Designing a data center is a lengthy process involving countless critical choices. As your enterprise’s chance at future success depends on the decisions you make today, you want to make the right strategic moves.
To operate you’ll need to follow the best practices for data center design.
Let’s explore eight essential practices for enterprise-scale data center design and discover actionable performance-enhancing tips for complex organizations.
On-prem facilities offer complete control but are expensive to build, maintain, and scale. For this reason, they are becoming less common as over half of IT workloads were off-premises in 2023 according to Uptime Institute.
This means it’s more important than ever to maximize the budget, technology, and capacity of a newly constructed data center.
“Location, location, location” doesn’t just apply to office space. This sentiment is relevant to designing a data center, too. The facility needs to
Look for multiple fiber optic paths, high-speed connectivity on reliable power grids, various available internet service providers (ISPs), and interconnectivity with other data centers.
You’ll need uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, efficient power supply, multiple grid connections, available bandwidth, and ample physical space.
Avoid areas with risky conditions, such as high rates of extreme weather, physical threats, or political instability.
Once you’ve selected your model and location, look into maintaining continuity.
Cultivating fault tolerance—a network’s capacity to function correctly despite failures—is critical to minimizing downtime. Enterprises build network fault tolerance with a range of practices:
Maximizing availability is crucial for building trust with your clients while preventing unnecessary financial loss.
Look toward the future while designing your data center in the present. Prioritize your data center architecture's flexibility, scalability, and adaptability from the outset.
Keep emerging and future tech like edge computing, AI and machine learning, IoT, quantum computing, and virtualization in mind.
Accommodate upcoming industry developments by cultivating adaptable architecture with prefabricated modules, hyperscale approaches, and flexible networking frameworks. Leverage expansion-friendly automated software to ensure seamless scaling as your business grows.
This practice helps future-proof the enterprise, allowing you to gain a razor’s edge over competitors with less foresight.
Effective physical security measures are crucial to preventing on-site breaches and protecting corporate data from material threats. Examples include access control, CCTV surveillance, and intrusion detection systems (IDS).
Robust cybersecurity practices that proactively deter digital attacks and unauthorized access are critical for complex IT environments. Think encryption, firewalls, and antivirus software.
Physical and cyber security measures massively impact a company’s ability to safeguard its reputation, prevent financial losses, and maintain continuity.
Keeping a close eye on legal compliance and overarching industry standards is essential for enterprises operating in multiple regions. Common regulations include:
Uptime Institute Tier Classification System: general operational capability and reliability standards.
ANSI/TIA 942-B: overarching infrastructure and building standards.
SSAE: financial data compliance.
HIPAA: health-related information compliance.
PCI DSS: payment-card information compliance.
These compliance specs and regulations protect consumers and your business by keeping data private while ensuring (digital and physical) operational capability throughout unexpected incidents. A laser focus on these guidelines helps you safeguard your reputation and avoid costly fines.
Designing a data center for optimal efficiency reduces environmental impact, saves on operating costs, and improves performance.
Consider these design features to reduce power consumption and lower your Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) score:
Select quality equipment, airflow-enhancing tools, and technologies using naturally cold air. Leverage software that automatically optimizes cooling.
Use top-notch power supply units (PSUs) and power distribution units (PDUs), organize physical equipment strategically, and adopt tech that optimizes resource allocation. Create power-supply redundancies and implement power-efficiency monitoring.
Reduce your environmental impact by preventing waste with modular solutions and renewable materials. Select renewable energy sources like solar or hydropower. Utilize automated software that pinpoints energy inefficiency.
Put network infrastructure and connectivity at the top of your data center design list because a high-bandwidth, low-latency network design engenders optimal performance while preventing downtime.
You can use various strategies to achieve a well-connected, well-designed, and secure network. Start by selecting quality networking equipment and organizing it strategically to cultivate an optimized network topology.
Utilize network segmentation to split your network into disparate zones with separate access controls. Optimize traffic patterns by balancing loads, diversifying network paths, and implementing quality of service (QoS) protocols. Ensure secure connectivity via virtual private networks (VPNs), network redundancy, reliable firewalls, encryption, and hardware-access restrictions.
Data center design features impact its operational capacity for effective, secure, and efficient functionality. Enterprises enhance their operational excellence center for your business by following the eight practices we discussed.
To guarantee world-class data center architecture—from seamless scalability to guaranteed compliance—engage a trustworthy connectivity partner like Advantage Communications Group.
We’re here to help unlock your multi-location enterprise’s potential with premier global connectivity services that modernize the entire technology lifecycle.
Connect with us to start building the most efficient infrastructure for your needs.