In its simplest form, a data
center is a physical installation used by organizations to host their
applications and critical data. The design of a data center is based on a
network of computing and storage resources that enable the provision of shared
applications and data.
What Defines
a Modern data Center?
Modern data centers
are very different from what they were not long ago. The infrastructure has
shifted from traditional local physical servers to a virtualized infrastructure
that supports applications and workloads in physical infrastructure pools and a
multi-layered environment.
At that time, the
modern data center is where its data and applications are. It spans multiple
public and private clouds to the edge of the network via mobile devices and
embedded computing. In this ever-changing environment, the data center must
reflect the intentions of users and applications.
What are
data centers Important to business?
In the corporate IT
world, data centers are designed to support commercial applications & activities that include:
· Email and file sharing
· Productivity applications
· Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
· Big data, artificial intelligence and machine
learning
· Communication and collaboration services.
What are the
essential components of a data center?
The data center
design includes routers, switches, firewalls, storage systems, servers, and
application distribution controllers. Because these components store and manage
critical data and applications, data center security is critical to the design
of data centers. Together, they provide
Network
infrastructure: This connects servers (physical
and virtual), data center services, storage, and external connectivity to
end-user locations.
Storage
infrastructure: Data is the fuel of the modern
data center. Storage systems are used to store this valuable product.
IT resources: Applications
are the drivers of a data center. These servers provide the processing, memory,
local storage and network connectivity that drive applications.
How Do Data
Centers Operate?
Data center services are
generally implemented to protect the performance and integrity of the central
components of the data center.
Network
security devices: These include firewall and
intrusion protection to safeguard the data center.
Application
delivery guarantee: To maintain application
performance, these mechanisms provide resistance and application availability
through automatic error switching and load balancing.
What is in a
Data Center Facility?
The data center
components require a significant infrastructure to support the center's
hardware and software. These include power subsystems, uninterruptible power
supplies (UPS), ventilation, cooling systems, fire extinguishing, backup
generators and connections to external networks.
What are the
Standards for Data Center Infrastructure?
ANSI / TIA-942 is
the most widely adopted standard for data center design and infrastructure. It
includes standards for certification prepared for ANSI / TIA-942, which
guarantees compliance with one of the four categories of data center levels
classified for redundancy levels and fault tolerance.
Basic site
infrastructure: A level 1 data center offers
limited protection against physical events. It has unique capacity components
and a unique and non-redundant distribution route.
Redundant
capacity component site infrastructure: This data center offers enhanced
protection against physical events. It has redundant capacity components and a
unique and non-redundant distribution path.
Site
infrastructure that can be maintained simultaneously: This data
center protects against virtually every physical event by providing redundant
capacity components and multiple independent distribution paths. Each component
can be removed or replaced without interrupting services for end users.
Fault
tolerant site infrastructure: This data center provides the
highest levels of fault tolerance and redundancy. Redundant capacity components
and multiple independent distribution paths allow for simultaneous maintenance
and failure at any place in the installation without causing downtime.
Types of
Data Centers
Many types
of data centers and service templates are available. Their classification
depends on whether they belong to one or more organizations, how they fit (if
any) into the topology of other data centers, the technologies used for processing
and storage, or even their energy efficiency. There are four main types of data
centers.
Enterprise
Data Centers: These are built, owned and
operated by companies and optimized for their end users. Most often, they are
hosted on the campus of the company.
Managed
Services Data Centers: These data centers are managed by
a third party (or a managed service provider) on behalf of a company. The
company rents the equipment and infrastructure instead of buying it.
Colocation
Data Centers: In colocation data centers
("colo"), a company leases space in a third-party data center outside
of its premises. The colocation data center hosts the infrastructure -
construction, cooling, bandwidth, security, etc., while the company provides
and manages the components, including servers, storage, and firewalls.
Cloud Data
Centers: In this form of offsite data center, the data and applications are
hosted by a cloud service provider, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS),
Microsoft (Azure), or IBM Cloud.
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