Data Center Life Cycle Management: Virtualization & Security

Introduction

In essence, a data center can be described as a computer system's "most important and vulnerable component." In simple terms, a data center is a physical area that houses and contains computer networks and critical data systems. These can also include, among other things, backup power supplies, air conditioning, and security applications, as well as large amounts of valuable data.

A more comprehensive definition is as follows: "A data center (sometimes spelled datacenter) is a centralized repository, either physical or virtual, for the storage, management, and dissemination of data and information organized around a particular body of knowledge or pertaining to a particular business."

An obvious example of a data center is a bank where a mainframe contains customer accounts, information, and other related data. A more complex example is the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), a public data center that is the largest source of weather information in existence.

In discussing the life cycle of a data center, one must take into account not only the present issues surrounding the data center life cycle, but also the challenges that face data center management now and in the future. These challenges include virtualization, cloud computing, and the difficulty of achieving scalability in an IT and business environment increasingly characterized by accelerating data volumes and heightened customer demands for access and personalization.

The nature of modern communications and commerce has therefore necessitated concomitant advances in the design and management of modern data centers. This paper provides an overview of the life cycle of a data center, exploring issues and possibilities that could lead to improved management of these centers. The IT and business context is an all-important component of this discussion, which encompasses virtualization, scalability, backup, and security, among other topics.

Overview of the Modern Data Center

In recent years there has been a resurgence in the use of data centers throughout the world. The central reason for this resurgence can be ascribed to the rapid growth of data centers and new demands on their capabilities. A number of business and technological factors have also been instrumental in this increased interest. Among these factors are the following: post-recession budget constraints are finally easing, and clustering technology, high-density servers, and virtualization have led to a tenfold increase in power requirements.

Furthermore, as one commentator notes, "Companies are starting to run IT like a business, and businesses are more IT dependent than ever before because of the transactional, web-based, 24x7, global economy." This view encompasses the fact that many companies with large client and customer bases have begun to realize the possibilities for cost savings that well-run and virtualized data centers can offer. Management is also becoming a more critical factor, as growing government demands on data centers now encompass compliance, archiving, data management, and security.

With this increase in the use and importance of data centers has come an increase in the number of problems and issues that must be addressed. This in turn influences the management and operation of these centers and is particularly relevant to the discussion of the data center life cycle. Practical issues such as heat dissipation have become a growing concern for managers, as has the ubiquitous problem of security. Security will be explored in greater detail in later sections of this paper.

There are a number of other issues particularly pertinent to the management and life cycle of a modern data center. While increased access to better and faster bandwidth has been a positive factor in the development of data communications, it also adds another layer of complexity to managing and developing data centers. This increase in complexity has repercussions for the meaning of the data center life cycle, as well as for its efficient and effective management.

Another factor impacting the contemporary view of the data center is that usable, surplus data center space is now all but gone. This places the onus of modern data center management on the redevelopment and streamlining of available space to meet new demands. The environmental impact of data centers and the rise of green computing are also factors that must be taken into consideration.