A Guide to Data Center Terms

When it comes to data centres, there is a whole new language to wrap your head around. In this blog, we will demystify some of the most common terms used in the data centre industry, with a focus on IT infrastructure, and explain how they can help you meet your digital transformation and data-centric needs.

What is an IT infrastructure strategy?

An IT infrastructure strategy is a plan that defines how an enterprise will use its IT resources to achieve its business goals and objectives. It covers aspects such as hardware, software, network, security, cloud, and data centre services.

There are different types of IT infrastructure strategies that enterprises can adopt, depending on their specific needs and preferences. Some of the most popular ones are:

• Cloud-only: This strategy involves using only cloud-based services for all IT functions without any on-premises or colocation infrastructure. This can offer benefits such as scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency but also challenges such as security, compliance, and vendor lock-in.
• Hybrid cloud: This strategy involves using a combination of cloud-based and on-premises or colocation infrastructure for different IT functions, depending on the best fit for each workload. This can offer benefits such as agility, performance, and reliability but also challenges such as complexity, integration, and management.
• Multi-cloud: This strategy involves using multiple cloud-based services from different providers for different IT functions without any on-premises or colocation infrastructure. This can offer benefits such as diversity, redundancy, and innovation but also challenges such as interoperability, governance, and cost-optimisation.
• Private cloud: This strategy involves using a dedicated cloud-based service that is hosted either on-premises or in a colocation facility for all or some IT functions. This can offer benefits such as security, control, and customisation but also challenges such as scalability, maintenance, and investment.

What are the benefits of an IT infrastructure strategy?

Data centres are a key component of IT infrastructure, as they provide the physical space, power, cooling, security, and connectivity for the servers, storage, network, and other devices that run the applications and services of the organisation.

Some of the benefits of having an IT infrastructure strategy are:

• Better Performance: You can help optimize the performance, cost, scalability, and reliability of the IT systems and services by choosing the right data center location, design, architecture, and provider.
• Environmental Impact: You can help reduce the environmental impact of IT operations by adopting green and sustainable practices in data centre management, such as using renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency, and reducing waste and carbon emissions.
• Innovation: You can help enable digital transformation and innovation by supporting the growing data needs of the organization, such as 5G networks, cloud computing, Internet of Things and remote working

What is a multi-cloud strategy?

A multi-cloud strategy involves using a combination of two or more public cloud services – but not a mix of both public and private. Often, enterprises will use a combination of services from different public cloud providers, such as Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and Amazon Web Services.

What are the benefits of a multi-cloud strategy?

A multi-cloud strategy offers several advantages for enterprises, such as:

• Flexibility and scalability: You can choose the best cloud service for each workload and scale up or down as needed.
• Redundancy and backup: You can avoid downtime and data loss by having multiple copies of your data in different cloud locations.
• Cost optimization: You can reduce your cloud spending by selecting the most cost-effective cloud service for each workload and avoiding vendor lock-in.
• Innovation and performance: You can access the latest features and technologies from different cloud providers and improve your application performance by reducing latency.

According to recent research carried out by Flexera, 87% of enterprises globally are currently embracing a multi-cloud strategy.

What is a hybrid cloud strategy?

Hybrid cloud strategy is an IT deployment model where applications are run from a combination of environments, including public clouds (public cloud providers include Microsoft Azure, Google, and AWS (and private clouds (such as on-premises, colocation data centers or “edge” locations).

Because of the high cost of public cloud, and the resource demands that come with operating a private-only cloud, most enterprises are moving towards a hybrid cloud strategy where the boundary between private cloud and public cloud is invisible.

A hybrid cloud strategy allows enterprises to leverage the best of both worlds: the scalability, agility, and cost-efficiency of public clouds, and the security, control, and performance of private clouds.

What are the benefits of a hybrid cloud strategy?

A hybrid cloud strategy provides greater flexibility, scalability, and agility of applications, enabling businesses to reduce costs, drive innovation, and deliver superior customer experiences.

Some of the benefits of a hybrid cloud strategy are:

• Data sovereignty and compliance: You can keep your sensitive or regulated data in your private cloud while using public clouds for less critical workloads.
• Workload optimization: You can choose the optimal environment for each workload based on its performance, availability, and security requirements.
• Business continuity and disaster recovery: You can ensure your business operations are resilient and reliable by having backup and failover options in different cloud environments.
• Edge computing: You can process data closer to its source and destination by using edge locations that are connected to your hybrid cloud.

Where Digital Realty enters the equation when it comes to a hybrid cloud strategy is colocation.

What is colocation?

Colocation data centers (or multi-tenant data centres) enable enterprises of all sizes to move privately owned servers and networking equipment out of an on-premise installation and into a shared data centre.

By housing your infrastructure in a colocation data centre, you join a data meeting place, allowing you to connect directly to internet exchanges and all major public cloud providers to develop and launch digital services to meet business needs.

What are the benefits of Colocation?

