Data Center Colocation Selection Guideactdatasolutions.com/downloads/Data_Center_kit.pdf ·...

Data Center Colocation Selection

Guide

S electing a data center or colocation for hosting purposes is a process that involves a significant amount of research and effort. It is important to narrow down your options as

much as possible before spending the time to do tours and onsite visits. If your IT operations space is insufficient, evaluation and

planning are critical to continuing continuity and disaster recovery of your business.

We often get asked if there are drivers for site selection of a new data center that would push the particular project to the forefront of favorite

data centers. Here are some items to consider while selecting a data center colocation facility. Scoring high marks in each of the categories below is indicative that a data center has value and should be deemed worth

visiting. Each of the elements is critical from a comprehensive view and are not listed in any particular order.

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2 Data Center / Colocation Selection Guide


LocationJust like in real estate, the same principal of location serves to remind us that no matter how satisfying a facility’s services may appear to be, access is an imperative component of selecting a facility. Clients benefit from ease of access to and from the data center; therefore, multiple thoroughfares branching away from the facility provide a variety of options to circumvent issues in the event of snarled traffic or construction delays, especially during an emergency.

Proximity to a major airport is a key benefit for engineers arriving from out of town, and a wide selection of respectable hotel accommodations in the immediate area all serve to make the most efficient use of an engineer’s time. All respectable data centers will allow for deliveries to be made ahead of time, yet on occasion, engineers may physically have to haul equipment with them. In these instances, ample onsite and up-front parking in well-lit parking lots helps to reduce the complexities of transporting equipment.

In some areas of the world, Natural Disasters such as Tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes need to be considered. A data center in more risk prone areas need to be equipped to handle the most treacherous conditions. Lastly, which we will get into more in the “Power” section, a data center will sometimes sit on more or less important power grids to the city they reside in. You will want to ensure that the power grid your data center sits on is high priority.

ConnectivityColocation services are often boiled down

to three basic elements for ease of understanding: “space, power, and pipe

(or ping).” The “pipe” or “ping” refers to the internet connection on which all

traffic flows in and out of the data center. Clients who choose to leverage redundant carriers add cost to their operations, yet simultaneously reduce the risk of downtime. Data Centers containing “telecom hotels” offer a variety of providers and are typically “carrier neutral: inferring that they do not promote one provider over

another. These “hotels” permit telecom providers to interconnect with other

telecoms to easily exchange data to benefit the end users. Data Centers may

offer bandwidth to their clients; some data center may provide a “blend” of bandwidth

Colocation

services are

often boiled

down to three

basic elements

for ease of

understanding:

“space, power,

and pipe

(or ping).”




(multiple providers), which includes built in redundancy at the same cost of a single provider.

When trying to understand connectivity, various factors need to be considered with respect to telecommunication infrastructure. The following list will help in this regard:

l Fiber backbone route and its proximity – How near a fiber backbone to the selected site. It will help to gauge additional investments required from backbone route to the exact data center location.

l Type of Fiber – This will affect the speed and transmission of the signal

l Carrier type and support – What carriers are present in the vicinity and their support and service model in place

l Latency – How much time will it take for transactions to occur?

PowerWhen it comes to power… redundancy is king. However, like we mentioned in the “location” section, a tenant should pay close attention into the environment around the data center facility as this can lend insight into the nature of power outages from the facility’s primary power source. Power grid stability is an important element for data center operators, and volatility can create issues for utility companies. A variety of factors such as manufacturing plants and retail tenants (such as restaurants) may lend to instability on a power grid. A stable power feed from the local utility company reduces the likelihood that a data center will be required to revert to emergency power; therefore selecting a data center that has a few manufacturing or heavy retail neighbors is beneficial. In some cases a data center may sit on multiple power grids reducing the chance of an outage even more.

Locations near airports or major medical facilities can prove to be an added benefit as power grids near them tend to be more stable by nature of their importance to a city.

Tenants also will want to consider the cost of power. Power costs may vary by provider or area… typically only by cents per kW, but this can make a big difference depending on the size of your space. Another important consideration with power is the availability. Can the utility absorb 20 MW to 30 MW easily?

