What is a Data Centre?

Let’s start by looking at the definition of a data centre in the Oxford dictionary. A data centre is ‘a large group of networked computer servers typically used by organisations for the remote storage, processing, or distribution of large amounts of data’.

The dot-com bubble (1997–2000) saw a boom in the data centre industry. Companies needed fast internet connectivity and non-stop operation to deploy systems and to establish a presence on the Internet. Installing such equipment was not viable for many smaller companies, and so organisations started building very large facilities, called Internet data centres (IDCs).

What does this mean to us in our daily life?

We have all heard the words IT and infrastructure, and we have all used the internet to stream videos or use social media.

The Covid-19- pandemic saw an acceleration in digitalisation, with businesses needing to go remote, home schooling becoming vital, and a global increase in video streaming and online entertainment. Even online gaming communities require data centres to manage their online activities.

All these online services that we take for granted get processed in a data centre. A data centre could be referred to as your invisible infrastructure.

What does a data centre look like and what do they do for us?

Data centres are big buildings or groups of buildings that are used to house computer systems called servers.

In addition to the day to day tasks of running a business, data centres also help us within our personal life, are responsible for data backup and recovery, as well as networking, and therefore are vital to enterprises worldwide. Websites that we access every day, e-mails that we send and receive, and instant messaging services are also hosted and processed in data centres.

In simple terms: a data centre is a centralised location where computing and networking equipment is located for the purpose of collecting, storing, processing, distributing, or allowing access to large amounts of data every second of every day. To see this in practice, take a look into Google’s data centre.

It’s so easy for us to live our life online that we often forget that every message we send, every picture we post on Instagram and every film we watch comes at a cost. I don’t mean the phone or internet bill we pay monthly or the video and film streaming subscriptions that we have. I mean the huge environmental impact of our data. My colleague recently wrote about how technology is helping to solve this issue, which you can read on our blog.

What defines a modern data centre?

Modern data centres are very different than they were just a short time ago. IT infrastructure has shifted from traditional on-premises physical servers to virtual networks that support applications and workloads across pools of physical infrastructure and into a multi-cloud environment. Many businesses still have server rooms on site that are often used for back-ups.

Data exists and is connected across multiple data centres, the edge, and public and private clouds. The data centre must be able to communicate across these multiple sites, both on-premises and in the cloud.

The term cloud is becoming more and more word that we all use, but what does it actually mean to say: “my pictures are saved on the cloud” or “my business uses the cloud”? All this magical word means is that servers are accessed over the Internet, as well as the software and databases that run on those servers. I will talk about the different types of data centres in more depth later on in this blog.

Why are data centres important to businesses?

In the world of enterprise IT, data centres are designed to support business applications and activities that ensure the day-to-day running of a business.

Some of the tasks that we need a data centre for include:

• Email and file sharing
• Productivity applications
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and databases
• Big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning
• Virtual desktops, communications, and collaboration services

What are the core components of a data centre?

The first data centre component that will spring to mind for most of us is power; without power a data centre can’t operate. Here I will talk about in small detail about some of the other important components that make up a data centre.

When designing a data centre IT hardware such as routers, switches, firewalls, storage systems and servers are included in the design. Together, they provide:

• Network infrastructure. This connects servers, data centre services, storage, and external connectivity to their desired location.
• Storage infrastructure. Data is the fuel of the modern data centre. Storage systems are used to hold these important assets. Storage infrastructure in IT refers to the overall set of hardware and software components needed to facilitate storage for a system.
• Computing resources. While data provides the fuel for your data centre, applications drive the data centre. One way to describe them is the engine of the data centre. These servers provide the processing, server RAM, local storage, and network connectivity that drive applications. Here is a video of the inside of the popular HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen8 rack server to give you an idea of what the brain of a data centre looks like.

How does a data centre work?

It is all about the network connection. In the same way that two computers are connected via a local network, internet servers broadcast information to web browsers using network connections. The data that is stored on a data centre server is distributed into packets before transmission and is sent via routers that decide the most suitable path for that data to progress.

The data centre then uses a series of wired and wireless networks to reach the user’s internet service provider and finally arrive at the end user’s computer. Every time a web address is typed into a browser, it automatically requests information from a server. If the user at the other end wants to upload information rather than download it, then the process will be reversed.

In simple terms: a server is basically a specialised computer, which is connected to a local network and the internet. In the server are a set of hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid state drives (SSDs) that store data that can be sent out through the network to other local computers and to people visiting websites via the internet.

Did you know that even when it comes to data centres, ‘Location, Location, Location’ is key. Data centres should ideally be located in a geographically safe area to avoid natural disasters. This isn’t always possible, but having a disaster recovery plan and locating a data centre in a safe area (in a room away from windows, away from areas with flood risks) is important.

What are the different types of data centres?

As you have learnt from this blog, data centres are indispensable in the running of large enterprises and even small-medium enterprises, but how do you know which type of data centre fits which business model? There are multiple different types of data centres and service models, of which I have concentrated on the four main types:

Colocation Data Centres

A colocation data centre, most commonly known as ‘colo’, is a company that rents space within a data centre that they do not own, that is housed outside of the company’s premises. These are also known as ‘Carrier Hotels’.

Enterprise Data Centres

An enterprise data centre is a private facility operated for the sole use of supporting a single organisation. They can be located either on-premises or off-premises. The single purpose for enterprise data centres is to provide an optimised service for their end-user clients.

Managed Services Data Centres

These data centres are operated by a third-party entity or a managed services provider instead of the company. The company rents the IT equipment and infrastructure to cut costs.

Cloud Data Centres

Cloud data centres are an off-premises form of a data centre managed by third party providers.

Hopefully you’ve learnt about the function, different types, and importance of data centres throughout this blog. If you have any further questions about data centre equipment or their components, I’d recommend checking out the rest of our blog that goes into detail about a wide data centre devices, services and sustainable IT solutions for today’s organisations.

Looking to maximise your IT budget or explore your data centre options? Our experienced team have been helping organisations do the very same thing since 2005. Browse our new and refurbished servers, storage and networking equipment, laptops and desktops online today. We also provide a range of services including co-location options and IT rentals.

Not sure where to start? Get in touch with our friendly IT specialists, who provide advice based on your specific business needs.