre interconnects to long-haul transport links. Both manufacturers offer complementary technologies built around industry-standard OSFP and QSFP-DD form factors, ensuring integration with existing network infrastructure. Modules are compliant with CMIS 4.0 or newer and fully support IEEE 802.3 and QSFP-DD MSA specifications, delivering interoperability, network stability and responsiveness, especially suitable for AI applications. For high-density data centre environments, short-reach modules utilise 850nm VCSEL technology to support multimode fibre (MMF) connections up to 100 metres. For longer distances, silicon photonics-based DR8, DR8+, and DR8++ transceivers offer single-mode fibre (SMF) connectivity at 1310nm, ranging from 500 metres to 10 kilometres. For greater flexibility, both manufacturers provide dual-channel modules such as 2xFR4 and 2xLR4, enabling two independent 400G channels per module over SMF. These would be suited to staged migrations or cost-sensitive projects. Eoptolink additionally offers features such as OSFP ZR coherent modules, compliant with OIF-800ZR standards for transport up to 120km, and liquid-cooled OSFP modules for high-density installations where thermal performance is critical. “The availability of 800G modules from both Gigalight and Eoptolink represents a significant step forward in high-speed optical networking for the UK market,” says Mark Scott-South, Director at L2Tek. “We expect many new and existing customers to leverage the next generation of transceivers, empowering them to scale efficiently, reduce latency, and manage overall network resilience, whether they are broadcasting live UHD content or managing hyperscale data operations.”

Vertiv accelerates AI infrastructure evolution

Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure, today confirmed its strategic alignment with NVIDIA’s announcement of an AI roadmap to deploy 800 VDC power architectures for the next generation of AI-centric data centres. Paving the way for future-ready designs, Vertiv’s 800 VDC power portfolio is scheduled for release in the second half of 2026 - ahead of NVIDIA Kyber and NVIDIA Rubin Ultra platform rollouts. Vertiv aligns with the NVIDIA AI roadmap to stay one GPU generation ahead, enabling customers to deploy their power and cooling infrastructure in sync with NVIDIA’s next-generation compute platforms. Vertiv provides end-to-end power, cooling, integrated infrastructure and services to support AI factories and other data centre deployments. As rack power requirements in AI environments scale beyond 300 kilowatts, 800 VDC enables more efficient, centralised power delivery by reducing copper usage, current, and thermal losses. Vertiv’s upcoming portfolio will feature centralised rectifiers, high-efficiency DC busways, rack-level DC-DC converters, and DC-compatible backup systems, expanding its broad, end-to-end power management portfolio that already includes a robust AC power train. “As GPUs evolve to support increasingly complex AI applications at giga-watt scale, power and cooling providers need to be equally innovative to provide energy-efficient and high-density solutions for the AI factories. While the 800 VDC portfolio is new, DC power isn’t a new direction for us, it’s a continuation of what we’ve already done at scale,” says Scott Armul, Executive Vice President of Global Portfolio and Business Units at Vertiv. “We’ve spent decades deploying higher-voltage DC architectures across global telecom, industrial, and data centre applications. We’re entering this transition from a position of strength and bringing real-world experience to meet the demands of the AI factory.” Vertiv’s experience in DC power spans more than two decades of ±400 VDC deployments, broadened by strategic acquisitions during the early 2000s. These solutions support critical loads in global telecom networks, integrated microgrids, and mission-critical facilities. Vertiv says that this foundation establishes the company as a trusted leader in the safe design, deployment, and operation of higher-voltage DC architectures, with proven scale, portfolio, and long-term serviceability. Designed for homogeneous AI zones in hyperscale environments, Vertiv’s 800 VDC portfolio is a key pillar of its 'unit of compute' strategy - a systems-level design engineered to enable all infrastructure components - to interoperate as one modular and scalable system, matching infrastructure demands of next-generation GPUs. Vertiv’s support for both AC and DC architectures is a strategic differentiator in the evolving AI data centre landscape. For more from Vertiv, click here.

