Data Center Design Considerations: The Ultimate Guide
If you are one of the best cloud backup service providers, then you should look at the different aspects of things that must be considered when creating and laying out a data centre design. As a matter of fact, all of the important details must be carefully examined and studied first before implementing any type of data centre design.
If you are one of the best online backup service providers that allow data center companies to host all of the files in their servers, then you must have extensive background on how to choose the best data center to use. This is the reason why we are creating this ultimate guide for data center design considerations. We want everyone to be well-informed about the things to look out for when creating a data center or when selecting an outsourced data center company. Listed below are 4 of the most important things to plan for in data center designs.
Data Center Design Consideration #1: Data Center Support Team
I know all of you seem to be surprised that I actually put the data center support team on top of the list of the data center design considerations. But this should always be the case. In fact, experts will tell you that the data center is just as good as the people running it. Even in today’s digital advancement and age of artificial intelligence, we can never discount the importance of real people running the data centers. They are the people we trust in solving technical problems that could potentially arise inside the data center facilities.
While machines can have artificial intelligence on their own, they are still limited by their programming. People, on the other hand, do not have this particular limitation. People can draw conclusions, give alternative solutions, and solve technical problems based on past experiences. Aside from that, people have the innate ability to rapidly adapt and respond to changes in the environment. Machines do not have yet the kind of wisdom and adaptability that a human being does have.
This is one of the main reasons why we want to assemble a group of individuals with a specialized set of skills to be part of a data center support team. The team must actually be composed of people with a diverse set of specialization. Information Technology specialists, computer programmers, computer software engineers, computer hardware engineers, registered electrical engineers, and HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) engineers must work together in order to manage the data center facilities. As a matter of fact, even medical professionals such as nurses should form part of the team since accidents could happen inside the data center.
After successfully assembling a data center support team, you must also ensure that they have a convenient office located inside the data center facility. It must be an office with a very close proximity to the servers so that whenever a problem arises, it can be immediately attended to by the data center support team. It must be an office that can easily access the servers for performing upgrades and regularly scheduled maintenance. The office of the data center support team must also have advanced monitoring equipment in order to make sure that all of the servers and other data center equipment are in the best condition. The data center support team can also participate in creating the data center design to make it more efficient and effective. That is why it ended on top of our list for the data center design considerations.
Data Center Design Consideration #2: Data Center Security Measures
If you think about it, data centers actually host a lot of confidential files, folders, and other data types that the subscribers of the best cloud storage providers and clients of the best cloud backup services have entrusted. While you may not be interested in acquiring sensitive information from one of the subscribers of an online backup service or of a cloud storage company, there are groups of people out there who want to have that piece of information.
Classified documents that contain sensitive information may not matter to you but it may seem interesting and appealing to someone else or to a group of people. They are willing to risk their lives and freedom just to acquire sensitive information from the data centers. This is the reason why we should draft strict data center security measures as part of the data center design. In this way, people will have the utmost trust and confidence in data center companies as well as in the best online cloud backup providers and cloud storage providers.
As part of the data center security measures integrated into the data center design, the facility must have surveillance video cameras that work 24/7. The data center facility must also have reinforced doors that can only be opened through biometric access in combination with a passcode. As much as possible, the biometric lock should either be a retinal scanner or an iris scanner since these types of biometric locks are quite impossible to hack unless you cut out someone’s eyeballs. Most of the time, a fingerprint scanner does not work securely since it is very easy to pick someone’s fingerprints.
As part of the data center design, policies must be created that prohibits unauthorized persons from visiting the data center facilities. On top of that, policies restricting the carrying of foods and beverages by the data center support team must also be implemented as part of the data center designs. This is actually necessary so that you don’t attract the ants, rats and even cockroaches from swarming the servers and other important physical I.T. infrastructures present inside the data center facility. These animals could potentially harm and destroy the servers if the data center support team is not careful enough. Aside from that, spillage of any liquid inside the data center facility can cause electrical short circuits and can electrocute people.
Data Center Design Consideration #3: Data Center Cooling
We all know for a fact that a data center facility is composed of multiple I.T. infrastructures that emit a substantial amount of heat due to prolonged use. Unlike traditional computer systems that we can just shut down whenever we finish using it, data centers can’t be turned off just like that. We want to ensure that as much as possible, data center facilities must work efficiently and effectively 99.99% of the time. This means that it should only be inaccessible for approximately 26 minutes annually. This is the reason why we need to consider the type of cooling system that must be used in a data center as part of the data center design considerations.
There are 4 methods to choose from when selecting the data center cooling option for the facility. Of course, various types of cooling systems can affect the energy efficiency of the data center. First, you can use the traditional industrial air conditioning system wherein cool air is circulated in the entire data center facility. Choosing this option makes the data center energy-intensive and less energy-efficient. Second, you can also try water cooling units. This is perfect for data center facilities that are built near large bodies of waters and oceans as there will be an unlimited source of water for cooling the facility. This is one of the most efficient cooling methods to choose from.
You can also try the outdoor air cooling system especially if the data center is in a geographical location with a very cold temperature. If you can find a location that has a temperature of approximately less than 71 degrees Fahrenheit during an entire year, then you can use the outside air to pass through the data center facility. Aside from that, you can use a localized cooling system wherein a cooling system is installed in a specific area of heat concentration inside the data center facility. In this way, the cool air does not need to pass through the duct systems in order to be able to reach the specific components of the data center. It allows the precision-based cooling of the specific parts of the data center.
Aside from all of these things, the airflow management aspect of the data center design must also be carefully planned. You must take into consideration the main air exhaust, main air intake, server rack airflow, and even try to implement the segmented aisle strategy.
Data Center Design Consideration #4: Physical Components of the Data Center
The individual physical components that compose the entire data center facility must also be considered during the planning stage of creating a data center design. First and foremost, you need to choose cabinets and racks that can carry heavy weight loads. These cabinets and racks must be reinforced in order to be able to support vertical expansion. You must also make sure that the racks and cabinets must have sufficient depth and height so that the servers and other physical devices can fit in properly.
Aside from that, an efficient and effective cable management strategy must be in place. It must support both copper media and fiber media. On top of that, it must be able to support the existing cable density of the data center.