6 Common Data Center Problems and Issues

Park Place Hardware Maintenance


Mike Jennings - Director of Product Management headshot
Michael Jennings Published: April 25, 2022

Managing data center infrastructure can be an around-the-clock job. Your stakeholders are expecting 100% uptime, whether or not it is reasonable. Between backups, security, resource utilization, and replacements, you feel more like a firefighter than a System Admin. Establishing a plan can take the edge off the pressures of your responsibilities.

在云计算和内部部署操作中识别和应用数据中心挑战和解决方案是IT成功的关键. By considering the following six common data center problems, 你要做好准备,在这些问题影响到你的运营之前识别并解决它们. We will first focus on the top six data center challenges, namely:

  1. Data Center Design
  2. Power Supply Failure
  3. Environmental Issues
  4. Networking and Cabling
  5. Security
  6. Management

1. Data Center Design Issues – Infrastructure and Capacity Planning

一些顶级数据中心挑战围绕着数据中心内的物理空间. Whether it’s too little space, too much space, or excessive heat due to hardware proximity, poor planning for your data center physical infrastructure can have significant and lasting effects. See the failures of IT infrastructure capacity planning below, and explore how you can prevent them!

Insufficient Space for Expansion

The importance of sufficient space cannot be overstated.

  • Is there room for expansion?
  • Do planning regulations allow your center to expand up?
  • Do the surroundings allow your data center to expand out?

A poor data center design may limit the future growth of your data center. Having to engage in a data center relocation 由于不可预见的增长可能对业务连续性和费用产生重大影响.

illustration of common data center problems

Too Much Space After Equipment Refresh

When consolidating old and new servers, 规划人员需要意识到,虽然新十大赌博正规老平台器更小,并且具有更小的物理足迹, newer servers need significantly more power with their higher energy consumption. There are differences in the demands of virtual servers vs. physical servers that will also impact the needs of your facility.

At the same time, 这大大增加了设备刷新所需的冷却系统的数量. 这对数据中心的热足迹来说是一个重大挑战.

Challenges of Data Center Thermal Management

先进的热控制必须执行一个微妙的平衡行为,以实现适当的气流和温度,利用可用的冷却选项,如基于气流, water-based, and refrigerant-based systems.

将数据中心定位在可以通过冷空气和/或冷水自由冷却的位置, thus generally in the far north or the far south, may help reduce the challenges of data center thermal management. Check out what Google did in Finland in a disused paper mill to make use of water from the Baltic Sea to cool its data center.

2. Power and/or Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Failure

电源故障和所谓的不间断电源故障是计划外停机的最常见原因之一. 这些故障通常仅仅是由于规划不当和缺乏对必要的UPS设备的投资.

3. Data Center Environmental Issues

数据中心及其相关十大赌博正规老平台器在运行和热管理方面都有电源需求. These power requirements translate into energy needs. Data centers are huge users of energy, so where can we get this energy supply?

One option is to locate a data center near an affordable source of energy. 从环保的角度来看,可再生能源显然是长期的候选者. For example, 位于有大量水力发电的河流附近的数据中心可能比位于核电站附近的数据中心更好, even if, in the short-term, nuclear power might be less expensive than hydropower. Data center plans should consider the long-term environmental impact.

According to Forbes在全球范围内,数据中心目前占电力需求的1%,贡献的电力为10%.3% of CO2 emissions. Energy efficiency, however, is key. 数据中心设计人员需要考虑总体能源消耗和能源效率. 在设计低成本能源时,只知道能源消耗是最小的或, conversely, that energy is not being used efficiently. Studies show 数据中心的容量通常没有得到充分利用,但闲置的十大赌博正规老平台器仍在消耗能源. Any gains from low-cost energy must be used effectively and efficiently.

4. Challenges in Data Center Networking and Cabling

There are two potential challenges in data center networking. First, bandwidth: how much data can travel over a connection? Higher bandwidth means better network speed.

硬币的另一面是延迟:测量数据传输到目的地所需的时间. Latency is the delay of the data, which at the macro-level is a function of distance that data must travel.

data center problems with cabling

Regardless of the speed of the connection, data must travel some distance. That movement of data between locations takes time. 数据中心的网络依赖于速度:光纤电缆和短距离传输的数据可以避免数据中心延迟问题. Cables between your server, storage, and networking equipment can quickly become unruly, so having a plan in place beforehand can prevent challenges down the road.