Supermicro introduces new direct liquid-cooling innovation

Supermicro has announced several improvements to its Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC) solution that incorporate new technologies for cooling various server components, accommodate warmer liquid inflow temperatures, and introduce innovative mechanical designs that enhance AI per watt. The Supermicro DLC-2 solution reduces data centre power consumption by up to 40% compared to air-cooled installations. These advanced technologies enable faster deployment and reduced time-to-online for cutting-edge liquid-cooled AI infrastructure. Additionally, the total cost of ownership decreases by up to 20%. The comprehensive cold plate coverage of components allows for lower fan speeds and fewer required fans, significantly reducing data centre noise levels to approximately 50dB. "With the expected demand for liquid-cooled data centres rising to 30% of all installations, we realised that current technologies were insufficient to cool these new AI-optimised systems," says Charles Liang, President and CEO of Supermicro. "Supermicro continues to remain committed to innovation, green computing, and improving the future of AI, by significantly reducing data centre power and water consumption, noise, and space. Our latest liquid-cooling innovation, DLC-2, saves data centre electricity costs by up to 40%." Supermicro aims to save 20% of data centre costs and apply DLC-2 innovations as part of data centre building block solutions to make liquid-cooling more broadly available and accessible. A significant component of the new liquid-cooling architecture is a GPU-optimised Supermicro server, which includes eight NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs and two Intel Xeon 6 CPUs, all in just 4U of rack height. This system is designed to support increased supply coolant temperatures. This unique and optimised design incorporates cold plates for CPUs, GPUs, memory, PCIe switches, and voltage regulators. This design reduces the need for high-speed fans and rear-door heat exchangers, thereby lowering cooling costs for the data centre. The new Supermicro DLC-2 stack supports the new 4U front I/O NVIDIA HGX B200 8-GPU system, and the in-rack Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) has an increased capacity of removing 250kW of heat generated per rack. The Supermicro DLC-2 solution also utilises vertical coolant distribution manifolds (CDMs) to remove hot liquid and return cooler liquid to the servers for the entire rack. The reduced rack space requirements enables more servers to be installed, increasing computing density per unit of floor space. The vertical CDM is available in various sizes, precisely matching the number of servers installed in the rack. The entire DLC-2 stack is fully integrated with Supermicro SuperCloud Composer software for data centre-level management and infrastructure orchestration. The efficient liquid circulation and nearly full liquid-cooling heat capture coverage, at up to 98% per server rack, allow for an increase in the inlet liquid temperature at up to 45°C. The higher inlet temperature eliminates the need for chilled water, chiller compressor equipment cost, and additional power usage, saving up to 40% of data centre water consumption. Combined with liquid-cooled server racks and clusters, DLC-2 also offers hybrid cooling towers as well as water towers as part of data centre building blocks. The hybrid cooling towers combine the features of standard dry and water towers into a single design. This is especially beneficial in data centre locations with strong seasonal temperature variation to reduce usage of resources and costs further. Supermicro serves as a comprehensive one-stop solution provider with global manufacturing scale, delivering data centre-level solution design, liquid-cooling technologies, networking, cabling, a full data centre management software suite, L11 and L12 solution validation, onsite deployment, and professional service and support. With production facilities across San Jose, Europe, and Asia, Supermicro offers unmatched manufacturing capacity for liquid-cooled rack systems. This ensures timely delivery, reduced total cost of ownership (TCO), and consistent quality. For more from Supermicro, click here.

Shell cooling fluids certified for use in data centres

Shell Lubricants’ immersion cooling fluids have become the first to receive official certification from a major chip manufacturer, allowing its innovative products to be used with confidence in data centres worldwide. Jason Wong, Global Executive Vice President, Shell Lubricants, says, “Upgrading existing air-cooling methods with immersion fluids can reduce data centre energy use by up to 48%, as well as help reduce capital and operating expenditure by up to 33%. “We have been working with Intel for the last two years to certify our immersion cooling fluids, which have the potential to transform the way that data centres are cooled and how much energy they use.” Extensive testing by Intel showed that Intel Xeon processors remain as reliable with Shell’s immersion cooling fluids as with traditional air-cooled systems. Immersion cooling involves servers and networking equipment being placed in electrically non-conductive fluid. The specialised liquid absorbs and dissipates heat from IT equipment more than 1,000 times more efficiently than air cooling. With no need for coolers, chillers, fans or evaporative cooling systems, immersion cooling fluids can cut the floor space needed for a data centre by up to 80%. “We’re pleased to be partnering with Shell in accelerating the adoption of more sustainable and energy-efficient solutions for data centres,” says Karin Eibschitz Segal, Corporate Vice President and Interim General Manager of the Data Centre Group at Intel. “Through these advancements we’re paving the way for the next generation of high-performance, environmentally conscious computing.” According to the International Energy Agency, energy consumption from data centres currently accounts for 1.5% of global electricity demand and is expected to double from 415 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2024 to around 945 TWh by 2030. This is mainly driven by the growth in AI. Conventional cooling systems typically account for around 30-40% of a data centre’s energy demand. Shell’s immersion cooling fluids can be retrofitted to existing data centres, as well as allowing new data centres to use space more efficiently. As a renowned lubricants supplier, Shell is investing in new products such as fluids for electric cars, battery storage systems and data centres. This focus is aligned with Shell’s strategy to grow sales of premium, high value products, while helping its customers meet their own emission reduction goals. For more from Shell, click here.

leagend UPS solution safeguards backup power supply

According to leagend Solutions, the backup power supply is the second heart of a data centre - and any issue that happens to it will cause huge economic losses or even disasters. As a result, leagend's UPS battery management solution is a professional innovation exclusively developed for backup power applications such as data centres, telecom bases, and other applications seeking energy saving and renewable energy solutions. It guarantees the UPS batteries operate normally by monitoring and managing the key parameters of the batteries in real-time to ensure they supply stable power continuously under the accidence of a power outage. Furthermore, it integrates with advanced technologies like data collection, data transfer and data processing to offer comprehensive monitoring, cloud storage, visualised data analyses and tailored services for customers. Its capacity can be up to over 200 batteries with two different voltages simultaneously. In addition, leagend has integrated 5G and AI chips to the next-generation BMS. – leagend Solutions has been specialising in researching and developing batteries technologies, battery testing technologies, battery monitoring and managing systems and solutions ever since the company’s establishment in 2014. Intelligence, precision, safety and low energy consumption are always the foundation and ideology of its technology research and development. Until now, leagend Solutions has offered the following innovations: smart lead-acid battery testers, UPS battery monitoring solutions, lead-acid battery charger ODM solutions, Coulomb counter solutions, and more. The company’s battery products have been widely applied to multiple professional fields such as lead-acid battery manufacturing, data centre power supply chains, energy-saving, renewable energy, telecoms, and emergency backup power applications. For more from leagend Solutions, click here.

