Important Data Center Metrics You Should Know

               We all know that data center and both mechanical and electronic equipment within the facility are becoming energy efficient. There are a variety of standards, certificates and metrics that have emerged to measure the efficiency of the facility. Metrics and Standards are very important to perform accurate measurement of data center and its IT equipment. Standards and Certification programs can maintain the integrity of IT companies’ claims for energy efficiency. Following are some of the certifications, standards and metrics that companies are using to show the energy efficiency of their facility and equipment.

Carbon Intensity per Unit Data:

               Carbon Intensity is used to refer the ratio of carbon-di-oxide to energy. It is a measurement of the amount of carbon emissions per unit of fuel consumed. Akamai is one of the leading content delivery network has been reporting carbon emission related to cloud computing. Carbon emission related to cloud computing based services in the metrics of “CO2/ megabytes of data transferred”. This metric enables Akamai to compare cloud computing usage across industry and also in process of making this metric to available on a monthly basis to its clients. Greenpeace has praised Akamai for its transparent reporting of this metrics and has awarded highest grade for its transparency above all giant internet players like Apple, Google, Facebook and, IBM.

Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE):

                This is the leading metrics which shows how efficiently the data center is operating. PUE is the ratio of how much energy is consumed in running data center’s equipment to the energy consumed to run the overall data center. This metric was created by “The Green Grid”. If a data center consumes lot of energy for cooling and power conversion, the facility isn’t very efficient and its PUE rating will be very near to 2. If very little energy is consumed in power conversion and cooling then data center will have a PUE closer to one.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED):

                This is a certificate awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED council evaluates green credentials of the building and consider several factors like materials, water used, indoor environmental quality and, location along with the efficiency of the plant to award any one of the five certificates certified by U.S. Green Building Council.

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air- Conditioning Engineers (ASHARE):

                This society is focused on building systems, indoor air quality, and sustainability, refrigeration and energy efficiency. ASHARE also publishes a series of standards and guidelines relating to HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning) issues and

systems.

Energy Star:

                Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s energy star certification is one of the widely used certification program for computers and gadgets. This certification can also be used for data centers and building that runs many number of data centers.

PAR4:

                This metric measures server powers in different methods including peak power, transaction per watt, idle power and total utilization of power.PAR4 metric is developed my startup power Assure and enables servers of different generations

to one another in terms of energy consumption and efficiency. PAR4 is gaining huge response from Internet giants like Cisco, Intel and, Dell and have been working to incorporate this metric into their systems.

 

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Best Websites for Enterprise Security

IT field advances each and every day, so are the threats to it has exponentially increasing and becoming more sophisticated. IT administrators have realized the need for

network security. Even after implementing hard core tool such as firewalls and enterprise security applications, breaches and hacks have be so effective that they can penetrate through tools secure layers.

Even with a small mishap with these tools can cost millions of dollars to the IT company. Virtual IT world is put into fast-track, where only fittest application can be considered as the best.  Websites are the main source to know more on IT security. Following are some of the top websites for effective IT security.

Cloud Security Alliance:

Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote and provide best security assurance within cloud computing. CSA provides guidelines to enterprise companies on security and in implementing cloud computing and also help vendors to address their security. When it comes to website security assistance, CSA is considered to be one of the best in the industry and provides effective techniques in approaching security in cloud computing. Cloud Security Alliance’s website is also incorporated with improved cloud computing security and related issues.

SourceForge:

SourceForge is one of the preferred website in IT industry. SourceForge is a web based storehouse, it acts as a centralized source for developers to manage and control websites. SourceForge is the first to offer free to open source projects. SourceForge’s website has several sections that offer endless security which covers almost every aspect of IT security such as networking security tool, firewalls and open source.

VMware:

                VMware is one of the companies based upon virtualization and cloud. VMware’s security and its security Advisories, guides and certifications are the best in IT industry. VMware compliance blog is the best websites that can provide the effective and one of the best assistance on VMware devices.

Cisco Design Zone for Security:

Similar to VMware, Cisco also offers security within their website. Cisco is primarily into offering networking devices, security and guidance throughout the globe. Cisco designs,

manufactures and sells its own networking products.

NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology):

NIST is a measurement standards lab which is a non-regulatory agency of US department of commerce. NIST plays a major role in security requirements and defensive measures across the globe. According to NIST, the recent focus has been on mobile and cloud computing security. NIST was formerly known as National Bureau of Standards (NBS).

Gartner Blog Network:

Gartner Blog is the preferred place for enterprises seeking advices on network security. Gartner Blog is included with researches, articles, blog and rakings on network security and also houses a huge list of expertise on network security devices and common safety issues.

Microsoft Security Advisories:

Microsoft Security Advisories is a supplement of Microsoft Security Bulletins. Microsoft Security Advisories offers changes occurring within Microsoft products and other related bulletins along with troubleshooting advices. Microsoft Security Advisories is one stop solutions to security related issues.

Apart from these you might find many other websites for enterprise security like Android Security Group, PCI Security Standards Council, Packet Storm, and, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.  All the mentioned websites are considered as one of the best.

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Comparison: Online Backup vs. Cloud Storage

                Before cloud computing service came into picture, online backup services had been serving customers. Online backup was provided by many companies like Carbonite, Mozy, Comodo, McAfee and Symantec. General methodology in online backup service allowed customers to backup and restore files from anywhere. Online backup is nothing but a remote, managed or online backup service that provides users with a system for backing up and storing computer files. Before comparing online backup and cloud computing let us know more about each of the storing methods.

“Online backup is basically a method of storing data like documents, folders and sometimes even the hard drive contents on a remote server or a computer network.” Backing up data in a remote hard drive reduces the risk of data loss, theft, fire, corrupt and other natural disasters. Companies can easily restore any lost file from the remote location using any PC and high speed internet connection.  Many small and medium sized organizations prefer to backup their data on a removable storage media like DVD or CD or thumb drives or tapes, sometimes

they might think of storing data onto an external hard drive.

Cloud storage is a model of online storage where big data are stored in a pool of servers. These servers are generally maintained by third parties. Hosting companies usually operate large data centers, customers who are in need of cloud storage can lease the storage based on their requirements. Cloud storage services are

usually accessed through a web service API (Application Programming Interface) or a web based UI (User Interface) or through a cloud storage gateway.

One of the general rule between online backup and cloud computing is an online backup service allows customers to backup and restore files. Hard drive size varies from hundreds of gigabytes to one terabyte, using this storage method we will be back only a small portion of your system. Many online backup companies keep a copy of My Documents and other selected folder instead of entire hard drive. Cloud storage is different; these services take a portion of your hard drive space and synchronize it with online storage. Whenever you make any changes in the file they are quickly replicated to the cloud storage.  SugarSync is one of the services providers which offer both classic backup and file synch support.

Some of the cloud storage companies have claimed that they will be providing unlimited bandwidth and unlimited disk space, but none of them is true. For large data backups companies have allotted reasonable space, once customers have reached this limit his backup speed will noticeably reduce. The main question that a customer should ask before investing in any of the services is whether online backup of more than 100 GB is really worth of investing. If your data backup capacity is less than 100 GB then it is recommended to use any online backup services like dropbox, Google drive, Microsoft Skydrive and many more available services. Smart users knows when things get worst and make sure to get the best kind of backup service which is best suited for them and their organizations.

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Challenges of Cooling Data Centers

                One of the major critical challenges faced by modern data center is cooling system. Today’s IT system has created new cooling related problems. These are new problems which could have been foreseen when data centers were developed 30 years ago. Some of the challenges in the data center cooling process can be packed in the following categories:

  • Availability
  • Manageability
  • Lifecycle costs
  • Maintenance
  • Adaptability

For many data center adaptability requirements still remain as the biggest challenges regarding cooling. This challenge involves problem regarding cooling of high density rack system and uncertainty of timing, location and quantity of high density rack systems. The cooling system within a data center should be scalable and flexible and with some redundant cooling feature for consistent and steady performance. Cooling data centers’ requirements in regards to Lifecycle of the system shares many features in common with adaptable solution. Data centers need pre-engineered modular and standardized solutions.

Data centers are often unable to predict future load of a data center cooling system, even the prediction of load characteristic offer greater challenge. Once a proper design is established data centers have to perform some best cooling practices. Some of the cooling practices are given below:

Determine The Critical Load and Heat Load:

Determining load helps data centers to know how many number of cooling systems need to be deployed within the available space. Companies need to include heat conducted from surrounding space.

