How are Data Center Solutions Fueling the Digital-First World?

In today’s digital age, data has become the cornerstone of progress and innovation. From the apps that streamline our daily activities to the algorithms that provide strategic recommendations, data plays a crucial role in shaping the modern world around us. Given the vast amounts of data generated over the internet and in business settings, managing data effectively is crucial to improve operational efficiency and drive informed decision-making.

Have you ever wondered how the vast amounts of data and information you rely on daily are managed, stored, and safeguarded? In this blog, we take you to the realm of data centers, exploring the basics and different data center types. Also, we shed light on the advanced strategies and technologies that power data centers at scale. Read on!

What are Data Center and Data Center Solutions?

A data center is a dedicated space within a building that houses IT infrastructure to build, run, and deliver applications and services. The design of a data center is based on a network of computing and storage devices that facilitate the delivery of data and shared applications. There are several key components of a data center infrastructure, including firewalls, switches, storage systems, applications, and servers.

Data center solutions are products and services needed to develop and maintain a data center. Products include IT equipment, such as routers, servers, storage systems, and firewalls. Also, supporting infrastructure for the physical data center, like batteries, generators, and cabling are a part of the products for data center solutions. As for the services, they take the form of installation, technical support, and configuration.

Types of Data Centers:

Depending on the specific application, data centers can take the form of a small server room or groups of geographically distributed buildings. The most common types of data centers are:

• Enterprise Data Centers: Enterprise data centers are typically owned and constructed by a single company for their own needs. These data centers are custom-built to meet the specific requirements of companies that own them. Enterprise data centers are common among tech giants.
• Colocation Data Centers: These data centers work like a rental property where the physical facility, which hosts the IT infrastructure, is made available to the people willing to rent it.
• Cloud Data Centers: Cloud data centers are an off-premise version of a data center. The IT infrastructure is hosted by a cloud provider, enabling customers to access resources via the internet.
• Managed Service Data Centers: Managed service data centers are deployed and managed by third-party service providers. They offer services such as computing and data storage as a third party, serving consumers directly.

Data Center Architecture Components

A data center is typically made up of three primary component types, including compute, storage and network.

Below, we’ve explained them in detail:

Data Center Computing

Servers are the engines of data centers. The memory and processing used to run applications on data centers can be physical, virtualized, or distributed across data centers. Data centers typically use processors that are best suited for a specific task.

Data Center Storage

Data centers hold vast amounts of sensitive data. Lowering storage media costs increases the amount of storage available for backing up data either locally or remotely. Besides, technological advancements in non-volatile media help reduce data access times.

Data Center Networks

Data center network equipment includes switches, cabling, routers, and firewalls that bridge the gap between the servers and the outside world. When properly structured and configured, data center networks can manage high volumes of traffic without compromising on performance.

Data Center Support Infrastructure

Data centers are a critical asset, meaning they need to be protected with a robust and reliable support infrastructure. The data center support infrastructure comprises power subsystems, uninterruptible power supplies, and backup generators. Besides, fire suppression systems, building suppression systems, and cooling equipment are a part of the data center solutions.

Industry organizations such as the Uptime Institute and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) have industry standards in place to assist in the designing, construction, and maintenance of data center facilities. Uptime institute, for instance, defines these four tiers:

Tier I: Data center with a basic capacity level. Must include a UPS for power sags and outages.

Tier II: These facilities cover redundant capacity components for power and cooling. These components include storage, chillers, generators, cooling units, and pumps.

Tier III: These data center facilities are concurrently maintainable. This ensures that any component can be taken out without affecting production.

Tier IV: These facilities have several independent and physically isolated systems. That way, the production capacity can be insulated from any failure type.

Latest Advancements in Data Center Solutions

The data center solutions market is characterized by intense competition. Industry participants such as AWS, China Telecom, CoreSite, GDS Holdings, Microsoft, and NTT rely on advanced technology and high-quality products to drive revenue growth. Here are some of the latest developments in the market:

• In August 2024, Singtel signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hitachi Ltd. The strategic initiative will combine Singtel’s extensive data center expertise with Hitachi’s differentiating capability to develop next-gen data centers and GPU cloud in Japan and the Asia Pacific region.
• In August 2024, AMD signed a definitive agreement to acquire ZT Systems, an expert in designing and deploying data center storage infrastructure and AI computing at scale. With the strategic acquisition, AMD will have industry-leading systems expertise to accelerate the deployment of optimized rack-scale solutions.

Securing Your Digital Future

Data center solutions play a crucial role in ensuring the efficient operations of data centers, which are a strategic asset for many organizations. As technology evolves and the demand for data increases, investing in the right data center assets will provide organizations with the resilience and agility needed to thrive in a dynamic environment.