Prefab, Fast-to-Deploy, AI-Ready & Audit-Grade
Modular Data Centers (MDCs) package power, cooling, racks, and network into factory-built modules—delivered, set, and energized in weeks instead of months.
SolveForce designs MDCs as a system: site prep → delivery → integrate power/cooling/fabric → Zero-Trust security → observability & evidence—with options for GPU/AI density, edge use, or temporary/DR capacity.
Related hubs: 🏢 On-Prem DCs → /on-prem-data-centers • 🧭 Edge DCs → /edge-data-centers • 🏢 Colocation → /colocation
🌈 DCI & On-Ramps → /wavelength • /lit-fiber • /dark-fiber • /direct-connect
🎯 Outcomes (Why Modular with SolveForce)
- Speed-to-serve— factory integration + parallel site prep = weeks to rack-ready.
- Predictable quality— repeatable, tested subsystems; fewer on-site surprises.
- Scalable blocks— add pods for compute, storage, or GPU capacity without re-architecting.
- Anywhere footprint— campus lots, rooftops, yards, remote/industrial sites, disaster zones.
- Audit-grade ops— as-builts, baselines, and SLO dashboards streamed to SIEM/SOAR.
🧭 Scope (What We Deliver & Integrate)
- Form factors — ISO/containerized pods, skid & enclosure builds, multi-module halls (power, cooling, IT).
- Power — utility tie-in or gensets; UPS (double-conversion), battery autonomy, A/B PDUs; busways or whips.
- Cooling — in-row/close-coupled DX/CRAH, rear-door heat exchangers, liquid-to-chip options for AI density.
- Racks & Cabling — pre-wired rails, latching PDUs, structured cabling (Cat6A/MPO), labeling & OTDR packs. → /structured-cabling • /racks-pdu
- Fabric — compact leaf/spine, 10/25/40/100/400G; EVPN/VXLAN; MACsec/L1 encryption where required. → /networks-and-data-centers • /encryption
- Backhaul — fiber laterals (lit/wave/dark), fixed wireless, LTE/5G, satellite; IPsec/MACsec/L1 policies. → /lit-fiber • /wavelength • /mobile-connectivity • /satellite-internet
- Compute/Storage — virtualization/K8s, SAN/NVMe, and GPU/AI nodes. → /kubernetes • /san • /bare-metal-gpu
- Security — physical (access control, CCTV), NAC/802.1X, microsegmentation, ZTNA/SASE for admins/users. → /nac • /microsegmentation • /ztna • /sase
- Continuity — snapshots, immutable backups, orchestrated DRaaS. → /cloud-backup • /backup-immutability • /draas
- Observability — DCIM (power/thermal/door/leak), fabric/storage/compute telemetry → NOC/SIEM. → /noc • /siem-soar
🧱 Building Blocks (Spelled Out)
- Power train— utility/genset → ATS → UPS (N/N+1/2N) → A/B PDUs → metered outlets; load-bank tests archived.
- Thermal design— containment (hot/cold), RDHx or liquid loop for high kW/rack; thermal maps & alarms.
- Envelope— wind/seismic/flood ratings, EMI shielding (where required), access control, tamper detection.
- Network— EVPN/VXLAN, Anycast gateways; QoS for storage/voice/control; OOB mgmt network.
- Compliance— HIPAA/PCI/CJIS/CMMC enclaves via cages/VRFs + microseg + key custody.
🛠️ Reference Patterns (Choose Your Fit)
A) Rapid Edge/MEC Pod
3–8 racks; UPS + in-row cooling; dual uplinks (fiber + LTE/5G); K8s cluster; ZTNA for admin; DR to core.
B) GPU/AI Modular Block
Liquid-ready racks (rear-door/LC-direct), IB/RoCE spine, NVMe scratch + parallel FS, wave backhaul; PUE & thermal SLOs. → /bare-metal-gpu
C) Campus Expansion Pod
Leaf/spine tied to campus core; SAN integration; Object-Lock backups; Anycast services; SD-WAN for branches.
D) Regulated Enclave in a Box
Cage + VRF/microseg; MACsec/IPsec; HSM/Managed HSM; immutable logs/backups; evidence packs for audits. → /key-management • /cybersecurity
E) Temporary / DR Staging Pod
Short-term capacity for events/outages/migrations; scripted cutover; failback runbooks; shipping-ready teardown.
