From planning, budgeting, construction, installation of equipment, commissioning the unit and attending incumbent problems, the entire process needs to be handled professionally. Any time lag will result in cost overruns, technology becoming obsolete and business set backs. No business can afford such happening. It is imperative that the entire process of Data Center Construction should be executed with time and precision.

How do you go about the process of Data Center Construction?

The first step in the process is planning the setting up of the unit. Along with this, an assessment has to be made on the data centre facilities. Facilities like Power, UPS, Cooling equipments, Servers, Racks, Hardware, Software, Telecommunication equipments and so on will be needed. Underestimation of these facilities will result in the Data Centre being overloaded and not being able to meet the demands for data processing. Overestimation will result in huge costs, which any business can ill afford. The next step is the design of the equipment and laying down of specifications for the equipments. After this, the design of the building and estimation of engineering support services will have to be done. These steps encompass the ‘thinking’ stage of the project.

The next few steps are concerned with actual execution of the plan. Building contracts, electrical wiring contracts will have to executed and identification of vendors for software and hardware, contractors for cooling systems will have to be done. The actual construction will then start. This is stage is crucial, as time lags at this stage will have ramifications on the business. Installation of equipment will need all the different vendors to cooperate and come together when needed. This requires to be handled with skill. After installation of equipment, integration of all the equipment is to be done. During this phase too, people management becomes important.

Commissioning of the Data Center will call for troubleshooting expertise as glitches in the integration of equipment will surface and will need to be sorted out. Once the unit is commissioned, the operations and Maintenance will be taken over by the IT personnel and maintenance people respectively. With so many activities to be coordinated and lack of manpower, Data Center Construction is best handled by professionals. This will leave a company with less headaches and more time to concentrate on running the business.

Data Centers face a tough proposition with technological advancements that makes existing devices obsolete is a shortperiod of time. The need for the services of Data Center 24hours in a day on all the 365 days in a year calls for uninterruptible power supplies. Crowded Servers mounted onracks need power. They generate a lot of heat in the process.With age and growth in data needs, Data Centers become obsoleteand overburdened. The demand for  cooling equipment andadvanced technologies make it difficult for existing DataCenters to deliver. The obvious answer to this problem is DataCenter Relocation.

The idea of relocation galvanizes all into action. However, Relocation is a major operation requiring the whole unit to collaborate and work with cooperation. The two main departments that would have to come together and execute the relocation are the entities managing the facility and supporting it and the IT Dept. who actually runs the center. Getting these two Departments together for exercise is the first step towards relocation.

The next part of the exercise is that of planning and executing the relocation. The exercise calls for a project based approach. Relocations can also be carried out by Corporations that are professional and have the necessary expertise and experience.  It is estimated that of the total relocation costs, 15% goes towards the construction of the office building. 70% of the costs go towards meeting the electrical and mechanical systems. Since the majority of the expenditure is towards electrical and mechanical systems, any wrong estimation of requirements would result in failure of the relocation.  With money at stake, it is important to plan for the relocation.

Relocation decisions are driven by three main reasons. Existing power supplies and cooling facilities are inadequate, necessitating the move, problems of functionality in tiers and thirdly, inadequate space. Along with the decision for Data Center Relocation, a fitting data management strategy is to be drawn up depending on the kind of state the business is in. For instance, the business may be growing and fast expanding or is in the process of retiring obsolete equipment. It may be adding more servers and computer labs for which existing space will not be enough. Along with the relocation strategy, the business will also have to chalk out the data management strategy in the relocated set up.  Data Center Relocation takes time and the costs may be high. However, the decision depends on the future growth prospects of the business.

Telecommunications and connectivity solutions are provided in-house. This arrangement brings down the costs. Many companies are becoming conscious of the implicit gains in colocation. It is drawing attention on account of the huge savings it offers in cost as also time because the infrastructure in a data center is shared.

Many of the Colocation customers are in the Web Commerce Business. They have access to security, cost savings and assured connectivity. Big businesses are also leaning to this alternative on account of the facilities it offers to face disaster situations. By opting for colocation, these businesses can put their internal networks to other uses. An off shoot of this arrangement is that many telecommunication companies also use these colocation facilities for access to customers and for exchange of traffic with other service providers. With telecommunication facilities, connectivity and ASP providers taking care of your data center needs, you can focus on your core competencies. Most of the companies offering Data Center Colocation facilities also provide the latest Data Centre Solutions.

The physical security provided by Colocation centers is very high. Many of them are guarded round the clock, assisted by closed-circuit television cameras. They also have card access systems for clients to access entrance. Power facilities at Colocation centers are round the clock with no disruptions. Generator back ups are provided if power fails. When power fails, Battery back is provided for the interim period till the generator back up comes on. Huge amount of heat is generated with electronic and digital equipment being used continuously. To combat this, Colocation Centers have cooling facilites. Cross connections between customers or to carriers may be allowed. Facilities are provided at multiple points for fiber optic cabling.