Locations near

airports or

major medical

facilities can

prove to be an

added benefit

as power grids

near them

tend to

be more stable




Data centers are classified into tier levels from one to four. One is the least and four the most available. Price escalates based on the tier so don’t over estimate your requirements. A classification is an expression of expected average up time percentage, based on redundant systems in place and fault tolerance(s) of the site. When deriving a tier classification, consider how many power grids the site sets on including alternate energy sources (diesel or turbine generator), automatic transfer switches, transformers, and remote distribution centers (RPPs). Providers often use N+1 terminology (applicable to power and cooling) indicating they offer what is needed plus one backup or alternate. Be sure to evaluate how the data center defines their redundancy since it can be a misleading terminology.

The power required for your application is the largest recurring cost. Determine if redundant power is viable and available to each device. Who provides the PDU (power strip in the rack) and fuse panel (for D/C applications), you or the center? If they do, is remote reboot and SNMP capability included? Who has administrative level control? Most providers offer 120 and/or 208-volt single phase, and 208-volt three-phase power. Some offer 48-volt D/C power.

If so, the following power path can be provided: Utility / Generator UPS A Transformer A RPP A Customer PDU A Customer Server Power Supply A along with a path on the B infrastructure.

Utilizing this design, the critical load can lose an entire path of power and remain on line, while allowing simultaneous maintenance on the infrastructure with no powering down. Standard A/C breakers are 80% rated at 20/30 amps and safely operate at 80% rating, 100% of the time. Redundant circuit utilization requires dropping to 40%, as a single circuit may need to route the other 40% should its redundant counterpart fail. Always ask what the derated power is for a data center because some data centers derate at a lower amount to cover up the cost of power.

Data center providers should ensure specification approval of the PDU by the center, and that the receptacle matches the power cable on the PDU. Also consider the fees and availability of power should your needs grow. Recent increases in server density and power consumption can prohibit delivery of additional power without costly infrastructure upgrades.

RedundancyRedundancy is a term thrown around constantly when talking about data centers. When considering redundancy we look at multiple items from backup servers to storage to network, to connection to power and so on. It all sounds good in theory, but do you really need it all. Before looking at a data center and choosing the risk and redundancy level you want to be at, we recommend creating a cost/risk profile that fits your organizations goals and direction. A cost/risk profile will help you determine if the cost of managing a failure

Data centers

are classified

into tier levels

from one to

four. One is

the least and

four the most

available.




(moving to a disaster recovery plan) is lower than the cost of surviving a failure (business continuity plan).

Consider these failure scenarios for data center redundancy:

1. Component failure – for example, where a power supply or a disk drive failsThe use of an “N+1” approach (having one more component than is really needed) can generally see an IT platform through this. For example, using two power supplies into a server or a Raid system for storage will generally provide enough time for the component to be replaced.

For systems where failure is just not acceptable or affordable, then an “N+M” approach (having more than one extra component in place) may be used.

Within the facility itself, the use of more modular uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), generators and chillers with in-built N+1 redundant

power supplies, batteries and so on can be used.

Monolithic facilities equipment does not lend itself easily to this approach.

2. Assembly failure – for example, the failure of a complete server or a storage systemWith virtualization, greater levels of availability can be provided through mirroring live images within the same system. Where physical platforms are still in use, clustering, storage mirroring and multiple network interface cards (NICs) will provide resilience to failure.

Again, within the facility, the key is to move to modular systems. For example, if the UPS consists of five sub-modules,

an N+1 approach will require six modules – or 120% of the actual requirement. If a monolithic approach is taken, an N+1 approach will

result in 200% of the actual requirement, with the associated higher capital and maintenance costs.

3. Room failure – for example, through power distribution failureThis would require the building of two datacenters within the same building with the facility services being mirrored across each as N+1 power distribution networks, UPSs, cooling systems and so on. This is, by its very nature, far too expensive, and so would tend to be dealt with as a site failure as below (scenario number 5).

The key strategy to room (and building) failure is to avoid it wherever possible. The use of N+1 strategies at the equipment level can help, along with the use of environmental monitoring systems to give early identification of possible hot spots developing, smoke appearing or moisture levels increasing.




4. Building failure – for example, through fire or floodThis would need the mirroring of the datacenter to another, which could be within the same campus. With the use of virtualization and cloud, this is again probably too expensive for the majority. Best to regard this as a site failure as well.

5. Site failure – for example, caused through a local power failure or a break in connectivity through cable/fiber fractureThis is where longer-distance mirroring comes in. The use of a separate facility with cold or hot standby resources to switch over to maintain business capability is the only real way to deal with this. Data management starts to become more of an issue, as latency in systems starts to introduce the capacity to lose transactions.

