Data processing center (data center)

For storage and processing of a large number of information specialized technical solutions, powerful servers, disk storages are used. Create and service such technical systems independently rather difficult and expensively: the maintenance of servers requires special specifications, certain premises and skilled staff. One of basic purposes of data centers just also is creation of suitable conditions for placement of such technical solutions.

Data centers (the data-centers, DPC are data processing centers) specialize in placement of the specialized computer devices intended for storage, information processing and also in providing communication channels to clients for Internet access or data transmission. The main task of data center consists in creation of the protected reliable space with climatic conditions, favorable for work, to the guaranteed power supply thanks to which the company tenant can always get access to the data closed for foreign users.

Corporate DPCs can be separated into two categories conditionally. Most large corporations have own data centers for processing and information storage and also — in a case with the Internet companies — for support of functioning of own services. As a rule, such companies have the main and reserve data centers which are located in different places and between which loading is redistributed.

Commercial data centers provide services in storage and data processing to third-party clients. The companies clients can use hybrid model within which to combine own infrastructure and capacities of commercial data centers for the most cost-efficient work.

Tasks

Any business aims to increase as much as possible the income and to reduce costs. Heads of the large companies know that it is better to spend slightly more funds for upgrade of processes, than to lose the huge amounts on liquidation of contingencies. Therefore a number of the main objectives is set for DPC. Treat them:

• storage and analysis of a large number of information;
• security of IT-systems;
• maximum data availability;
• non-failure operation of systems;
• consolidation of distributed systems;
• ensuring smooth operation.

All this finally leads reliability of business to increase.

Movie "Architecture of the Internet. The data center" tells the mass viewer what is data center, its infrastructure as work of DPCs is connected with all spheres of modern life. Shootings were conducted in the building of the Moscow long-distance telephone exchange No. 9 (MMTS-9) and also in data processing centers of DataPro, Roskosmos, capital network of data centers 3Data.

Advantages to business

Creation of the multicomponent systems solving the majority of problems in business much more cuts down expenses of the enterprises. In particular, for the companies with geographically distributed infrastructure this irreplaceable solution as 1–2 employees servicing DPC with success replace a great number of the persons working at offices in regions. Afterwards many entrepreneurs thought of acquisition of data processing centers because it was required to integrate together a large number of information. Risk lose certain data forever it became very big and caused certain costs on recovery of information. Besides, there were risks on deprivation of a part of income in connection with idle times for various reasons. So thanks to the unique features the DPC ensures effective smooth operation of any organization.

Advantage of data center is that the person or the company, maybe, from an every spot on the globe, using any access device in network to work with necessary and sufficient computing power, to required amounts of memory, all necessary software which will work and be stored on servers in data center.

Traditional services in data centers: lease of a rack, placement of servers, connection to the Internet, lease of communication channels, installation, software configuration, administration. Now to them providing leases of applications were added to lease of computing powers, virtual servers, disk space for data backup.

• Reliability of information storage. And this reliability is confirmed as the architecture put at a design stage, and the subsequent operation. The interesting fact that at detailed comparison of cost of ownership of the information system located in the territory of the customer (as a rule, it is business center) and in data center, quite comparable digits turn out that cannot be told about comparison of reliability of these methods.

• Reduction of time expenditure by implementation of new projects in the field of IT. During the work independently select services which they want to receive from data center of the company. The most demanded are a lease of a rack, unit, the ready server, virtual server and data backup. But in addition there is some other services which the companies tenants can use if necessary that considerably will save time for start of the new IT project. For example, it is the lease of applications allowing to avoid large-scale investments at the initial stage of work. It is possible to give lease of 1C of accounting as an example – for deployment of a ready system suitable for work, it is enough to order and pay such service in data center. At the same time, often, at office of the customer it is not necessary to buy, set or configure anything, except as Internet access.

• Reducing costs for tenancy. Here it is possible to carry costs for electricity, office space used under "server" and service of own cooling systems and devices of uninterrupted power. By the way, the equipment purchased in office becomes fixed assets of the enterprise, on them the property tax is accrued.

• Organization of continuous work of head office with branches of the company for the whole country. access to working information irrespective of the location of the employee. For example, the company executive can, being on vacation, to check working mail, to contact the employees through the IP telephony.

• Possibility of creation of backup office of the organization if for some reason work at the main office is impossible, and it is necessary to obtain important information, to complete the project

reducing costs for purchase of applications. Owners of data centers develop a new range of services which can be offered tenants for gain of competitive positions.

First who began to use data processing centers in the work were the large foreign companies. They were followed also by the Russian entrepreneurs. In the Russian Federation in 2000-2001 the first owners of DPC appeared. The Sberbank of Russia acted as the pioneer. It is the most geographically distributed organization. So the need for creation of integration of numerous data was high. Further also the large oil companies got own DPCs.

