What is required to set up a data center?

We can divide the components in 5 different categories:

Power, Cooling, Security, Fail safe measures, Room for growth

Power – All the equipments run off of dedicated power sources. Many data centers require the use of independent power grids, with service provided by different utility companies or services, to prevent against loss of electrical service no matter what the cause. In case of power outage, you would need a backup power supply to keep the datacenter up and running. This is primary and most important requirement.

Redundant power supplies vs Uninterrupted power supplies (UPS)

• Redundant – when a device operates using two (or more) physical power supplies. For example, if there are two, each will provide half of the needed power.  If one of them fails, the other one will be able to provide the necessary power.
• Uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) – aka battery backup. It provides backup power when the regular power source fails, so the devices can keep running for at least a short time. A UPS is typically used to protect hardware from serious business disruption or fatalities that an unexpected power loss can make.

Cooling – Having a proper cooling allows the networking gears and the web hosting equipment to function properly without overheating, working at the desired temperature. Without a proper ventilation system, the server could burn up. Same as the power, cooling also needs to be redundant.

 Among the most used systems for cooling we can find air based cooling and liquid based cooling systems.

 Air based cooling:

• Cold aisle/hot aisle
• Cold or hot aisle air containment
• In-rack heat extraction

 Liquid based cooling:

• Water cooled rack and servers
• Liquid immersion cooling

Security – All the servers house critical client data. Due to that, security systems need to work around the clock: security staff, closed loop surveillance cameras, id-based entry etc.  Besides, this kind of constructions need to be out of flood zones, fault lines and outside tornado/hurricane paths.

 Do not forget about the fire safety mechanisms, data centers must be protected against fire to avoid the loss of equipments and the data hosted there. Water sprinkles in this case will damage the servers and other assets. That’s why they are not the first option when talking about data centers. Other options include the use of gas to remove the oxygen feeding the fire for example.

Fail safe measures – All data centers need to maintain and operate a backup data center with a replica of all the data in order to be able to quickly restore business-critical data in the event of server failure.

• Full data backup: is a complete backup of all the selected files. This includes files and folders that have not been changed.
•  Incremental data backup: the backup only includes the files that have changed since the last backup.

Room for growth – As the company expands, the center should be able to do the same : grow with the future demands.

 Resume of the important things to keep in mind

• Backup power supply
• Cooling
• Security systems/fire safety measures/proper building construction and design
• IP networking devices/connectivity
• Servers/LAN cables/racks
• Backup data plan