If your organization is desperately in need of outside help in hosting your data, finding the right technology partner can be challenging.
With complex intricacies and varied offerings, navigating the world of data centers should come with its own map.
What’s more, data breaches are occurring with increasing frequency, making both physical and digital security a headline topic.
To help you chart your journey toward finding the right data center for your organizational needs, we aggregated the top seven key components of a data center.
If you’re currently hosted by a provider who doesn’t check the five following boxes, it’s time to reassess your partnership.
Read on to learn the seven core components of a data center that are vital to your network infrastructure.
Servers
To be able to handle your workloads and data storage, data centers must have large-volume servers. Servers are essentially computers without the peripherals (think: Monitor and keyboard) that manage computational workloads. These servers work in tandem through high-speed networking connections to achieve desired outcomes.
Racks
You know how valuable your data is, which is why you need to ensure the data center you choose to house that data is impenetrable.
One of the first lines of defense in any data center should be racks. Typically made of steel, these physical frameworks house IT equipment within the data center.
Remember the servers we discussed above? Racks are vital to ensure that these computers are safe and secure from any physical damage.
As you assess data centers, be sure to learn about their rack storage capabilities.
Network Connectivity Infrastructure
Any data center provider must offer multiple connectivity options. By providing a number of sources, organizations partnering with data centers can select their providers
Vital to the continued success of our processes, be sure to learn if a potential data center offers a robust network connectivity infrastructure.
Security Measures
While we touched on the importance of physical server security, racks are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to security measures data centers should provide and enact.
Ideally, data centers should employ layered security measures that ladder up to a comprehensive, holistic strategy.
This layered approach should include:
Video Surveillance
You want to know who has access to your data. One simple way data centers can assure consumers of site security is 24/7 video surveillance.
Access Lists
While this may seem obvious, ensure that your technology partner has lists indicating who can and cannot access the data center. This list should be relatively short and include only absolutely mandatory visitors.
Multi-Factor Authentication
While multi-factor authentication (MFA) has become the norm for many of our online access points, this verification process should also be enacted at your data center to ensure enhanced security.
Secure Access Points
As you consider data centers, don’t forget to inquire about the security of access points. Automatically-sealing doors and badged entry are just the start of access point security–be sure that your selected provider goes above and beyond.
Redundancy
In this case, redundancy refers to having two or more of the same processes to ensure that, if one fails, the other will persist.
Some examples include:
- Heating and cooling systems
- Networks connectivity
- Electricity and generators
Cooling and Airflow Systems
Keeping data center equipment cool at a regulated temperature is key to safeguarding data. By ensuring the facility is at an ideal temperature constantly, data centers can prevent vital equipment for overheating.
Be sure to enquire about the cooling and airflow systems prospective data centers have in place.
Conclusion
As you shop around for the right data center for your organizational needs, keep these five key components in mind.
Individually, these five elements operate as a shield against specific threats, natural or otherwise. Collaboratively, however, these components created a layered defense against any negative external factors, creating a robust security plan.
After all, your data is one of your most valuable assets.
Shouldn’t you do everything in your power to protect it?
At Prov.net, we provide hosted systems with dedicated servers and private cloud infrastructure that can be customized to meet your unique business needs and SLA requirements.
Learn more about our hosted dedicated servers.