Introduction
Withtheriseofe-commerce,businessuserswillprocessmoreandmorebusinessthroughtheInternetorIntranet,whichallowscompaniestobettersavecostsandimproveefficient.However,ifanenterprisebuildssuchaplatformonitsown,itneedstobuilditsowncomputerroom,buildasystem,andhirealotofdevelopersandmaintenancepersonnel,whichnotonlyrequiresalargeamountofcapitalinvestment,butalsoitisdifficulttoachieveprofessional-levelservicequality.IDCcanprovideenterpriseswiththisseriesofsupport,eliminatingtheworriesofenterprises.
ThemainobjectsofIDCservicesinclude:largemultinationalcorporations,Internetserviceproviders,Internetcontentproviders,e-commerceserviceproviders,applicationsoftwareserviceproviders,systemintegrationproviders,multimediaserviceproviders,Websitedesignandhostingprovider.
ThedevelopmentofIDChasgonethroughthreedifferentstages:thefirst-generationdatacenteronlyprovidesbasichostingservicessuchasvenueandbandwidth;thesecond-generationdatacenterusesvalue-addedservicesande-commerceasitsservicesThecoreofthethird-generationdatacentercanprovideintegratedhostingservices,whichcanintegrateInternetinformation,telephoneinformation,andfaxinformationinrealtime,andthenprovidethemtocustomersinthemostacceptableway.Inthisway,thethird-generationdatacenterhasactuallybecomeanetworkservicecenter.
Features
AgoodIDCshouldhavethefollowingfeatures.
·Ithastheinfrastructuretomeettheneedsofwebsitesystemhostingoutsourcingservices.ThisfacilityincludesstableandreliablebroadbandInternetaccessandasafeandreliablecarrier-classcomputerroomenvironment.
·Withtheabilitytoprovidehigh-qualityvalue-addedservices,includingsystemmaintenance(suchassystemconfiguration,softwareinstallation,databackup,troubleshooting,etc.);managedservices(suchasbandwidthmanagement,trafficanalysis,intrusiondetection,Systemvulnerabilitydiagnosis,databackup,loadbalancing,Cacheservices,etc.);supportservices(suchastechnicalsupporthotlines,etc.);integratedservices(suchasprovidingdatacenters,integratedcommunicationsandITprofessionalservicesforfullyintegratedservices,etc.),etc.
·Havetheabilitytoprovidehigh-speednetworkinterconnection,allowingusersfromanynetworktoaccessotheroperatingnetworksathighspeed.Atthesametime,throughthehigh-qualityservicesprovided,thegeographicalrestrictionsofIDCusersarebasicallydownplayed(forexample,awebsitelocatedinShanghaicanalsobeusedforinter-regionalhostingservicesinIDCinBeijing).
·EnableuserstouseIDCservicestogreatlyreducetheirownoperatingcosts.
·Signacompleteservicelevelagreement(SLA)withusers.
ServiceProviders
IDCserviceproviderscanbedividedintotwocategories:telecomoperatorsandprivateserviceproviders.
TelecomoperatorscanbedividedintotraditionaltelecomoperatorssuchasChinaTelecomCorporation.
Forprivateserviceproviders,itcanbedividedintoindependentIDCserviceproviderssuchas21Vianet;integratedIDCserviceproviderssuchas263Group;systemintegratorIDCsuchasTsinghuaWanbo.Thereisacompetitiverelationshipbetweenprivateandtelecommunications,betweentelecommunicationsandtelecommunications,andbetweenprivateandprivatesectors.Inthecompetitionbetweenprivatesectorandtelecommunications,privatesectorreliesontechnologyandservices,andtelecommunicationsreliesonresources.Iftelecommunicationscandoagoodjobofresources,technology,andservices,theprivatelifemaybeunsustainable.
Developmentsituation
Fromtheperspectiveofpracticaldevelopment,theIDCmarketjustemergedbefore1999isnotwellknown,butitsuddenlyheatedupin2000,andtelecomoperatorsandITgiantsjoinedoneafteranother.compete.Traditionaltelecomoperators,suchasAT&TandBT,announcedinApril2000thattheywouldjointlyinvestUS$2billiontobuild44globallynetworkedIDCs,coveringtheAsia-Pacificregion;newtelecomoperators,suchasQwestandGlobalCrossing,ProposedplanstobuildIDCsinHongKongandJapan;internationallyrenownedITvendorssuchasIBMandIntelalsoannouncedtheirIDCdevelopmentplans.Forexample,thelatterannouncedin2000thatitwouldinvest1billionto2billioninthenextfouryearsUSdollarstobuildthenextgenerationIDC.Inaddition,well-knownISPandICPcompaniesarenottobeleftalone.Forexample,AOLalsoannouncedthatitwouldopenIDCinTokyothatyear,andsoon.
