Data Center Designed for Business Resilience and Growth (Part 1 of 4)

From Prime Locations to Vendor and Partner Selection — Master the Essentials for a Secure, Scalable, and Sustainable Data Center

Data centres are the backbone of business operations, supporting everything from real-time communications to big data analytics. Building a data centre that is secure, scalable, and sustainable is a strategic business imperative.?

This article explores four critical aspects of data centre development: location, power supply, cooling systems, and vendor and partner selection. Each element is pivotal in ensuring your data centre meets current demands and remains resilient and adaptable for future growth.

Location: The Foundation of Uptime and Efficiency

Choosing the right location for your data centre is paramount. It's more than just a matter of finding available real estate; it involves a strategic assessment of various factors influencing operational efficiency and risk mitigation.

Proximity to Major Networks: Being close to major network hubs reduces latency and improves data transfer speeds. This proximity ensures your business can maintain high performance and quick access to critical services and applications.

Risk of Natural Disasters: Geographic risk assessments for natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes are crucial. Building in a low-risk area minimises the potential for catastrophic damage and costly downtimes.

Accessibility for Maintenance: A location that allows for easy access by maintenance teams and service providers ensures that any issues can be promptly addressed, reducing potential downtime and maintaining operational integrity.

Availability of Power and Cooling Resources: The selected location must have a reliable supply of power and cooling resources. This availability is essential for maintaining the environmental conditions necessary for optimal data centre operation.

Location: Fun Facts

1. Internet Speed Matters: Did you know that the average latency difference between urban and rural data centres can be as much as 20 milliseconds? That’s the time it takes for a fast typist to hit two keys on a keyboard!
2. Weather-Proof: In Finland, some data centres are built underground in old military bunkers to protect them from extreme weather and natural disasters. This not only ensures security but also provides a cool environment, reducing cooling costs.
3. Geothermal Advantage: Iceland is becoming a popular data centre location due to its abundant geothermal energy and naturally cold climate, offering a sustainable and cost-effective solution for power and cooling.

Power Supply: Ensuring Uninterrupted Operations

A reliable and redundant power supply is the lifeblood of any data centre. Power outages can lead to significant data loss, operational disruptions, and potentially severe financial consequences.

Redundancy: Implementing redundant power systems, including backup generators and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), ensures that the data centre can continue to operate even in the event of a primary power failure.

Energy Efficiency: Investing in energy-efficient power solutions not only reduces operational costs but also supports sustainability goals. Advanced power management systems can help optimise energy use and improve overall efficiency.

Renewable Energy Sources: Incorporating renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power, can enhance sustainability and reduce dependence on non-renewable energy. This approach also aligns with corporate social responsibility goals and can improve the organisation’s public image.

Power Supply: Fun Facts

1. Power Hungry: Data centres consume about 1% of the world's electricity. To put it in perspective, that’s enough to power approximately 16 million U.S. homes annually!
2. Green Giants: Google’s data centres have been carbon-neutral since 2007. They achieve this through a combination of renewable energy purchases, efficiency improvements, and carbon offset programs.
3. Battery Backup: Some modern data centres use lithium-ion batteries for uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) because they are more efficient, have a longer lifespan, and are more environmentally friendly than traditional lead-acid batteries.

Cooling Systems: Protecting Your Infrastructure

Efficient cooling systems are critical to preventing overheating, which can lead to equipment damage and performance degradation.

Innovative Cooling Solutions: Liquid and modular cooling systems can provide efficient and cost-effective methods for maintaining optimal temperatures within the data centre.

Monitoring and Management: Continuous monitoring of temperature and humidity levels, coupled with advanced management systems, ensures that cooling systems operate effectively and respond to changing conditions in real-time.

Sustainability: Implementing environmentally friendly cooling solutions can significantly reduce the data centre’s carbon footprint. This sustainability not only benefits the environment but also can provide cost savings through increased energy efficiency.

Cooling Systems: Fun Facts

1. Cool Creativity: Facebook’s data centre in Lule?, Sweden, uses frigid Arctic air for cooling, which is 40% more energy-efficient than traditional methods. They even designed custom server racks to optimise airflow and cooling efficiency.
2. Underwater Data Centers: Microsoft has experimented with underwater data centres to take advantage of natural cooling from ocean waters. Their Project Natick aims to improve cooling efficiency and reduce maintenance costs.
3. Liquid Cooling: Some data centres use liquid cooling, where servers are submerged in a non-conductive liquid that absorbs heat more efficiently than air. This method can be up to 1,000 times more effective at cooling than air cooling.

Vendor and Partner Selection: Ensuring Quality and Support

Selecting the right vendors and partners for your data centre development is a crucial step that can impact the quality, reliability, and support of your infrastructure.

Reputation and Reliability: Choosing vendors with a proven track record of reliability and performance ensures that the products and services you receive meet high standards of quality.

Support and Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Strong SLAs with clear terms for support and maintenance are vital. These agreements should outline response times, service commitments, and the scope of support provided, ensuring that you receive timely and effective assistance when needed.

Innovation and Future-Proofing: Partnering with vendors who invest in research and development can provide access to cutting-edge technologies and solutions. This innovation ensures that your data centre remains at the forefront of industry advancements.

Vendor and Partner Selection: Fun Facts

1. Strategic Partnerships: Did you know that Apple’s partnership with renewable energy providers has enabled all of its data centres to run on 100% renewable energy since 2013? This strategic move aligns with their environmental goals and reduces operational costs.
2. Vendor Diversity: Engaging multiple vendors for different aspects of data centre operations can increase resilience and flexibility. For example, using one vendor for power infrastructure and another for cooling solutions can mitigate risks and drive innovation.
3. Collaborative Innovation: Companies like IBM and Google often collaborate with vendors to co-develop new technologies. For instance, IBM partnered with Nvidia to develop high-performance computing solutions, enhancing their data centre capabilities and driving technological advancements.

What are the most significant challenges you foresee in balancing location, power, cooling, and vendor selection for your next data centre project?