While connectivity is the number one benefit of choosing a colocation data centre, colocation also provides scalable, reliable, sustainable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions while allowing customers to remain in full control of their IT infrastructure.

Some of the benefits of using a colocation data centre are:

• Improved Connectivity: You can access a global network of data centres and connectivity solutions that enable you to reach your customers, partners, providers and facilities with minimal latency.
• Increased Scalability: You can easily expand or contract your IT infrastructure as your business needs change without investing in additional space or equipment.
• Improved Reliability: You can rely on industry-leading 99.999% always-on and available uptime backed by SLAs and redundant power, cooling, and security systems.
• Increased Sustainability: You can reduce your carbon footprint and energy consumption by using green data centers that leverage renewable energy sources and efficient cooling technologies.
• Better Cost-efficiency: You can lower your total cost of ownership by sharing the costs of space, power, cooling, security, and maintenance with other tenants.

Enterprises can use cross-connects to connect to cloud providers, internet exchanges and multiple SaaS providers through a single port.

What is a cross-connect?

Cross-connects (XCs) are direct point-to-point connections between two endpoints in our data centers. This makes it sound like the XC would be running between two IT instances in the same DC—but they’re typically used to connect to NSPs to get access to networks etc.

Our engineers install and manage the cross-connect cables that run through dual diverse distributed secure Meet-Me Rooms. These enable our customers to do business with each other with minimal latency.

What are the benefits of cross-connects?

By using cross-connects or cross-connect cables, you can reduce latency, increase security, minimize networking costs, and improve application performance.

Some of the benefits of cross-connects are:

• Reduced latency: You can use cross-connects to enable direct and shorter paths between networks or data centers, resulting in lower latency and faster data transfer times.
• Enhanced reliability: You can bypass public networks and connect directly to the desired destination; cross-connects eliminate potential points of failure and improve network reliability.
• Increased security: You can use cross-connects to provide a dedicated and private connection, minimizing the risk of data breaches or unauthorised access compared to transmitting data over public networks.
• Flexibility and scalability: You can scale bandwidth and capacity as needed, allowing for efficient growth and adaptation to changing business requirements.
• Enhanced data privacy: You can use a dedicated connection that keeps data traffic separate from public networks, ensuring better privacy and confidentiality of sensitive information.
• Simplified network management: You can have greater control and visibility over their network traffic, simplifying network management and troubleshooting processes.

Learn more about our connectivity and ServiceFabric™.

What is a cloud on-ramp?

Cloud on-ramps are private direct connections that bypass the public internet for increased security with controls for end-to-end connectivity.

What are the benefits of a cloud on-ramp?

Cloud on-ramps are more secure than cloud access through the public internet, minimise latency and jitter, and can cut the complexity of your network, thereby reducing costs.

Some of the benefits of cloud on-ramps are:

• Decreased latency: You can use cloud on-ramps to ensure faster data transfer and reduced latency by establishing direct and efficient connections to cloud service providers.
• Heightened data security: You can provide a secure and private pathway for data transmission, safeguarding sensitive information against unauthorized access or data breaches.
• Cost-effective data transfer: You can optimize data transfer routes, reducing costs associated with public network usage and enhancing overall cost efficiency.
• Scalability and adaptability: You can offer scalable bandwidth and flexible capacity allocation, ensuring seamless adaptation to changing business needs.
• Seamless integration capabilities: You can facilitate seamless integration between on-premises infrastructure and cloud environments, streamlining hybrid cloud deployments and data exchange.

Covid saw a rapid acceleration in the number of organizations moving to cloud-first strategies; however, since then, many organizations are rethinking their approach to their IT infrastructure strategy. Cloud benefits can be achieved, but there are problems associated with a cloud-only strategy, not least cost spirals and data egress costs. This has led to a recent trend in cloud repatriations to a hybrid cloud model.

What is cloud repatriation?

Cloud repatriation is the process of moving apps, workloads, or data from the public cloud to local infrastructure. Some reasons for cloud repatriation include cost efficiency, security, compliance, performance, and internal policies. Most companies transfer assets to a private or hybrid cloud, but some abandon the cloud model and revert to a classic on-site data center.

What are the benefits of cloud repatriation?

Many companies are repatriating their data from the cloud in order to increase their control over their own data, security concerns, data compliance, and sovereignty while controlling costs and delivering business value.