Data Center Colocation facilities are offered by professionals in the business. They understand Data Centre Dynamics. Since they take care of the troubleshooting problems that a stand-alone data center would face (like power, connectivity and 24 hour security as well as protection from disasters), many businesses prefer to use such facility. When you are facing a dilemma about running your own data center, take the trouble of looking around for Colocation providers. It will save you from operational problems, save you considerable cost and time and leave you to concentrate on running your core business.

They are also supposed to be experts in mechanical and electrical engineering disciplines. However, Data Center Consulting can provide expertise for major projects or in the design of a new center. Many growing Data Centers are taking help from Architects and IT professionals and engineering experts for massive projects as these would need minute coordination.

The services offered by Data Center Consulting organizations range from conducting basic surveys to suggesting complicated cooling solutions. Services like commissioning of new centers, conducting pre and post operational audit, designing of facilities and Disaster Recovery Assessment are just a few more services offered by consultants. Data Center Consultants also provide advice on Server Farms. These are a bunch of servers maintained by a business as a single machine cannot serve your data needs. These will come armed with primary and backup servers.

There are basically three consulting arenas. The first category is companies like American Power Conversion Corp (APC) which is basically an IT infrastructure vendor offering Data Center Management services. IT majors like IBM and HP also offer consulting services. Independent assessments are provided by non-vending companies like SDI. . Consultants can be organizations or individuals. You can take your pick depending on your needs.

The option to choose a consultant who is also a vendor or a non-vendor consultant depends on your requirements. Some businesses may not opt to choose a consultant who is a vendor as it may market its own machines and equipment. Vendor consultants may be chosen if the company has decided to purchase the vendor’s products.

Consultants are the chaps who know the business. They are familiar with industry standards for various aspects of the data center. They get to see many data centers and can think and offer solutions from an independent and unbiased perspective. It is better to get help if you are not equipped to carry out the job.

While Data Center Consulting will provide solutions, the organization still needs the IT specialists to run the center. Documentation will be made by the Data Center managers. The proposals made by consultants will need the final seal of approval from the data center management. The end result is indicative of the consultant’s expertise and should be assessed in terms of money to check whether consulting was worth it.

The preliminary tasks of choosing the new location and development of the plan of migration is child’s play when compared to the process of actual Data Center Migration. Nothing should be left unanticipated while moving. The migration should be effected quickly and without any stoppages. Experts recommend that the business should be studied thoroughly before taking a decision on the kind of migration to adopt. The migration can be done in one piece or at one instance. This is called a ‘Fork Lift migration’. It can also be done in phases, which is called ‘segmented migration’. If data is required throughout, then a temporary solution can be thought of until the Data Center Migration is complete.

Communication between Managers of the Data Center should be continuous while the migration is on. If this is not ensured then the virtual layout that has been envisaged will not be executed as per plan. This will give rise to problems subsequently. Tight control on the operations will be maintained if steady communication between the managers is ensured. Quick decisions can be taken if problems are encountered.

Data Center Managers are totally involved with the actual migration that many a time, they forget vital factors necessary for ensuring successful migration. Inventory should be checked in and checked out. This is time consuming and one must not overdo checking as this can result in time overruns.

The actual migration process receives so much attention that businesses lose sight of the operational plan. If the new data center is run in the same way as the old one, then entropy will set it in. To avoid this, businesses must evaluate existing processes and check which need change in order to execute the operational plan at the new center.

The lesser known components are lost sight of during the migration process like rails and mounting shelves. It is important to note these issues as these components may be of no use in the new data center. Build Documentation must be prepared before starting the migration starts. Insurance of the equipment is absolutely essential. The data center manager is an expert and with the help of these few tips, the process of Data Center Migration can be flawless.

For all the other departments to function well one needs to have an efficient data center. Thus, the data center has to be reliable, sturdy and secured. You have two choices when it comes to Data Center Management. You can run it yourself or you can have it outsourced.

More often than not, offices already use a shared network. That is why data center is needed for the monitoring and the managing of equipment. Many companies use a data center as a security measure, a contingency plan. A back-up to ensure that the company system is always available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. So the data center should always have extra conditioned power, air, reliable back up power, security and fire safety. These are just extra measures to make sure that your back up is secured.

Thus, you can just imagine the sensitivity of the material being handled and the security issues surrounding the division. Proper data center management is important in every company. You cannot have inefficient people manning the data center. You have to have people who know what they are doing. The company relies on it. The company’s success depends on it. So you cannot have anything less than superior performance.

Continuity of a business is a matter of concern. Information systems provide the information necessary for ensuring continuity of a business. With the advent of computers and advanced data handling software, a company can easily set up a Data Center Management unit for handling and classifying data. The concept of the Data Center started in the dot com era. It has now emerged as a separate discipline in Information Technology.

A data center has a number of networks, switches and servers. These keep changing and moving with increase in business and related expansion of the data center. While installing a data center, nobody worries much about cabling. How do you go about deciding on your data center cable requirements?

The first thing to remember is that without the data center cable, there cannot be any information. The route through which your important data travels is the data cable. It is very easy to neglect this area but may prove costly in the long run. A medium sized data center will use up more than hundreds of feet of data cable. The cabling industry is estimated to grow to about $2.5 billion in the coming years. Fiber optic cabling is set to grown are a 31% over the next three years.

