Data Centre Reliability Checklist

Planning, creating, and building a data centre can be one of the most expensive tasks an IT director can face. In order to maximize cost effectiveness and achieve optimum performance, reliability is key.

Data centre size can range from one room in an office to an entire building, but there are some basic requirements which must be implemented to ensure system reliability. When designing a data centre, efficient planning is very important. A number of areas must be addressed to ensure a dependable and efficient system which is capable of continued operation.

Understand the potential causes of failure

There are a number of areas cited as the most common causes of data centre failure:

- Environmental problems - Software failure - for example, memory leaks - Hardware failure - such as storage or processing problems - Operator or procedural error - Poor network reliability - Security breaches - for example hacker attack

Environmental considerations

When planning a data centre, there are a number of physical and architectural design features which must be implemented to ensure reliability:

Adequate Air Supply: temperature must be maintained between 20 and 25 ?C and humidity between 40 and 60 %. Too much humidity can cause water to condense on internal components. However if the air is too dry, this can cause static electricity to discharge. Malfunction is likely if the above ranges are not maintained. This is one of the prime causes of data centre malfunction. Implementation of adequate air conditioning and correct architectural design to allow for air circulation between units is vital. Particular care needs to be taken to prevent hotspots from occurring.

- Safeguard against power loss: external environmental factors such as hurricane or snowstorm can cause power black outs. It is vital to have a generator to ensure continued function, as well as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for emergency power. These should be of sufficient size to power cooling systems.

-Fire protection systems: the simplest forms of fire protection are smoke detectors, for early detection of a fire. It is also vital to ensure fire containment to prevent the spread of a fire to the entire data centre. For example: Contained sprinkler systems or gaseous fire suppression.

Software, hardware or network failure

Tested and quality assured hardware and software from reputable brands can help increase reliability. Common malfunction in one component, such as an internal fan or storage disc, can quickly lead to failure in another. Ensuring network performance and reliability can also have a huge impact on the performance of the data system.

Operational procedures

It is impossible to completely rule out human error and operational issues. However, devising an operations procedure to not only maximize performance but also track reliability and malfunction is key. Conduct regular back-ups on each production server to ensure quick file repair in the event of damage. Provide adequate operator training to implement protocol and avoid the most basic of errors such as leaving discs in drives, which would prevent an auto-reboot in the event of system failure.

Data security

Particularly important in large data centres with sensitive information, is to ensure adequate physical security. Corporations may consider outsourcing their data centre to an managed hosting services off-site location with 24 hour security guards and video surveillance. System security also requires keeping up-to-date with the latest security and anti-virus software.

Avoid single point of failure

One final key consideration is to avoid having a single point of failure. Test the system before it goes operational and ensure that if one component fails there is sufficient backup to ensure the data centre can still function. Back-up will make sure that your important data is never lost.

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10 Security Features all Data Centres Should Have

A data center is an outside location that houses equipment and information that is used for your business. This information or equipment can be accessed from a remote location. Many businesses use a data center, especially when customer information must be retrieved. This is especially true with customer service centers. When you call with a question or problem, you may get a different call center each time. However, they are able to pull up the same information every single time. This is because they are pulling that information from a data center. This allows for retrieval of information from all authorized parties at any time, which also results in consistency.

With such access, this may make one wonder how secure a data center really is. All of this information is being transferred to and from using a computer can seem somewhat dangerous, especially since much of the information is very sensitive.

That is why it is important that each data center be equipped with top-of-the-line security features that protect that information:

1. Encryption: Encryption is a code that cannot be cracked. The information is transferred in this encrypted form that only the computer it is going to can decipher. The information that leaves the computer is once again encrypted to be stored in the data center. This is what prevents a lot of the information that is going back and from being stolen by hackers.

2. Password protection: It is important for the password to remain protected. If the password is entered incorrectly, then it is important to have a security feature that locks someone out after three attempts. This prevents someone from intruding and in order to unlock it, they must answer a security question.

3. Individual security: This is when each individual receives their own username and password to access the data center. This means the encryption key for each user is unique.

4. Redundant power: A data center that runs on redundant power is one that is going to survive such incidents as blackouts. This means they are running from separate sources of electricity and they also have backup generators. That way, if the power goes out there and not at your facility, you’re still in business.

5. Verification at each end: Every single time a file is written to disk at the data center, their integrity is verified. They are verified each time they are written to the disk. If verification fails, it is transmitted to an identical server.

6. Protocol security: Protocols such as HTTP are vulnerable to hackers, so a secure data security system uses one that hackers do not target.

7. Firewalls: The firewall that is used should be similar to those used on home computers so that the business can connect with backup software and not be locked out.

8. Restricting remote access: This only limits access to certain IP addresses. This is so someone cannot access the data center from another location when they aren’t supposed to.

9. Virus protection: Viruses come in all shapes and sizes and the data center must be protected as well. Virus protection keeps the data center virus free.

10. 128-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL): This is what you want to see to make sure information is not retrieved or corrupted in any way.

So if you’re looking for a data center that can make your business as successful as you want it to be, these are ten security features that you can look for that will make a large difference in how securely you do business. You can also confidently ensure your customers that their information is safe.

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