6. City failure – for example, due to major disruption such as terrorism activity, storm or power grid failure From this point on, full mirroring of capabilities at the IT level will be required. At the facility level, the organization has the choice to mirror the facility, or to use an external infrastructure as a service (IaaS) or platform as a service (PaaS) provider to enable a suitable platform to be immediately or very rapidly provisioned.

7. Regional failure – for example, due to major natural disaster such as earthquake or tsunami Again, here an organization will be looking at total mirroring, and we recommend looking to move away from facilities mirroring for cost reasons.

8. Country failure – for example, due to civil war or epidemic outbreakHere, much longer distances for mirroring are required. However, many

co-location companies provide long-distance, low-latency dedicated connections between their facilities, enabling long-distance

business continuity to be enabled without a need for complex data management to deal with latency.

The risk level you choose to be at has a direct and large effect on your cost, so it is important to be sure where your

organization lands before pursuing data center options.




Uptime Data and SLAAs with anything in IT, SLA’s are extremely important. You cannot have your equipment going down and costing your company millions. By reviewing a data center’s track record, a prospective tenant can obtain a clear view of how reliable a facility is over a period of time. Redundancies on power and network connectivity construct the basis for SLA’s and provide potential clients an understanding of what the data center operator is pledging. SLA’s for power and network should be separated. Most Data Centers are not telecommunication providers; they simply pass the service of telecom providers through to their clients. Understanding a data center’s procedures for failover in emergency situations of power and network connection is vital in disaster recovery planning.

Compliance and securityDoes your company have to comply with industry regulations such as HIPAA, PCI, etc? If so, you will need to make sure that the data center you choose is up to the standards required by the industry or governmental standards. It may be necessary for you to block all access or entry by anyone to your equipment. It is possible to partner with a data center to create this type of “private” environment in which passage becomes impossible except by authorized personnel. Industry regulations and privacy concerns may seem more risky with your equipment residing offsite, however, the truth is, you will have more security, safety, and privacy locating your equipment at a data center than you will have at your own personal site.

Make sure the data centers you are assessing will allow security auditors access as required. Review considered company’s SANS checklist. Choose one with SSAE 16 (SAS70) certification to ensure meeting compliance objectives. Always review the last audit conducted at the data center to evaluate their performance.

Other factors to consider in terms of security are what kind of checkpoints does the Data Center have for access? Don’t forget fire and smoke detection. What precautions and efforts are being made to detect this early and minimize the risk?

Space and power requirementsReview your computer and network infrastructure and determine the amount of space you will need. Providers offer space in 1/3, 1/2, or full racks, and cage space to accommodate multiple or unenclosed racks. Rack sizes are typically 42 and 54 units. A one-unit server occupies one unit. Determine power amounts per rack (ref. cooling capacity) to determine space requirements. It is a good idea to identify the actual power utilization rates and not just consult the specs of the equipment. This can save thousands of wasted dollars over the term on a

It is a good

idea to identify

the actual power

utilization

rates and

not just

consult the

equipment

specs.




colocation contract. Concerning growth, check availability of adjacent cabinets, free cross connects between cabinets, and a first right of refusal on empty cabinets or cage expansion areas.

Heat, a byproduct of working servers, creates problems and decreases equipment lifespan. If cooling fails and temperatures reach critical levels, your equipment will fail or have to be shut down. Vendors can verify temperature and humidity design ranges of your equipment. Research shows temperatures kept at or below 70 degrees Fahrenheit is wasteful. If your equipment has special cooling needs it will need to be addressed up front.

ACT Data Solutions – Colocation and Data Center ConsultantsACT Data Solutions represents approximately 3,000 Data Centers and Colocation facilities worldwide. ACT works with clients and organizations to identify Data Center locations that best fit the client requirements, coordinate interaction, solicit proposals, professionally analyze them, highlight strengths and weaknesses, negotiate pricing and create an environment of highly competitive bidding. ACT charges no fee for this service to clients, but receives a standard commission from whichever data center is chosen. Very similar to how a real estate agent earns a commission. The aim of ACT’s consulting services is to provide professional unbiased expertise and reduce the amount of valuable time and costs spent by organizations and individuals. ACT works in conjunction with small businesses up to fortune 100 companies. To schedule a no cost Data Center or Colocation site discussion please click below or call 678.878.9400

Information gathered and provided by ACT Data Solutions, DatacenterandColocation, Computerweekly, and TelehouseUK.

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