How a Data Center Works [And How They're Changing]

Hi all. Found an excellent article that I am sure many will relate to. Hope you get something useful out of this...

A data center is a physical facility that enterprises use to house their business-critical applications and information, so as they evolve, it’s important to think long-term about how to maintain their reliability and security.

Data center components

Data centers are often referred to as a singular thing, but in actuality they are composed of a number of technical elements such as routers, switches, security devices, storage systems, servers, application delivery controllers and more. These are the components that IT needs to store and manage the most critical systems that are vital to the continuous operations of a company. Because of this, the reliability, efficiency, security and constant evolution of a data center are typically a top priority.

Data center infrastructure

In addition to technical equipment a data center also requires a significant amount of facilities infrastructure to keep the hardware and software up and running. This includes power subsystems, uninterruptable power supplies (UPS), ventilation and cooling systems, backup generators and cabling to connect to external network operators.

Any company of significant size will likely have multiple data centers possibly in multiple regions. This gives the organisation flexibility in how it backs up its information and protects against natural and manmade disasters such as floods, storms and terrorist threats. How the data center is architected can be some of the most difficult decisions because there are almost unlimited options. Some of the key considerations are:

• Does the business require mirrored data centers?
• How much geographic diversity is required?
• What is the necessary time to recover in the case of an outage?
• How much room is required for expansion?
• Should you lease a private data center or use a co-location/managed service?
• What are the bandwidth and power requirements?
• Is there a preferred carrier?
• What kind of physical security is required?

Do you need more detail on this subject? Head on over to the full article here for more ideas and perspective. Afterwards, why not drop me an email to share your thoughts at shah.hardik@techflow.com.au; or call me on (0433) 906-366.

Thanks,

Shah