Establish Power requirements as per Rack Location Unit (RLU):

                The power density of data centers is defined based on the number of cabinets or racks available in data centers. Generally all manufacturers produce cabinets of the same size. The Rack Location Unit provides RLU power density, this density is increasing every year. The main challenge faced by data centers in predicting cooling for variable RLU densities.

Determine Room Power Distribution:

                There are two main decisions in determining room power distribution one is where to place PDU (Power Distribution Units) and where to run power cables under or over the floor.

Determine Cabinet Power Distribution:

                It is very essential to understand the impact of power distribution on cooling, as it is related to air flow within the cabinets.

Determining Suitable Cooling Methodology:

After determining the cooling zones helps you to decide the type of air conditioners will be suitable for your data center. We come across four types of air conditioners such as Air cooler, condenser water cooler, glycol cooler and Chilled cooler. In addition to these data center managers need to determine how heat from the data center will be removed and what type of cooling redundancy will be required for a particular method.

Establish Cooling Performance Monitoring System:

It is very important for data center to develop and deploy a monitoring system which is capable of monitoring each cabinet cooling zone, each row and each room. Once the effective cooling performance is reached for a particular load profile, we can expect some changes. So it’s suitable to include all the parameters so that equipments can be changed, added or moved quickly to cater the changes.

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Infrastructure and Design Tips to Help your Data Center to Go Green

                Data Centers are the factories of the 21st centuries.  Data Centers houses a lot of digital and mechanical equipments. Data Centers do not pollute the environment by emitting polluting fumes into the atmosphere like other old factories, but these big structures are no less scrutinized for their growing consumption of electricity. Energy consumed by data centers

are expected to raise 50% from 2011 to 2020. As demand for cloud storage grows exponentially, more facilities will be built which intern increases the demand for electricity and other resources. Data centers are already consuming 1.1 – 1.5% of the world’s total energy consumption in 2012, by 2020 they will consume almost 20% more than last year. Organizations are making an honest effort to find alternative methods of generating electricity without depending on local providers. Some of the IT giants like Microsoft (have plans to build data center which runs on Bio-gas), Google, HP, EMC, Dell and many more have already tested and implemented alternative methods of generating power. These companies are not only concentrating on power generation, but these companies are

concentrating more on improving efficiency of their data centers and design them according to U.S. Green Building Council to earn LEED Gold certificate.  LEED Gold certified data centers are the ones with high efficiency and doesn’t cause any sort of damage to the environment and human health.

                Following are some of the Data center infrastructure tips which help your data centers go green.

Access your Energy Efficiency:

                One of the key aspects of achieving green tag in your data center is power management. Data Center managers need to know and understand from where energy comes and how it is being distributed in the facility. This helps managers to cut down energy wastage. Designers and managers need to look for alternative methods of generating power which make them move even closer to LEED certification.

Renovate Your Cooling System:

                Focus your cooling racks and servers and also ensure reduce airflow by sealing off holes in walls, ceilings and floors with appropriate duct. This might help in increasing efficiency and also to reduce power consumption. Managers need to access and implement best accessories to their data centers which intern improves efficiency at a relatively low cost.

Release Your Redundancy:

                Many facilities invest in redundant cooling and heating systems which inflates your energy bills. Slash redundancy wherever possible and remove all idle hardware which is simply occupying space and consuming energy.

Virtualize Your Storage:

                Virtualization makes application mobile and shut down unnecessary servers. Virtualization helps in knowing the server space, mapping applications to a different physical location to gain more efficiency. Datacenter Virtualization plays one of the major roles in the quest towards Green data center.

Looking For Alternative Power Resource:

                One of the best ways to stay clean is to find alternative energy that works for your facility. Companies can think about installing heat pumps, wind energy, solar panels and evaporative cooling, these alternative methods can lower your cost and significantly reduce company’s environmental footprints.

                Efficient data centers is not just good for your organization but it is also a social and environmental responsibility to manage your facility’s operations.