Besides distance, network complexity is important. 网络设备从来没有100%的效率,因为它们不断地优先考虑如何路由数据包. The shortest route might not always be available. Data may have to travel through more connections, which increases latency. In many cases, network bandwidth monitoring software can help you observe your network condition and respond accordingly.

5. Data Center Security Issues

There are several common data center security challenges, from physical security to access-related issues, such as Denial of Service (DoS). In addition, there are data-related issues, such as confidential information being stolen, data being altered, or the pure loss of data. IBM’s recent study of data breaches shows that more than half (52%) of data breaches are caused by malicious attacks, with the breakdown of root causes being:

  1. Compromised Credentials
  2. Phishing
  3. Cloud Misconfiguration
  4. Vulnerability in Third-party Software
  5. Physical Security Compromise

然而,到2021年,这些威胁不再是最昂贵的恶意数据泄露. Business Email Compromise now tops the list, from an average cost point-of-view, with Phishing and Malicious Insider close behind.

6. Data Center Management Issues

The management of a data center is challenging. 最重要的是识别和消除数据中心运营的风险, 以实现关键系统的高可靠性和为客户提供高可用性为目标. 解决数据中心管理问题的一项关键技术是采用计算方法 Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM).

technician solving common data center challenges

DCIM typically monitors, measures, manages, and controls a data center’s:

  • Equipment, such as servers, storage, and network
  • Infrastructure such as power distribution and cooling systems

DCIM的目标是允许从占地面积的角度全面查看数据中心的性能, equipment, and power/energy, as well as analyzing the data related to these criteria. DCIM should allow facilities to determine how efficient they are operating.

Real-time Network Monitoring and Reporting

DCIM的一个重要方面是正确地监视和测量网络运行. As stated previously, 在数据中心网络和布线中有许多挑战需要解决, 从关键系统之间的带宽到网络中涉及的延迟. Thus, DCIM需要网络的实时视图,以确保可以进行适当的报告和分析,以识别和修复任何潜在的瓶颈.

操作端监控和客户端监控可能是完全不同的挑战. You may encounter client issues that don’t originate from within your data center, but DCIM tools won’t necessarily help you identify where the real failure is. Clients can leverage network monitoring software for more comprehensive visibility into their overall network.

Optimizing Performance

Efficient data center management means optimizing performance. 对于数据中心来说,这意味着用更少的资源做更多的事情,同时确保 availability, Uptime, and reliability. One key component of optimization is power usage. How effective is the data center in its total power requirement?

Performance is also about computation usage: efficiently managing workloads, and cooling efficiency. Well-optimized data centers are generally more reliable, providing an additional boost in performance as perceived by customers.

Reducing CAPEX and OPEX

运营自己的数据中心的组织正在进行资本支出投资,包括相关的前期成本和经常性升级成本. 典型的资本支出方法是将资源集中在组织的非核心业务上. Third party IT hardware maintenance 与OEM支持合同相比,可以有效地延迟设备更新的需要,同时节省30-40%.

替代方案是托管和基于云的数据中心,运营费用可控(OpEx)。. OpEx allows greater flexibility. Remote hands in data centers 是否还可以用于降低主机托管操作的成本,同时保持对网络的合理控制水平.

In both CapEx-oriented and OpEx-oriented approaches, 组织需要优化他们对资源的使用,以便他们只为他们真正需要的东西付费.

Overcome Persistent Data Center Challenges with the Right Partner

使用几个不同的供应商很难实现全面的数据中心和网络优化. Park Place Technologies offers hardware maintenance, infrastructure managed services, network monitoring and management, and data center hardware sales from a single source!

立即十大赌博平台排行榜,了解如何获得无缝支持,并与值得信赖的合作伙伴一起解决常见的数据中心问题.

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About the Author

Michael Jennings, Senior Product Manager, Product Management
Mike的主要职责是维护和执行Park Place Technologies的Complex-Enterprise十大赌博正规老平台器第三方硬件和软件维护的产品支持路线图和推出策略.
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