When to Consider Data Center Colocation
Posted on Mon, Feb 21, 2011 @ 08:18 AM
You’ve probably heard the old real estate axiom that says location is the first, second and third most important consideration when evaluating property. In many ways, this holds true for data centers, too. The location of your data center is the most important decision you’ll make regarding data security and application uptime.
Ten years ago, if you asked executives if they thought email was a mission-critical business application, most probably would have shrugged their shoulders or stated that they could probably get by for a few hours, or even days, without it. Today, with email and other applications becoming more and more integrated into employee tasks, the answer would be quite different.
As application uptime increasingly becomes a necessity for daily business operations, a critical question emerges for IT managers: Is your office facility truly the best location for your servers, storage devices, and core network connectivity?
Data Center Colocation Centers
Data Center Colocation Centers — facilities that house network, server and storage infrastructures for multiple organizations — offer an affordable, secure and dependable alternative for companies that don’t have the best-suited office environment to house their data centers onsite.
The following are nine key considerations to help you evaluate whether moving your critical data center assets into a colocation building is right for your organization.
- Is your facility equipped with a generator?
- You may have configured protected-power for your server, storage and network components, but what about the cooling system? If your cooling system goes off-line and air flow ceases, how quickly will the temperature become too hot for your systems to continue operating? You may be surprised to discover that it is typically only a few minutes!
- Is your facility equipped with redundant power feeds (from two different electrical providers)?
- Is your facility in a flood zone?
- Is your computer room or data center hardened for earthquake events?
- How many roads lead to your facility? What would happen if those roads were closed?
- Does your facility have provisions for WAN connectivity from more than one provider on (truly) separate infrastructures?
- Do you have the capability to quickly diagnose and remedy copper and optical cabling faults? What about the servers, storage array and network gear? Do you have proactive monitoring and management in place today? Do you have an NOC (Network Operations Center)?
- If you have some redundant or fail-over systems in place today, how often are they checked to determine if they will work as expected when the time comes?
If any of these questions have you reconsidering the strength, security and reliability of your current data center location, a collocation center may be a viable alternative for your organization.
Keep in mind that relocating your hardware, applications and data will likely affect your management of them moving forward. You will almost certainly want to remotely handle as much of the administration as possible, which can be achieved with network monitoring solutions. In addition, the colocation facility you choose may offer administrative services that can help ease the burden of internal operational tasks.
Your Thoughts
Does your business use a colocation center? Are you considering one? Please share your experiences and concerns in the comments below.
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Perry Szarka is a Solution Consultant at MCPc with expertise in data storage and network infrastructure. He works closely with clients to understand their business objectives and discover solutions to help them achieve their goals.
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Image credit: traferty