How do you choose the right data center cable? This would depend on the kind of network being used and the devices and their location and the way in which they are deemed to be used. Cabling systems must satisfy today’fs requirements as well plans for the future. Cabling generally last for one to two decades. So while choosing an infrastructure, get one that grows with your data center. After installation of cabling, care should be taken to test data to ensure the data center delivers. The other requirements for a data center cable are quality to ensure integrity and reliability in the data center. Cheap cabling will result in data errors that defeat the purpose of data center management. Take care of the specifications and ensure that it can be used for changes planned in the future. Take care of procuring your cable from established contractors. Make sure that the cables meet the specifications required. Last but not the least, test data to ensure that the data center is linked completely.

Companies have become rather reactive to security considerations rather than anticipating all kinds of attacks on their data centers and trying to find means to being proactive in protecting them. With the increase in the number of Data Centers catering to the needs of a number of key industries, the need for Data Center Security awareness needs to increase. Companies should establish robust data centers to ensure that they work 24/7.

Hackers are a major threat to data centers. There are basically four methods used by hackers to break into data centers. One way is to attack the database, servers and storage systems with the help of viruses, worms and breach of administrative access. Another way that hackers attack is through outdated software. Network systems like routers and switches can be attacked through breaches of access. Yet another method is that of DDoS (distributed denial of service). Data Centers are also subject to natural and man-made disasters like earthquakes, typhoons and terrorist attacks.

Threat perception is the beginning of planning for security of the data centers. Security is a continuous process and has to be a part of the operations of the data center. Employees should also be aware of the security measures. If the data center is attacked, there should be a disaster recovery plan in place for recovery of data. The way to planning for recovery at such times is through the Disaster Recovery project approach to recovery of data. This is a continuous process.

The project approach to disaster recovery starts with the pre-planning process. At this stage, the existing environment of the organization is assessed. The Security systems prevalent in the organization relating to personnel, operations, physical security, development and maintenance of electronic systems and other factors are studied. This will give you an assessment of the vulnerability of the organization. An assessment of the impact of security breaches on the business should be made. With this as the basis, an assessment of recovery requirements is made. This should include hardware, software, documentation, support from the outside, infrastructure facilities and personnel requirements. Finally, a disaster recovery plan should be drawn up and put in place. Thus Disaster recovery projects should help survival of organizations in times of disaster and assist in resumption of normal business operations at the earliest. So be proactive and make sure that a Data Center Security System is put in place from the very beginning.

An outside company, a vendor, provides services that can be performed by in-house employees. These vendors are experts in particular areas. There are many advantages why companies outsource and one of them is savings. It is a cost effective solution because it can reduce the company’s capital expenditures and there is a noticeable improvement in the quality of the output. Thus, there is less risk and more profit. It has been considered as a short term solution that can give respite during these harsh economic times. This is the reason why most large companies employ the use of data center outsourcing vendors.

However, employing the use of data center outsourcing services are not for all companies. There should be careful review of the advantages and the disadvantages. The owners should be able to determine on whether or not they are able to meet the business requirements with or without the use of these services. The company should be able to identify which processes are retained and which should be outsourced. It is a must that this should be planned in advance. Thus, evaluate the reasons why you want to outsource, what are you going to outsource, the benefits that it will provide you and what date center outsourcing company you should employ to provide you these services.

This can hurt the business detrimentally. So if you are planning a move, take into account elements of planning for a successful migration.

The reasons for moving a data center are many. The facilities may need to be upgraded. There may be less expensive options available, encouraging the move. The original data center may have turned redundant and the move is essential for ensuring continuity in business. The move can be due your business being taken over by another entity and the need for having only one data center.

After weighing the pros and cons of such a Data Center Move, it is imperative for drawing up a comprehensive plan for ensuring successful migration. This is critical as the plan needs to be executed diligently. Most breakdowns occur when there is a mismatch in the IS requirements and the facilities at the new center identified. One critical component could be the Data Center Power facilities which may not match the requirements of the equipments leading to breakdown of services.

There a few guidelines to be followed to ensure a successful move. Guideline No 1: Adopt the team approach. Form a team of experts from different disciplines. The disciplines will be human resources, real estate managers, IT, application specialists and network specialists. This team should be headed by a project manager. Guideline No 2: Make an assessment of the factors needed to ensure successful migration; this will help the team to avoid potential pitfalls and focus on important issues. Guideline No 3: Plan the requirements for the new data center. Guideline No 4: Draw up a list of equipment you already have; an inventory list. Check out what you have and what you need. Guideline No 5: Prepare a floor space design for the new center and make an assessment of your requirements vis-Ã -vis space availability. Guideline No 6: Draw up a detailed step-by-step plan for the actual execution of the move. Guideline No 7: Get an audit done after the Data Centre Move has been completed Guideline No 8: Compare the results with your original plan detailing the benefits of the exercise.

A Data Center move has to be executed with precision and coordination between the functional departments in the organization. To assist you, you can also take help of experts who can execute a successful migration, saving you of the headaches of such moves.