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Access Control Systems Who may enter.WHAT SYSTEMS USECards or tokens Codes Biometric verification Combinations of... Automation in Data Centre Operations Reducing manual work.WHAT IS AUTOMATEDMonitoring and alerting Provisioning of servers and virtual... Building Structure and Layout How facilities are arranged.WHAT THE MAIN AREAS AREThe data halls, containing racks Power rooms,... Cable Management Organisation that affects everything.WHY IT MATTERSPoor cabling obstructs airflow, prevents... Careers and Skills in Data Centre Operations Working in the field.WHAT ROLES EXISTFacility technicians, handling power and cooling plant Data... Change Management in Facilities Controlling what is altered.WHY IT MATTERSMost facility incidents follow a change.WHAT A CHANGE... Choosing a Data Centre Site Where facilities are built.WHAT MATTERS IN SITE SELECTIONPower availability and reliability... Common Misconceptions About Data Centres What people get wrong."THE CLOUD IS NOT PHYSICAL"It is buildings full of equipment, with power... Console Access and Remote Control Reaching equipment directly.WHAT CONSOLE ACCESS PROVIDESThe equipment's own display and keyboard,... Cooling Efficiency and Operating Practice Reducing waste.WHAT WASTES COOLINGHot and cold air mixing Missing blanking panels Perforated... Cooling Redundancy and Failure When cooling stops.WHAT HAPPENSTemperature rises quickly, and in a dense hall, very quickly.WHAT... Cooling and Environment: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.EQUIPMENT CONVERTS ESSENTIALLY ALL ITS ELECTRICITY INTO HEATA rack consuming several... Data Centre Operations Day-to-day running.WHAT OPERATIONS COVERSMonitoring conditions and systems Responding to alarms... Data Centre Technology: Everything That Matters, Briefly The whole category in one page.WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY BUYING WITH HOSTINGThe facility as much as... Data Centres and Intensive Computing Workloads Changing demands.WHAT HAS CHANGEDCertain workloads consume far more power per rack than... Decommissioning Equipment Removing things properly.WHAT TO ESTABLISH FIRSTWhat the equipment does What depends on it... Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Surviving serious events.WHAT FACILITIES PROTECT AGAINSTComponent failure Power loss Cooling... Edge Computing and Distributed Facilities Bringing computing closer.WHAT EDGE COMPUTING MEANSProcessing closer to where data is generated... Electrical Safety in Facilities Working safely with power.WHY IT MATTERSData centre electrical systems carry enough energy to... Emergency Procedures and Safety When something serious happens.WHAT PROCEDURES SHOULD EXISTFire evacuation Medical emergency... Environmental Monitoring Watching conditions.WHAT TO MONITORTemperature, at intakes and at several heights Humidity... Environmental and Sustainability Considerations Energy and impact.WHAT DATA CENTRES CONSUMESubstantial electricity, continuously Water, in some... Evaluating Local and International Hosting Where to place your services.WHAT LOCAL HOSTING PROVIDESLower latency for local visitors Billing... Facility Design: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.SITE SELECTION IS DECIDED BY POWER AND CONNECTIVITYEverything else is compensation. A... Fire Detection and Suppression Protecting against fire.WHY IT MATTERSA fire in a facility can destroy equipment and data... Hardware Lifecycle and Refresh Equipment over time.WHAT HAPPENS AS EQUIPMENT AGESFailure rates rise Support and parts become... Hot and Cold Aisle Arrangement Rack orientation.WHAT THE ARRANGEMENT ISRacks placed in rows facing each other alternately.WHAT... How Data Centre Cooling Works The basic principle.WHAT COOLING DOESRemoves heat from the air, and rejects it outside the... How Power Reaches Equipment The electrical path.THE SEQUENCESupply enters the building Switchgear distributes it... Inside the Data Hall: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.PLAN THE RACK BEFORE INSTALLING ANYTHINGHeavier equipment lower, nothing obstructing... Installing Equipment in a Rack Physical installation.WHAT TO PREPAREThe rails or mounting hardware The correct tools Labels An... Inventory and Asset Management Knowing what you have.WHAT TO RECORD FOR EVERY ITEMWhat it is Serial numberWhere it is: room,... Labelling Standards Making everything identifiable.WHAT TO LABELEvery rack Every unit position Every device