Data Center Power Redundancy
Studies have shown that the costs associated with data center outages are steadily increasing. Research conducted by the Ponemon Institute shows that the average data center outage cost a little over $500,000 in 2010. By 2016, the average cost swelled to over $740,000, amounting to a net increase of 38 percent.
Clearly, in today’s competitive business landscape, data center reliability is increasingly a central benchmark in judging a facility’s overall performance, as well as its ability to deliver on its promised services. Yet when you’re following Uptime Institute’s four-tiered classification of data centers — often considered synonymous with reliability — you’ll note that Tier IV service can cost double what Tier II service delivers.
More than ever before, factors like data center redundancy — or the ability of a data center’s core services to run uninterrupted via backup power systems — need to be addressed in a cost-effective manner that meets clients’ needs without overcomplicating the overall system or overpricing its services.
Systems and Components
A data center’s power redundancy needs are first and foremost determined by the systems and components the data center operator believes are of a critical nature. This determination goes beyond purely IT equipment. Since servers and other electronics produce heat when they’re operating, the vital systems of a data center can also include its cooling and ventilation system. In other words, the data center design has to account for the correct functioning of all of these systems and components — otherwise, performance will be compromised.
It’s crucial to note that while reliability is an essential aspect of data center design, an increase in infrastructure redundancy needs to be judged carefully. If it’s not, the system can become overly complex and challenging to manage.
Backup Systems
Of course, keeping a data center running at all times is critical to uninterrupted operations. In this endeavor, it’s essential to have the right backup systems. In other words, N + N data center redundancy. At its most basic, this formula means that a data center has two instances of every piece of equipment — whether that’s generators, heating and cooling systems, security systems or telecommunications paths.
These types of backup systems protect the data center from a wide range of issues, from unwanted downtime due to power outages and equipment failure from overheating to data breaches as a result of cybercrime and interruptions to communications.
Nevertheless, to maintain a manageable infrastructure and keep costs affordable, operators need to know how to design backup systems that don’t add too much complexity. That’s where working with experienced professionals like the team at DataSpan can make all the difference.
DataSpan — Helping Data Centers Manage Redundancy
For more than 45 years, our team of experts at DataSpan has been providing innovative solutions to data centers of all sizes. We’re proud to count more than half of the Fortune 1000 among the many clients that we’ve helped over the years.
Trust DataSpan for all of your data center redundancy solutions. Contact us today, or find a representative in your area.