AI set to supercharge cyber threats by 2027

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has released a landmark cyber threat assessment, warning that rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) will make cyber attacks more frequent, effective and harder to detect by 2027. The digital divide between organisations with the resources to defend against digital threats, and those without, will inevitably increase.  Published on the opening day of CYBERUK, the UK’s flagship cyber security conference, the report outlines how both state and non-state actors are already exploiting AI to increase the speed, scale and sophistication of cyber operations. Generative AI is enabling more convincing phishing attacks and faster malware development. This significantly lowers the barrier to entry for cyber crime and cyber intelligence. Of particular concern is the rising risk to the UK’s democratic processes, Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and commercial sectors. Advanced language models and data analysis capabilities are used to craft highly persuasive content, resulting in more frequent attacks that are difficult to detect.  Andy Ward, SVP International at Absolute Security, says, “While AI offers significant opportunities to bolster defences, our research shows 54% of CISOs feel unprepared to respond to AI-enabled threats. That gap in readiness is exactly what attackers will take advantage of." "To counter this, businesses must go beyond adopting new tools - they need a robust cyber resilience strategy built on real-time visibility, proactive threat detection, and the ability to isolate compromised devices at speed.” This latest warning forms part of the UK Government’s wider cyber strategy after announcing the new AI Cyber Security Code of Practice earlier this year. This will form the basis of a new global standard to secure AI and ensure national security keeps pace with technological evolution, safeguarding the country against emerging digital threats. For more from NCSC click here.

Aligned and Lambda to power next-gen AI infrastructure

Aligned Data Centers, a technology infrastructure company offering innovative, sustainable and adaptive scale data centres and build-to-scale solutions for global hyperscale and enterprise customers, has announced a partnership with Lambda, the AI developer cloud, to provide customers with data centre infrastructure and an AI cloud platform ready to sustainably accelerate their AI growth. Lambda will occupy Aligned’s newest Dallas-Fort Worth area facility, DFW-04, which will be designed to be a liquid-cooled data centre capable of supporting the highest-density Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). “We’re proud to partner with Lambda to support the buildout of its GPU cloud infrastructure, accelerated by NVIDIA, for AI deployments, which is transforming how AI developers innovate and businesses utilising AI models operate,” states Andrew Schaap, CEO of Aligned. “Particularly in Dallas, where demand for AI computation space has spiked interest in a growing market, combining a GPU cloud built specifically for AI workloads with an AI-ready data centre designed with liquid cooling technologies capable of supporting the highest-density environments will be a game changer.” Aligned is at the forefront of building and operating adaptive data centres that future-proof IT infrastructure and provide seamless flexibility for transitions between a variety of deployments ranging from enterprise applications, to cloud, and high-density AI implementation. The company’s ultra-scalable and flexible Adaptive Modular Infrastructure (AMI) and innovative air, liquid, and hybrid cooling solutions future-proof IT deployments, mitigate IT obsolescence, and maximise asset lifespan. While committing to sustainability as a core pillar of its customer-focused business strategy, the company has been advancing data centre energy efficiency and cooling technologies for more than a decade, including its patented Delta3 air-cooled system. Aligned's patent-pending DeltaFlow liquid cooling system delivers excellent performance for AI innovation, supporting virtually any density and GPU cloud requirement, and the company’s scalable, sustainable infrastructure is enabling next-generation AI workloads. Aligned says that its partnership with Lambda exemplifies its dedication to leading AI service providers. Lambda's AI Developer Cloud is used by AI engineers and industry experts who have shaped modern artificial intelligence. The partnership with Aligned will see Lambda’s AI Cloud platform integrated into the company’s new DFW-04 data centre, which is currently under construction in Plano, Texas. A determinative factor of this alliance is that Aligned’s seamless and adaptive infrastructure for next-gen AI will easily support infrastructure accelerated by NVIDIA Blackwell and NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra, as well as the future generations of AI platforms. “With its unrelenting focus on driving disruptive innovation in data centre design, energy efficiency and cooling, Aligned is the ideal partner to help Lambda build large, flexible space that meets the AI demands of today and tomorrow,” comments Lambda VP, Data Center Infrastructure, Ken Patchett. “Deploying AI at scale is no easy feat, and Aligned’s ability to rapidly deliver AI-ready infrastructure, along with its passion for supporting customers with a consistently high-touch, world-class experience, is instrumental to meet the aggressive scale, quality and speed standards Lambda sets for its public and private deployments.” For more from Aligned Data Centers, click here.