Best Practices For Data Centers Create An Agile, Stable, And Efficient Operation

The best practices developed for data center operations include operational effectiveness for facilities, hardware, and software, combined with data center management.

Each area has specific characteristics that need management as an integrated component of the total data center.

When data center managers apply best practices to one area and neglect others, overall efficiency of the data center suffers. The goal is to manage all the integrated components of a data center properly, in order to have an agile, stable, and efficient operation.

Facilities

In the construction of new data centers, locating the facility near a renewable energy source for electrical power is the new standard as demonstrated by Facebook’s choice to build a new data center in Fort Worth, Texas that will draw electrical power from a new 200 MW wind farm.

For both new and legacy installations, the use of solar panels combined with new high-capacity lithium-ion storage batteries, such as those offered by Tesla and others, is an emerging trend.

Hardware

• Rack Capacity - The best practices for managing rack capacity include managing the physical space and the power load by estimating the electrical draw of all the equipment in each rack in order to balance the load.
• Server Row Configuration - Changing rack row configuration to alternate between “hot” rows, where the rear of the racks face towards each other, and “cold” rows, where the front of the racks face each other, improves efficiency, as long as equipment air exhaust goes in the correct direction and any undesirable air leakage is stopped.

Software

• Server Benchmarks - Benchmarks are very useful in comparing equipment to buy and for determining the most efficient configuration. Benchmarks may be available from software vendors, from cloud service providers, or an organization may run a benchmark test on a server or cluster of servers to provide real benchmark results under operational conditions.
• Software Management Tools - Integration of software tools that monitor infrastructure provides information about potential problems, capacity usage, unauthorized access attempts, and other useful infrastructure data.

Data Center Management

• Security - Security is a top priority and this includes both physical facility security as well as network security. Video surveillance, restricted areas, security staff escorting visitors and off-hour workers, and biometric identification for entry, are all part of the physical security system. Network security is defense against viruses, Trojans, malware, and hacking attacks.
• Infrastructure - The overall management of the infrastructure includes managing servers, networks, and data storage. Additionally, this includes monitoring and adjusting both cooling of the data center and the distribution and use of electrical power, for the most efficient use of energy.
• Configuration Management - This coordinates the efforts of the infrastructure and software development groups, which increases stability and makes updating the systems faster.
• Software Licensing and IT Asset Management - This includes knowing the expiration dates for software licenses and keeping the software updated with all upgrades. It also includes knowing what is on the network and the capacity usage of each server as well as availability to handle peak loads.
• Change - Managing change is a constant. A formal change management process is required.
• Using Outside Consultants - It is critical to have experts to call upon when needing outside help.

Summary

Data centers managers need to think both specifically about individual issues and holistically about the overall effect on operations, in order to produce the most efficient, stable, and flexible operational infrastructures.

Katrina is a leader in the IT industry with innovative ideas and custom solution as a product specialist for RackSolutions.