Blog

Data centers exist to store and process data. Modern data centers are storing and processing larger volumes of data than ever before (big data). In some cases, they’re also required to process it faster than ever before. A data center’s choice of data storage is therefore key to its performance.

At present, the three most common types of data center data storage devices are solid-state drives (SSDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), and tapes. SSDs provide the fastest storage and tapes the slowest. HDDs sit in the middle of the two.

Automation and orchestration play a key role in the delivery of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). This means that they are key to the functioning of many modern data centers.

Infrastructure as a Service, commonly referred to as IaaS is a cloud service model that provides access to virtual data center infrastructure such as virtual machines, storage, and networking. As with most cloud services, there is a division of responsibility between the provider and the customer.

IaaS (infrastructure as a service) is essentially a way to run virtual private data centers hosted in the cloud. It is therefore a way for businesses and organizations to benefit from the security and customizability of on-premises infrastructure at a much lower cost.

Hybrid clouds blend elements of private and public clouds. From a user perspective, the transition between the private and public environments should be absolutely seamless. From a management perspective, the private and public environments will typically have clearly defined roles in the overall structure.

The next step in data disaster recovery planning is continuity planning. This is based on a Business Impact Analysis (BIA). As the name suggests a BIA identifies and defines business functions and processes. It then assesses how critical they are to business operations.

Data disaster recovery in data centers refers to an organization’s plan to recover its data in the event of a disaster. In IT, a disaster is simply an unpredicted event with negative repercussions. This can mean anything from unscheduled maintenance causing network outages to the impact of civil unrest.

Data centers, literally by definition, are places to store data. The purpose of storing the data is to extract information from it. This information can be highly valuable. It therefore needs to be kept highly secure. With that in mind, here is a simple guide to the key principles of data center information security.