A data center houses many networked computers that work together to process, store, and share data.
What is a data center?
A data center houses many networked computers that work together to process, store, and share data. Most major tech companies rely heavily upon data centers as a central component in delivering online services.
Sometimes, “On-Prem” or On-Premise speaks to a physical data center owned, rented, or leased by a company for its computer hardware.
What is the difference between a data center and a point-of-presence (PoP)?
Datacenter and point-of-presence (PoP) are sometimes used interchangeably, though distinctions can be made between them. Speaking generally, a PoP may refer to a company having a single server presence in a location, while a data center may refer to a location that houses multiple servers. Instead of referring to multiple PoPs in one location,
The concept of a point-of-presence rose to prominence during the court-ordered breakup of the Bell telephone system. In the court decision, a point-of-presence referred to a location where long-distance carriers terminate services and shift connections onto a local network. Similarly, on the modern Internet, a PoP typically refers to where CDNs have a physical presence in a location, often in the junctures between networks known as Internet exchange points (IxP).
A data center refers to a physical location where computers are networked to improve usability and reduce costs for storage, bandwidth, and other networking components. Data centers such as IxP co-location allow Internet service providers, CDNs, and other infrastructure companies to connect to share transit.
What are the common concerns in the design of a data center?
Many components and factors are considered when creating a modern data center. A data center has a lower risk of downtime and data breaches with proper planning, maintenance, and security.
Datacenter considerations include:
- Redundancy/backup – the level of redundancy varies widely based on the quality of a data center; in high-tier data centers, multiple redundancies in power and backup servers are built into the infrastructure.
- Efficiency – the amount of electricity used at a large data center rivals that of a small town. Data centers attempt to cut costs by optimizing cooling processes and using energy-efficient hardware whenever possible.
- Security – proper physical security, electronic surveillance, access controls, and on-site security guards reduce the risk of bad actors attempting to gain site access.
- Environmental controls/factors – maintaining the right environmental conditions is necessary for the proper functioning of electronic hardware. Keeping both temperature and humidity within acceptable parameters requires the proper balance of air conditioning, humidity control, and airflow regulation. Properly secured servers are also a necessary concern in areas vulnerable to earthquakes.
- Maintenance and monitoring – on-site or on-call network engineers must stay on top of server crashes and other hardware failures. Proper response helps to ensure server uptime and eliminate reductions in the quality of service.
- Bandwidth – a data center is incomplete without the bandwidth necessary to handle all the requisite network traffic. Bandwidth considerations are a central component in data center infrastructure, with external network connections and internal data center topology designed around sufficient network capacity.