Every... Layers of Physical Security Defence in depth.WHAT THE LAYERS AREThe perimeter: fencing, barriers, lightingThe building... Liquid Cooling Cooling beyond air.WHAT IT ISRemoving heat using liquid in direct or close contact with... Maintenance and Testing Schedules Preventive work.WHAT REQUIRES REGULAR MAINTENANCEGenerators Uninterruptible supplies and their... Managing Hot Spots Uneven temperature.WHAT A HOT SPOT ISA location where intake temperature is significantly higher... Managing Network Security in a Facility Protecting connectivity.WHAT TO SEPARATECustomer networks from each other Management networks... Managing Power Quality Clean electricity.WHAT POWER PROBLEMS OCCURSurges Dips and brownouts Complete interruptions... Managing Visitors and Contractors People who are not staff.WHAT TO REQUIREAdvance notification Identity verification on arrival A... Migrating Between Facilities Moving your hosting.WHAT TO ESTABLISH FIRSTWhat must move What depends on what How much downtime... Modular and Prefabricated Facilities Building differently.WHAT THEY AREFacilities assembled from prefabricated units, rather than... Network Architecture in a Data Centre How equipment connects.WHAT THE TRADITIONAL ARRANGEMENT ISSwitches in each rack, connecting... Network Infrastructure: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.REDUNDANCY MUST BE GENUINELY DIVERSETwo cables in one tray, two connections to one... Network Monitoring in the Data Centre Watching the infrastructure.WHAT TO MONITORLink status and utilisation Error and discard rates... Network Redundancy and Resilience Surviving failures.WHAT CAN FAILA cable A switch A switch port An upstream provider A fibre route... Operations and Standards: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.BACKUP SYSTEMS FAIL MORE OFTEN THAN ANYONE EXPECTS, BECAUSE THEY ARE RARELY... Out-of-Band Management Access independent of the network.WHAT IT ISA separate path to manage equipment, independent of... Physical Security: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.SECURITY IS LAYEREDPerimeter, building, zone, hall, rack. Each must be defeated in... Planning a Rack Layout Deciding what goes where.WHAT TO PLAN BEFORE INSTALLING ANYTHINGWhich equipment occupies which... Planning for Capacity and Growth Designing for the future.WHAT CONSTRAINS GROWTHPower, first Cooling, second Space, lastWHY THAT... Power Distribution in Racks From the room to the device.WHAT A POWER DISTRIBUTION UNIT ISA device within the rack providing... Power Efficiency and Measurement How much is wasted.WHAT THE STANDARD MEASURE ISTotal facility power divided by power delivered to... Power Systems: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.THE POWER PATH HAS MANY STAGESSupply, switchgear, uninterruptible supplies,... Processors and Memory in Servers Computing capacity.WHAT PROCESSORS PROVIDECores, each able to execute work independently Clock... Protecting Against Traffic Floods Volumetric attacks.WHAT THEY AREAttempts to overwhelm a service or a connection with traffic.WHY... Questions to Ask a Hosting or Facility Provider Before committing.ABOUT THE FACILITYWhere is it, precisely? Who operates it? What certifications... Raised Floors and Containment Airflow management.WHAT A RAISED FLOOR DOESCreates a plenum beneath the floor for cold air, power... Remote Hands and On-Site Support Physical work you cannot do yourself.WHAT REMOTE HANDS MEANSFacility staff performing physical... Securing Your Own Equipment in a Shared Facility Customer responsibilities.WHAT REMAINS YOURSYour equipment, its configuration, and its physical... Server Storage Options Disks and arrays.WHAT TYPES EXISTMechanical drives: high capacity, lower cost, slowerSolid-state... Servers and Storage: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.WHAT MAKES SERVER HARDWARE DIFFERENTContinuous operation, redundant components,... Service Level Agreements for Facilities What is committed.WHAT IS TYPICALLY COMMITTEDPower availability Environmental conditions within a... Spares and Consumables What to keep on site.WHAT TO CONSIDER KEEPINGSpare drives, matching those in use Power supplies,... Standards and Certifications Independent assessment.WHAT CERTIFICATIONS ADDRESSInformation security management Service... Storage Systems and Shared Storage Storage beyond the server.WHAT SHARED STORAGE ISStorage accessible by several servers, rather... Structural and Environmental Protection Physical resilience.WHAT