Types of data processing centers

Depending on appointment distinguish three different types of data centers, each of which is expected a certain model of the enterprise and has own operational tasks and problems:

• corporate data centers;
• the hosting data centers providing computer infrastructure as service (IaaS);
• the data centers using Web 2.0 technology.

Parameters which can differ considerably in different types of data centers are included below:

• traffic type (internal, external or mixed);
• use of Layer 2 (L2) and/or Layer 3 (L3) for upravlennya traffic in the center or on the periphery (Top of Rack);
• technology of data storage;
• level of server virtualization;
• the general size of a data processing center (by the number of servers).

Creation and upgrade of DPC

Main article: Creation and upgrade of DPC

Components of DPC

Traditional DPC

The obligatory components which are a part of DPC can be separated into three main groups:

1. Technical components. They create conditions for effective work of the center. Treat like those:

• the server complex, includes servers of information resources, applications, information representations and also office servers
• storage system and backup – a core of DPC. It consists of the consolidating disk arrays, the storage area network, a backup system and disaster recovery of data
• network infrastructure provides interaction between servers, integrates the logic levels and will organize communication channels. It includes trunks for communication with operators of the general access, the telecommunications providing communication of users with DPC
• the engineering operation and management system of DPC supports conditions for normal functioning of the center. Power supply subsystems, klimatkontrolya, the fire warning and fire extinguishing, data transmission and also automated systems of scheduling, information resource management are its part
• the security system prevents unauthorized invasion into zones of confidential information. It consists of means of protecting, the warning system and a control system of access

2. Software. These are actually infrastructure services of DPC and software for correct work of the business processes necessary for the specific organization. Treat components of infrastructure:

• operating systems of servers;
• software of databases;
• operating systems of workstations;
• means of a clustering;
• means of backup;
• programs of data storage devices;
• administrative tools of servers and workstations;
• means of inventory;
• office software;
• e-mail;
• Internet browsers.

Treat the programs which are responsible for functioning business of processes:

• business applications;
• basic corporate information services;
• applications for collective work;
• industry components;
• the software for solving of tasks of the design-technology plan of a system of electronic archive and project management;
• the programs providing services of files, printings, a directory service and other applied tasks.

3. The organizational environment resolves the issues connected with providing IT services. It should conform to requirements for rendering IT services, such as ISO/IEC 20000. Here are provided:

• processes of rendering services, i.e. quality and availability of services;
• processes of relationship between the supplier and the client and also with contract organizations;
• processes of problem solving, arising when functioning any of system components;
• processes of management of configurations, monitoring and control of the status IT infrastructures, inventory, verification and registration of configuration units, collecting and management of documentation, providing information on IT infrastructure for all other processes;
• change management processes, i.e. determination of necessary changes and methods of their carrying out with the smallest risk for IT services and also carrying out consultations and coordination of actions with the organization in general;
• processes of release, i.e. joint testing and introduction to vigorous activity of the organization of a number of configuration units.

Program DPC

In program DPC all of us implement an environment in the form of software modules in virtual machines – virtual appliance. The idea consists that only servers and switches are physically used. All the rest is implemented in the form of virtual machines – virtual appliance.

In the world of service providers this technology is known and is even standardized under the name NFV – Network Function Virtualization – virtualization of network functions. Only there it is used for providing services and respectively a lot of attention is paid to means of orchestration and management, integration with OSS systems that allows to automate process of creation of services for each of subscribers. In corporate DPC so often the players of services should not be changed, the level of automation can be significantly lower, but transfer of all network functions in virtual machines all the same gives essential advantages.

Market of services of DPC

• The market of DPC in Russia
• World market of DPC

Advanced developments

Main article:DPC (advanced developments)

See Also

• Overview of TAdviser: Commercial DPCs
• Key services based on DPC
• Colocation
• Russian market of DPC
• Trends in the Russian market of data centers
• Cloud services (market of Russia)
• Russian IaaS market
• What is "green" data center?
• Measurement of profitability of DPC
• Container DPCs
• Technologies for DPC: Solid state drives (SSD)
• World market of DPC
• Main trends of the world market of DPC

Links

• Virtual model of DPC
• Details about structure of DPC, creation stages
• DPC from economic positions
• Main aspects of creation of DPC
• Data-center of SafeData
• Excursion on the data-center
• TIA-942
• Sheet of data centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
• Planning solutions of DPCs
• Forecasts of development of the St. Petersburg market of data centers
• Gas fire extinguishing for server and electronic archive

Notes