Some of the benefits of cloud repatriation are:

• Cost savings: You can save money in the long run, particularly if they have workloads that are not well-suited for cloud computing. Cloud services can become expensive as cloud consumption scales, potentially eating away at IT budgets or even profits.
• Improved performance: You can boost performance by reducing latency, bandwidth issues, or compatibility problems that may arise in the public cloud. Some applications may run faster or more reliably on local infrastructure than on the cloud.
• Better security: You can enhance security by giving companies more control and visibility over their data and reducing the risk of data breaches or cyberattacks that may target public cloud providers. Some companies may also have specific security requirements or regulations that mandate keeping data in-house.
• Easier compliance: You can simplify compliance by ensuring that data is stored and processed according to local laws and standards. Some industries, such as healthcare and finance, may face strict regulations regarding data privacy, sovereignty, or locality that may limit their use of public cloud services.
• More control over workloads: You can give companies more flexibility and autonomy over their IT infrastructure, allowing them to customize, optimize, or scale their workloads according to their needs. Repatriating workloads can also eliminate vendor lock-in, which occurs when a company becomes overly dependent on a public cloud provider and faces challenges or costs when switching to another provider or platform.

What is Power Usage Effectiveness?

Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) is a ratio that describes how efficiently a computer data center uses energy, specifically, how much energy is used by the computing equipment (in contrast to cooling and other overhead that supports the equipment). PUE is the ratio of the total amount of energy used by a computer data center facility to the energy delivered to computing equipment. Anything that isn’t considered a computing device in a data center (e.g., lighting, cooling, etc.) falls into the category of facility energy consumption.

What are the benefits of Power Usage Effectiveness?

Power Usage Effectiveness sets a strong foundation for improving the sustainability of data centers.

Some of the benefits of PUE are:

• Cost savings: By adopting energy-efficient practices, companies can effectively reduce their energy consumption and lower their operational expenses.
• Environmental impact: Reducing energy consumption also means reducing greenhouse gas emissions and minimizing the environmental footprint of data centers.
• Competitive advantage: Having a low PUE can also be a source of differentiation and reputation for data centers, as it demonstrates their commitment to efficiency and sustainability.

What is a software-defined data center?

A software-defined data centre (SDDC) is a data centre architecture that uses software to abstract, pool, and automate the management of physical resources, such as servers, storage, and network devices.

In an SDDC, all elements of the infrastructure are virtualized and delivered as a service.

What are the benefits of a software-defined data center?

The SDDC enables greater flexibility, scalability, and efficiency for data center operations, as well as faster deployment and provisioning of applications and services.

Some of the benefits of a software-defined data center are:

• Agility: You can dynamically adjust to changing workloads and demands, allowing for faster response to business needs and opportunities. An SDDC can also enable self-service provisioning and orchestration of resources, reducing manual intervention and human errors.
• Efficiency: You can optimize the utilization of physical resources, reducing waste and costs. An SDDC can also automate tasks such as backup, recovery, security, and compliance, improving reliability and performance.
• Innovation: You can support new technologies and applications, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and edge computing. An SDDC can also enable hybrid and multi-cloud environments, allowing for greater choice and interoperability among different service providers.

What is converged infrastructure?

Converged infrastructure (CI) is a data center architecture that integrates compute, storage, network, and virtualization components into a single system that is pre-configured, pre-tested, and optimised for specific workloads.

What are the benefits of converged infrastructure?

CI aims to simplify the deployment, management, and scaling of data center resources by reducing complexity and compatibility issues. CI also offers a single point of contact for support and maintenance.

Some of the benefits of converged infrastructure are:

• Increased Speed: You can accelerate the time to value for data center projects by eliminating the need for planning, designing, testing, and integrating individual components. CI can also enable faster provisioning and scaling of resources as needed.
• Reduced Cost: You can lower the total cost of ownership for data centre infrastructure by reducing capital expenditures (CAPEX) on hardware and software licenses, as well as operational expenditures (OPEX) on power, cooling, space, management, and support.
• Improved Performance: You can improve the performance and availability of data center applications by ensuring optimal configuration and balance of resources, as well as eliminating bottlenecks and failures. CI can also enhance the security and compliance of data center infrastructure by providing consistent policies and controls.

What is data center infrastructure management?

Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) is a software solution that monitors, measures, and manages the physical infrastructure of a data center, such as power, cooling, space, and assets. DCIM aims to provide visibility, control, and optimization of data center resources, as well as integration with other IT systems and processes.

What are the benefits of data center infrastructure management?

DCIM can help data center operators improve the efficiency, reliability, and sustainability of their facilities.

Some of the benefits of Data Centre Infrastructure Management are:

• Improved data quality: You ensure that the data collected, stored, and analyzed is accurate, consistent, reliable, and relevant for the intended purposes.
• Better business intelligence: You can enable faster and easier access to data, as well as integration and visualization of data from multiple sources. This can help organisations gain deeper insights into their performance, customers, markets, competitors, and opportunities.
• Enhanced compliance: You can help organizations comply with various laws and regulations regarding data privacy, security, and governance.
• Improved operational efficiency: You can optimize the utilization of data center resources, such as power, cooling, space, and assets. Data infrastructure management can also automate tasks such as backup, recovery, security, and compliance, improving reliability and performance.
• Increased agility and scalability: You can enable organizations to adapt to changing workloads and demands, allowing for faster response to business needs and opportunities. Data infrastructure management can also support new technologies and applications, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and edge computing.