FACILITIES PROTECT AGAINSTWater ingress Dust Pests Vibration... Structured Cabling Physical connectivity.WHAT IT ISA planned, documented cabling system rather than ad hoc... Surveillance and Monitoring Watching the facility.WHAT IS TYPICALLY MONITOREDPerimeter and entrances Corridors and access... Temperature and Humidity Ranges What conditions equipment needs.WHAT MATTERSTemperature at equipment intakes, not room... The Growth of Data Centres in Africa Regional development.WHAT HAS CHANGEDSubstantial investment in facilities across the continent,... The Main Types of Data Centre Ownership and purpose.ENTERPRISEBuilt and operated by one organisation for its own... Trends and Wider Context: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.HYPERSCALE FACILITIES ASSUME FAILURE RATHER THAN PREVENTING ITThey build redundancy... Understanding Availability and Uptime What continuous operation means.WHAT UPTIME MEASURESThe proportion of time a service is... Understanding Bandwidth and Capacity Network throughput.WHAT BANDWIDTH ISThe maximum rate a link can carry.WHAT COMMITTED CAPACITY... Understanding Colocation Renting space for your own equipment.WHAT YOU RENTRack space, measured in units Power, at a... Understanding Cross-Connects Connections between parties.WHAT A CROSS-CONNECT ISA physical cable linking your equipment to... Understanding Data Centres: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.WHAT A DATA CENTRE PROVIDESContinuous power, controlled cooling, multiple network... Understanding Data Residency Where data is held.WHAT IT MEANSThe physical location where data is stored and processed.WHY IT... Understanding Drive Failure and Replacement Storage reliability.WHAT TO EXPECTDrives fail. In any substantial population, regularly.WHAT... Understanding Energy Costs What power costs to run.WHAT DRIVES COSTEnergy consumed by equipment Energy consumed by cooling... Understanding Generators Extended backup power.WHAT THEY DOSupply the facility when mains power is unavailable, for as... Understanding Hosting Costs What you pay for.WHAT DRIVES COST IN A FACILITYPower, primarily Cooling, which follows power... Understanding Hyperscale Facilities Very large data centres.WHAT THEY AREEnormous facilities operated by the largest cloud and... Understanding Internet Exchange Points Where networks meet.WHAT AN EXCHANGE POINT ISA facility where networks connect directly to each... Understanding Latency and Location Why the facility's location matters.WHAT LATENCY ISThe time for data to travel there and back.WHY... Understanding Power Capacity and Density How much a rack can take.WHAT DENSITY MEANSPower consumed per rack, expressed in kilowatts.WHAT... Understanding Racks and Units How equipment is arranged.WHAT A RACK ISA standardised frame holding equipment.WHAT A UNIT ISThe... Understanding Redundancy Having more than one of things.WHAT REDUNDANCY MEANSA second of something, so a failure does not... Understanding Server Hardware What a server is.WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT FROM A DESKTOPDesigned to run continuously Built for... Understanding Submarine Cables and Connectivity How international traffic travels.WHAT CARRIES INTERCONTINENTAL TRAFFICSubmarine fibre optic... Understanding Tier Classifications Facility ratings.WHAT THEY DESCRIBEThe level of redundancy and maintainability in a facility's... Understanding Uninterruptible Power Supplies Bridging the gap.WHAT THEY DOProvide power instantly when the supply fails, until generators... Understanding Virtualisation in the Data Centre Several systems on one machine.WHAT IT ISRunning several independent systems on one physical... Visiting a Data Centre What to expect and prepare.WHAT TO ARRANGE IN ADVANCEAuthorisation Notification of who is... What a Customer Is Responsible For The division of duties.WHAT THE FACILITY PROVIDESPower, cooling, connectivity, physical security,... What a Data Centre Actually Is The building behind the cloud.WHAT IT ISA facility housing computing equipment, with the power,... Why Businesses Use Data Centres The alternative to a server in the office.WHAT A SERVER IN AN OFFICE FACESPower interruptions... Why Cooling Matters Heat as the primary constraint.WHAT EQUIPMENT DOESConverts essentially all the electricity it... Working Safely in a Data Hall Personal safety and care.WHAT THE ENVIRONMENT IS LIKELoud, cold in places and hot in others, with...
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