Development and management of a data centre

For many organisation, a central facility is provided which provides all the server and data requirements for the organisation. Here servers are provided which support numerous applications and systems. The value of a data centre is that the centralisation of resources enables better support and the concentration of expertise. Of course data centres are an essential element of Internet service providers and companies like Google and Facebook which will run very large server farms. Cloud service providers will also run large data centres. Examples would be data centres run by companies such as Hewlett Packard and Amazon that provide cloud services. These centre expand to cover large areas, some companies will run data centres in which they host servers for clients. Supporting servers for a number of companies provides economies of scale in which the outsourcer can provide 24/7 support which would be difficult for small companies to resource. The management of a data will involve the monitoring of servers, dealing with incidents and addressing, reliability, availability and serviceability.

Tasks

Question 1. Using an example, walkthrough a data centre. Identify the environment required, the hardware and software which might be housed in the data centre. Discuss the application and systems which would be suitable to be hosted in a data centre. Identify the IT staff roles which would be required. Discuss the factors that would need to be considered in setting up a data centre.

Question 2. Identify the issues of reliability, availability and serviceability which will be associated with the data centre. It is critical to maintain service continuity. Systems must continue to run if there is a fire, flood or earthquake. Survey the range of options for maintaining service continuity. These will range from the mirror sites which large banks run to cold sites. An alternative is to transfer the risk to a third party such as Sungard which provide disaster recovery (IT service continuity) service. Identify some disaster recovery companies. On what bases might it be worthwhile procuring IT service continuity services? For a medium sized data centre, suggest a suitable disaster recovery strategy and outline a plan for executing disaster recovery when a major fire destroys the facilities as recently happened in the case of North Oxfordshire District Council.

Question 3. The need for efficient use of capacity in a data centre has led to the rise of virtualisation as a strategy for the deployment and use of servers. Using diagrams, explain what is meant by virtualisation. What are the advantages of virtualisation?

Question 4. Data centres are large users of energy. Google datacentres in California use a significant proportion of the state's energy. Concerns about energy supply are very important in locating data centres. Verizon, for example, decided against locating in London because of risks with the energy supply. Identify important issue to be addressed in information systems management in developing a Green IT strategy. Discuss the energy needs of a data centre and propose ideas and strategies for conserving energy in a data centre. Briefly outline the green IT maturity model, and suggest how it might be used in managing a data centre.