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Cloud Storage for Business – Advantages and Disadvantages

Cloud Storage is one of the services that can be provided either for an individual or organization. Cloud is a form of online storage which differs in several ways from traditional storage methods. Traditionally we use optical disk, thumb drives, flash drives and other portable media to store data and these portable media allows us to access data directly. Personal computers include their own storage devices using which they can access data. Cloud storage enables users to store data over a network and it also enables users to access these stored data from any location provided with internet facility. Usually large data are stored in a facility called Data Center. Data Centers are a physical location where multiple server hardware is maintained to store data.

Following are some of the benefits of Cloud Storage:

Synchronization:

Cloud Storage technology enables users to add and synchronize files directly between local network and computers.

Sharing:

Large audio, video and other files can be quickly added into your cloud system and access it whenever needed. Many cloud services have included drag-n-drop feature for ease of big file transfer.

Always On:

 Many individual or small and medium organizations still maintain files on their local drives.  When the router fails or when the server computer fails, your company might lose data and services. Cloud storage providers better uptime record so that users can easily access data without any failures. When organizations store files or data online, even if the service goes down or loose internet connection still they have access to data stored.

Security:

Security is one of the main concerns in Cloud sharing. Cloud storage is far more secure than in-house storage. Many smaller companies face risk from fire, theft, hardware failure and software problem. Cloud storage offers built in redundancy for such problems at every level of data center, servers and drives.

There are several advantages of cloud storage over networked online and individual storage. Data stored in cloud servers are not easily accessible by others. Data stored in cloud are less vulnerable to damage, theft or loss. Cloud storage is more efficient and is more scalable to store data. Cloud users have to pay only for what they use and can purchase required hardware. Cloud storage is more scalable and can grow spontaneously to cater the demands.

Cloud storage is one of the most potential storage methods; there are still a few disadvantages.

Privacy and Security:

One of the biggest concerns of cloud storage is privacy and security. Organizations might not be comfortable in transferring vital data to third parties. Most of the storage vendors ensure viral and malware free servers, it is still a concern as servers are used around the world and many users access same servers. Service providers have to ensure that client’s data are not accessed by any unauthorized users. To make it more secure vendors have to implement security servers, data encryptions and password protected accounts.

Cost:

For long runs cloud hosting is a lot cheaper than traditional methods of storing data. Cloud storage is a new technology makes it more expensive. Data centers have to be built, the software need to be installed and rewire the hardware and many unforeseen problems makes it more expensive than the traditional method.

By utilizing cloud storage users cannot have direct control over their data. Managing data center is one of the biggest reasons that dissuade organizations from owning one. The best method of managing large data is by hand over its management to professionals which ensures yielding proper benefits and also to have peace of mind. Most of the companies who opt out to use cloud service lack the skills and resources to store and maintain their data. For

these reasons cloud storage are being used by everyone including all sized organizations and individuals.

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Inhibiting the IT equipment from overheating in winter

Many IT businesses face a new kind challenge that may take them by surprise completely. The challenge that we are talking about is keeping the heat-sensitive IT equipment in the server room or telecom closet cool during the cold-weather months, when the building is actually heated. Every kind of IT business andIT organization depend on the servers, telecom switches and other equipments. So this problem has become critical. If the  IT building is in design stage, then steps can be taken to prevent damage to the servers by creating a separate room with its own air-conditioning system. But most of the IT companies cannot afford to build a new server room in an already constructed building. To tackle this problem, IT companies have started using self contained ceiling-mount air conditioners to keep server room and closet cool, while the rest of the building is heated.

 

The Working of Self-Contained Air Conditioners

Conventional air conditioners consist of two separate units, one which contains a condenser and the other an evaporator coil. But self-contained air-conditioner has both a condenser and evaporator coil in a single unit. Inside the unit, cold refrigerant flows through copper tubing from the condenser to the evaporator coil. A fan blows over the coil thus pushing cold air out. A second fan pushes the hot exhaust air out through

the system’s built-in duct, which is directed into the crawl space above a drop ceiling. The excess moisture is removed from the air is automatically pumped out to a drain and in the portable units, disposed of manually. When there is no available space to direct the hot exhaust air into, self-contained, water-cooled units are now available.

 

Advantages of ceiling-mount air conditioners are

The benefits of self-contained, ceiling-mount air conditioners are:

• Low cost compared to other air-conditioners

• Quick and easy installation

• No extra condensing unit to install and maintain

• Flexible placement of air supply and return

• Easy connection to building control and fire alarm systems

 

Self-contained, ceiling-mount conditioners are notable for their low cost and quick, easy installation. Unless there are any special circumstances, an installation may take up to 4 hours. Self-contained, ceiling-mount air conditioners are smaller than other cooling systems, so they are much easier to fit into the limited crawl space.