📐 SLO Guardrails (Targets You Can Measure)
| KPI / SLO | Target (Recommended) |
|---|---|
| Factory-to-rack-ready (typical) | 4–10 weeks site-dependent |
| Power availability (A/B) | ≥ 99.99% at rack |
| Thermal headroom (p95 inlet) | Within ASHRAE envelope |
| Leaf↔Leaf latency (intra-pod p95) | ≤ 10–50 µs |
| DCI (metro one-way) | ≤ 1–2 ms (wave/EPL) |
| GPU/AI rack density | 20–80+ kW/rack liquid-ready |
| Evidence completeness | 100% (as-builts, OTDR, load-bank, RFC tests) |
SLO breaches trigger SOAR actions (reroute, shed load, thermal throttle, rollback) and incident tickets. → /siem-soar
🔒 Zero-Trust, Physical + Logical
- Physical: badge+biometric, mantrap (where feasible), CCTV retention, escorted access logs.
- Logical: 802.1X/NAC on ports, ZTNA for consoles, microseg for east-west, PAM for elevation, vault-managed secrets & HSM keys. → /pam • /secrets-management • /key-management
📊 DCIM & Telemetry (Evidence by Default)
- Power (A/B), PDU load, UPS/genset states; thermal sensors & RDHx loop health; door/tamper/leak.
- Fabric: latency/jitter/loss, light levels (if optical), BER/FEC; compute/storage SLOs; exported to NOC/SIEM with WORM options.
→ /noc • /circuit-monitoring • /siem-soar
💵 Commercials (What Drives Cost)
- Power density (kW/rack), liquid vs air cooling, number of racks/modules, optics/backhaul, DCIM, security layers, delivery logistics (crane/pad), permitting.
- Managed vs co-managed operations; maintenance windows & spares.
🛠️ Implementation Blueprint (No-Surprise Rollout)
1) Use cases & SLOs — latency, kW/rack, GPU needs, DR tiers, compliance tags.
2) Site due diligence — soil/pad, drainage/flood, wind/seismic, grounding/bonding, crane access, conduits.
3) Utilities — service entrance, ATS, UPS topology, genset sizing, fuel logistics.
4) Cooling — containment plan, RDHx/liquid loops, thermal acceptance tests.
5) Fabric & backhaul — EVPN/VXLAN, OOB; wave/lit/dark/fixed-wireless/LTE/5G; MACsec/IPsec/L1 policy.
6) Compute & storage — racks/tier layout, SAN/NVMe, GPU pods, CSI; snapshot/replication plan.
7) Security — NAC/802.1X, ZTNA/SASE, microseg, WAF for public edges; vault/HSM; SIEM/SOAR wiring.
8) Baselines & acceptance — load-bank, thermal step, OTDR, RFC 2544 / Y.1564 fabric tests; archive artifacts.
9) Operate — DCIM/NOC thresholds, SLO dashboards, patch & firmware windows, quarterly tune-ups.
✅ Pre-Engagement Checklist
🔄 Where Modular DCs Fit (Recursive View)
1) Grammar — packaged rails in /networks-and-data-centers & /connectivity.
2) Syntax — compose with /cloud and /colocation for hybrid/edge.
3) Semantics — /cybersecurity preserves truth (identity, crypto, segmentation, evidence).
4) Pragmatics — /solveforce-ai predicts power/thermal risk, backhaul constraints, and capacity.
5) Foundation — consistent terms via /primacy-of-language.
6) Map — indexed in the /solveforce-codex & /knowledge-hub.
📞 Deploy Modular Data Centers—Fast, Secure & Auditable
Key terms in plain language
Open a term for a concise explanation of language used on this page.
Fiber Internet
Internet delivered through strands of glass using light. Fiber commonly supports high capacity, low latency, and strong upload performance, but availability must be confirmed for the exact address.
Latency
The time it takes data to travel between two points. Lower latency improves voice, video meetings, cloud applications, gaming, and other real-time services.
SD-WAN
Software-defined wide area networking. It manages multiple connections and chooses paths based on application needs, performance, and policy to improve resilience and control.
Disaster Recovery (DRaaS)
A plan and service for restoring applications, data, and operations after an outage or disruption. DRaaS provides recovery infrastructure through a managed cloud service.
Cybersecurity
The practices and controls used to protect identities, devices, networks, applications, and data from unauthorized access, disruption, or manipulation.
Zero Trust
A security model that does not automatically trust a user or device because of its location. Access is continuously verified and limited to what is necessary.
SASE
Secure Access Service Edge combines networking and security capabilities in a cloud-delivered architecture so users and locations can receive consistent policy wherever they connect.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
A login control requiring more than one form of verification, such as a password plus an authenticator app, security key, or biometric factor.