Template:Scalable data centres

From Lauraibm

Full article: 5 Steps to a Scalable Data Centre (12-Sep-07)

Many if the major vendors, such as HP, Sun Microsystems and IBM have been working to consolidate their data centres in an attempt to go “green”.

There are a few steps that can be taken to help in “greening” data centres, the first of these is to ensure that all key executives and board members are in support of the project far in advance. This is important, as at present there is often a rift between how senior level executives set out their objectives for what needs to be done and how the IT people are then strapped to be able to implement that infrastructure.

The second step concerns carefully choosing the location of the data centre, the two factors that need to be considered are the availability of power supply and the square footage of the area. Step three involves ensuring that energy efficiency is considered from the word go; lighting/cooling, mechanical, electrical and computer systems need to be designed for maximum energy efficiency and minimum environmental impact.

In step four the hardware and software needs to be carefully chosen, with performance, quality and green / scalability attributes in mind. Virtualisation, duplication and thin provisioning are all becoming “must haves” in the modern data centre. The final step to a scalable data centre ensures that the correct management and automation systems are put in place so the data centre can be switched off whenever possible.