Self-contained, ceiling-mount air conditioners are available in smaller capacities than precision-cooling systems, and have higher sensible cooling capacities than mini-split systems. Self-contained, ceiling-mount air conditioners use flexible air ducts for both supply and return. This helps the air conditioner itself to be placed anywhere in the crawl space.

Important conditions to look for in a Self-Contained, Ceiling-Mount Air Conditioner

Reliability: An air conditioning must be always reliable and that is a system built to the

highest quality standards.

The fan motors should be fully enclosed in protective housings to prevent dust from building up.

And then the sheet-metal panels should be checked to see if they have stress-relief notches at the bends and is the refrigeration unit hermetically sealed or has service valves which result in leakage.

These are the quality-oriented details which are indicators of high-quality equipment that is designed and manufactured with long-term reliability in mind.

 Established manufacturer: Look out for a company which has established itself in the market and also are the market leaders. They should also provide the service and support throughout North America and globally.

 

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Data Center Expansion Plan – Build or Buy?

Demand for data center space is exponentially growing. Data center organizations need to implement more hardware to process, store and manipulate big data. To implement more hardware companies need to buy more lands or need to partner with some existing data centers or acquire any existing facility. Companies of all sizes must go through a critical stage weather to build own data center or to lease an existing facility. Companies need to analyze some points like construction cost, commissioning and costs of maintaining and managing data center before evaluating the decision to build or buy.

Following are some of the key considerations before deciding whether to buy an existing facility or to buy a new facility:

1.       Build Time:

Typically construction of a new data center requires 12-18 months to complete. Suppose

an existing client require to expand their capacity and data center companies need provide the required space in a shorter time-frame, then constructing a new facility will not be a good idea. Most viable option is to co-locate data center space from some other organization or companies might think of acquiring a small data center.

2.       Ability to Scale

A traditionally build data centers have an expected life span of 10-15 years with a minimum of 5 refresh cycles. This might lead to overbuild, capital waste, costly infrastructure and less energy efficient as most of the time servers will be idle. Companies can lease data centers, typically leases are short term of about 3 to 5 years and this allows clients to increase data center space based on their needs. By co-locating companies can reduce cost and add more space quickly.

3.       Money:

The initial cost for constructing a new facility, installation cost can move up-to thousands of dollars.  Companies either get finance from some financing company to construct a new data center, in addition to these companies need to invest to maintain data centers. Companies can lease an existing data center facility by paying monthly or annually based on the contract and provide consistent services to their clients and can expand their space based on their needs.

4.       Location:

Location is one of the primary concerns for data centers for those companies who have planned to build  their own facility. Companies who have elected to buy a data center find local providers within 30 miles from the office. Finding co-location providers is a sensible option, companies can have a frequent visit to the facility. Some companies have an idea of partnering with a data centers that are remotely located in order to have quick disaster recovery or business continuity.

Advantages of Co-location:

  1. Reduced initial cost
  2. Enhanced security features
  3. No need to concentrate on the upgrade and technology changes.
  4. Can have access to a variety of service providers
  5. Faster time to market
  6. Can shrink or grow based on company needs

Some businesses might opt to build and maintain their own data centers and others consider leasing

third party data center. Start-up, small and medium sized organizations opt to lease data centers which are more cost effective and more secure rather than building a new data center.

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Advantages of Using a Green Data Center

 There are millions of servers running worldwide on a daily basis. Often these are being enhanced and managed, but they are not always used. It is approximated that these unused servers cost billions every year.  This will always be a major waste of money, as well as a waste of precious energy.

Green data centers have recognized these wastes and worked to repair them. Many MNC’s are now more eco-conscious and are contemplating what green data centers can offer. Here are a few common advantages associated with green data center use

1.       Turning Off Unused or Dead Servers

When a company partners with a data center, it provides a specified amount of storage it requires. From there, the data center will allocate required space and also additionally provide extra space for expansion. But this creates dead server space. It is estimated that up to a fifth of all servers are sitting idle. These hardware pieces will always consume power and other resources, increasing the costs incurred by both the data center as well as the customer. Green data centers turn off these dead servers. The energy consumption is lowered, and thus, costs, which results in lower customer fees.

