What is Data Center?
A data center is a facility that centralizes an organization’s IT operations and equipment, and where it stores, manages, and disseminates its data. Data centers house a network’s most critical systems and are vital to the continuity of daily operations. Consequentially, the security and reliability of data centers and their information is a top priority for organizations.
Although data center designs are unique, they can generally be classified as Internet or enterprise (or “internal”) data centers. Internet-facing data centers usually support relatively few applications, are typically browser-based, and have many users, typically unknown. In contrast, enterprise data centers service fewer users, but host more applications that vary from off-the-shelf to custom applications.
Data center architectures and requirements can differ significantly. For example, a data center built for a cloud service provider like Amazon EC2 satisfies significantly different facility, infrastructural, and security requirements than a completely private data center, such as one built for the Pentagon that is dedicated to securely maintaining classified data.
The need for data centers
In the current enterprise and consumer markets, technology is becoming increasingly important. Not only are individuals utilizing their computers and mobile devices for entertainment and personal pursuits, corporations are also dependent on their own essential systems to carry out mission-critical business tasks. All these programs, applications and devices require computing support, and the incredible amount of data they create must also be stored and accessed by users and organizations.
“Although data centers house servers, the mission of these facilities revolves around so much more than rooms with rows of racks.”
This is where data centers come in. These facilities house and connect the servers, infrastructure and technology needed to support this information and these processes. Especially as enterprises increasingly turn to cloud solutions and on demand support for services including data storage, disaster recovery, business continuity and hosting, data centers becoming an even more critical piece of the infrastructure puzzle.
Data centers have a range of wires and lines that transmit power, connectivity and other critical resources.
All of these components – physical, virtual and conceptual – work together in order to support the services and functions of the data center. In this way, power and connectivity is supplied for the servers and associated computing equipment, cooling is put in place to prevent overheating, and redundant utilities are utilized to ensure near-constant uptime. In addition, there are monitoring and security measures in place for protection and oversight, and staff members’ actions are governed by specific policies and procedures to guarantee reliability and efficiency. When all of these pieces are operating as they should, the data center can effectively support a range of activities and services and provide a place to store important data. This, in turn, enables data centers to provide the necessary reliability and uptime that allows users to leverage the applications and devices they have come to rely on.
A data center is a facility that centralizes an organization’s IT operations and equipment, and where it stores, manages, and disseminates its data. Data centers house a network’s most critical systems and are vital to the continuity of daily operations. Consequentially, the security and reliability of data centers and their information is a top priority for organizations.
Although data center designs are unique, they can generally be classified as Internet or enterprise (or “internal”) data centers. Internet-facing data centers usually support relatively few applications, are typically browser-based, and have many users, typically unknown. In contrast, enterprise data centers service fewer users, but host more applications that vary from off-the-shelf to custom applications.
Data center architectures and requirements can differ significantly. For example, a data center built for a cloud service provider like Amazon EC2 satisfies significantly different facility, infrastructural, and security requirements than a completely private data center, such as one built for the Pentagon that is dedicated to securely maintaining classified data.
The need for data centers
In the current enterprise and consumer markets, technology is becoming increasingly important. Not only are individuals utilizing their computers and mobile devices for entertainment and personal pursuits, corporations are also dependent on their own essential systems to carry out mission-critical business tasks. All these programs, applications and devices require computing support, and the incredible amount of data they create must also be stored and accessed by users and organizations.
“Although data centers house servers, the mission of these facilities revolves around so much more than rooms with rows of racks.”
This is where data centers come in. These facilities house and connect the servers, infrastructure and technology needed to support this information and these processes. Especially as enterprises increasingly turn to cloud solutions and on demand support for services including data storage, disaster recovery, business continuity and hosting, data centers becoming an even more critical piece of the infrastructure puzzle.
Data center overview
Although data centers house servers, the mission of these facilities revolves around so much more than rooms with rows of racks. SAP pointed out that data center processes hinge not only on specific hardware elements, but software and specific staff processes as well.
“[A] data center preferably consists of a well-constructed, sturdy building that houses servers, storage devices, cables and a connection to the Internet,” SAP stated. “In addition, the center also has a large amount of equipment associated with supplying power and cooling, and often automatic fire extinguishing systems. In addition to these ‘hard’ factors, one must also take into consideration organizational measures, such as periodic backups that ensure operability.”
In this way, a data center functions not only through its hardware and software, but through the management, upkeep and maintenance performed by staff as well
“[A] data center preferably consists of a well-constructed, sturdy building that houses servers, storage devices, cables and a connection to the Internet,” SAP stated. “In addition, the center also has a large amount of equipment associated with supplying power and cooling, and often automatic fire extinguishing systems. In addition to these ‘hard’ factors, one must also take into consideration organizational measures, such as periodic backups that ensure operability.”
In this way, a data center functions not only through its hardware and software, but through the management, upkeep and maintenance performed by staff as well
Key components of a data center
What key hardware, software and infrastructure elements does a data center include typically? Let’s take a look at the essential components:- Servers and racks: A data center’s main purpose is to house the servers needed to support vendor services as well as client websites and applications. Servers are arranged in racks, which can be placed in a specific configuration within the data center for isolation purposes or to optimize cooling.
- Network connectivity: Equipment is connected to the data center network’s Internet connections, enabling users to access cloud-based environments and other online platforms. A system of network switches distributes data to and from the servers. Data centers typically include one or more switches per rack, depending on density.
- Power: In order to keep all of this equipment up and running, a power supply is needed. Data centers typically have redundant electricity and often have diesel generators to provide a reliable source of electricity generation on-site in the event that utilities experience an outage. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is also part of this system.
- Cooling: Because computing equipment creates a considerable amount of heat, the data center also has a cooling system to eliminate this hot air and prevent overheating. These systems can use chilled air, water, glycol or other mediums to aid in cooling. Many data centers utilize a hot/cold aisle configuration, where racks are arranged so that the front of servers face each other. Chilled air flows through the racks, dissipating the heat created by the equipment.
- Monitoring: Data centers also include a number of different monitoring systems to help operators and staff manage and maintain the environments. This technology monitors the temperature, relative humidity, energy consumption and other environmental factors. FORTRUST’s Denver data center also has a client-facing monitoring system called COLOVIEW that provides these metrics to FORTRUST customers.
- Security: In addition, data centers have range of security elements to limit access to the physical building and the virtual environments. The building is, ideally, protected by several disaster prevention technologies, including materials to reduce seismic movement from earthquakes and mitigate damage from large storms and other inclement weather events. Data centers also often have fire systems to detect and prevent damage from internal or external fires.
- Policies and procedures: Besides these elements, data center operators have a list of policies and procedures they must adhere to for the efficient management and maintenance of the facility. TechRepublic noted that these documents can outline a whole host of staff activities, including system access, equipment usage and upkeep, and installing or replacing equipment.
- Build room: Many facilities have a build room, where staff members or vendors can stack, configure and test new systems before they are implemented into data center environments.
Data centers have a range of wires and lines that transmit power, connectivity and other critical resources.
All of these components – physical, virtual and conceptual – work together in order to support the services and functions of the data center. In this way, power and connectivity is supplied for the servers and associated computing equipment, cooling is put in place to prevent overheating, and redundant utilities are utilized to ensure near-constant uptime. In addition, there are monitoring and security measures in place for protection and oversight, and staff members’ actions are governed by specific policies and procedures to guarantee reliability and efficiency. When all of these pieces are operating as they should, the data center can effectively support a range of activities and services and provide a place to store important data. This, in turn, enables data centers to provide the necessary reliability and uptime that allows users to leverage the applications and devices they have come to rely on.