2.       Virtualization

Most companies presume that they need one server for each piece of software. This is not true. Green data centers utilize what is referred to as virtualization. The software management system places multiple pieces of software on the same server. So this reduces the costs to a great extent.

3.       Delaying Capital Expenditures

One among the main reasons data centers cost so much is that the data center has expenditures for power use estimates. Green data centers completely remove this excess

spending by using power on demand. Constant monitoring and analysis allows green data centers to only use the amount of power they need. The unused power is used for other applications.

4.       Storage Consolidation:

By performing consolidation in data centers can result in gaining more efficiency and helps to move one step closer to become Green data centers. To know more about consolidation in data centers follow the link given below

http://www.datacentertalk.com/2012/12/steps-for-successful-data-center-consolidation/

5.       Installing Best Network Monitoring Tool

Installing best network monitoring tool will ensure less downtime and less resource wastage. These tools will also help data center managers to remove defected hardware which might consume more power than normal ones. In current industry you can find many network monitoring tools, select any one of the tool which suits your business and more even more closer in becoming Green data center.

Along with all these steps, data center managers should ensure to implement alternative methods of cooling data centers, power

resource and other necessary steps in order to gain Green Gold LEED (leadership in Energy and Environment design) certification from USGBC (U.S Green Building Council).

Green data centers will have higher fees to start, but in the long-term, they are more efficient and always cost effective.

 

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Steps for Successful Data Center Consolidation

                Data Center consolidation is also referred as IT consolidation is a strategy to reduce the number of servers used either by repurposing server by carrying out Virtualization or by removing legacy servers. Some of the most popular consolidation technologies used in today’s data centers are storage Virtualization; cloud computing, server Virtualization and

replacing mainframes with smaller blade servers. Data center consolidation is a common for organizations that plan to reduce the overall size of their facility to reduce overall IT footprint and operating cost.

Challenges:

                Is your data center is suffering from a high level of power consumption, server sprawl and redundant licenses or if you are facing any of the following challenges?

  • High capital costs
  • Higher operating costs
  • Long response time to service request
  • Increased downtime
  • Decreased reliability

Then it’s time to consolidate your datacenter.

Solution:

                Consolidation of data centers or servers may be one of the solutions to reduce operating cost and capital funds while improving service. Following are the outcomes of successful consolidation of data centers.

  • Reduce operating and hardware cost by 50%
  • Creates provision for new servers which are 70% faster than older ones
  • Reduce energy consumption and reduces energy bill up-to 80%
  • Reliable during disaster recovery
  • Less downtime

 

Following are few simple and best steps to perform data center consolidation:

Building a suitable Data Center Consolidation Strategy

                Data center consolidation team should concentrate on delivering true value to the business which aims to reduce overall operational cost and increases efficiency of the facility.  Planning consolidation strategy with the application front of mind operational cost can be reduced significantly.

Build a business case for Consolidation:

                While choosing a business case have a brief idea about the category in which your data center operates and plan accordingly. Carefully examine the staff levels and mark them in their levels, this saves your staffing expenses.  Also have a brief idea about projected growth and candidates for consolidation.

Understand what you have:

                Knowing the software and hardware configurations helps in creating better understanding between management and vendors.

Plan Return on Investment

Getting step 1 wrong will directly affect the company’s capital income and its performance in the market. Compressive strategies will clearly define success of the company and also helps in

achieving a good return on investments. Timescales and expectations should be set at the very beginning of the planning phase.

Identify Best Candidates for Consolidation:

                When you have a clear idea about what you have in your data center, then you can identify best elements to consolidate and yield better result. So it’s better to select best consolidation candidates who can perform the task efficiently.

Implementing the Strategy

                After the successful planning of the consolidation strategy it’s time to implement. Consolidation team should ensure applications are delivered exactly as intended at the expected time irrespective of the challenges faced such as network failures, traffic congestions and security threats.

Evaluate Whether Consolidation is Moving in Right Direction

                After you have performed consolidation make sure it’s moving in the right direction as planned and analyze the delay and reason for delay.

                Have a regular maintenance check after successfully completing the consolidation strategy.

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