ThedomesticIDCmarkethasalsobeenextremelyhotsince2000.AdomesticprofessionalconsultingcompanypredictsthatChina'sIDCmarketwillreachascaleofnearlyRMB5billionby2003.EspeciallywhentheInternetindustryhaslittleroomforrevenuegrowth,ithasattractedmanycompaniestostepintothisfieldintheshortterm.Joiningthemarketcompetitionincludesseveralforces.OneisagroupofcompanieswithInternetcompanybackgroundssuchas21Vianet,ChinaInternet,andCapitalOnline;thesecondisChinaTelecom,ChinaUnicom,Netcomandotheroperators;thethirdisTsinghuaWanboandZhongguancun.TechnologyandothercompaniesthatrelyonITtechnology;fourth,investmentcompaniessuchasCapitalandYingdong,andlatercompanieswithrealestateinvestmentbackgrounds.Inaddition,IDCcompaniesoverseasarealsopreparingtoenterthismarket.However,withthedisappearanceoftheInternetindustrybubble,IDCandthecustodymarketarealsofacingtheproblemsofoversupply,limitedmarketdemandandviciouscompetition.
History
Datacenterisanetworkofspecificdevicesthatcooperateglobally,whichisusedtotransmit,accelerate,display,calculate,andstoredataandinformationontheinternetnetworkinfrastructure.
Datacentershavetheirrootsintheearlycomputingindustryinhugerooms.Theoperationandmaintenanceofearlycomputersystemswerecomplicatedandrequiredaspecialenvironmenttooperate.Connectingallthecomponentsrequiresalotofcables,whichinturncreatesmethodsofsupplyandorganization,suchasstandardrackstohouseequipment,raisedfloors,andcabletrays(mountedoverheadorunderraisedfloors).Similarly,oldcomputersrequirealotofpowerandhavetobecooledtopreventoverheating.Securityisveryimportant-computersareveryexpensiveandareoftenusedformilitarypurposes.Therefore,thebasicdesignguidelinesforcontrollingaccesstocomputerroomshaveemerged.
Intheprosperousmicrocomputerindustry,especiallyinthe1980s,computersbegantodevelopeverywhere,andinmanycasestherewaslittleornooperationalrequirements.However,withthedevelopmentofinformationtechnology(IT),operationsbegantobecomecomplicated,andcompaniesgraduallyrealizedtheneedtocontrolITresources.Withtheadventofclient-servercomputing,inthe1990smicrocomputers(calledservers)begantofindtheirplaceinoldcomputerrooms.Theavailabilityofcheapnetworkequipment,coupledwiththenewstandardofnetworkcables,makesitpossibletousealayereddesigntoplaceserversinaroomwithinthecompany,whichisrecognizedatthismomentandcontinuestobepopular.
Theprosperityofthedatacenteriscominginthedot-combubble.ThecompanyneedsafastInternetconnection,aswellascontinuousdeploymentofthesystemandappearontheInternet.Installingthiskindofequipmentisnotfeasibleformanysmallcompanies.Manycompanieshavebeguntocreateverylargedevices,calledInternetDataCenters(IDCs),whichprovidesolutionsforcommercialsystemdeploymentandoperation.Newtechnologiesandpracticesaredesignedtohandlethemeasurementandtheoperationaldemandsofsuchahugemeasurementoperation.
Since2007,datacenterdesign,construction,andoperationhavebeenawell-knowndiscipline.Thestandarddocumentcomesfromatrustedexpertgroup,suchastheTelecommunicationsIndustryFederation,whichspecifiestherequirementsfordatacenterdesign.Itiswellknownthatoperationalprosodyofdatacenteravailabilitycanbeusedtoassesstheimpactofbusinessinterruptions.Manydevelopmentshavebeencompletedinoperationalpractice,andanenvironment-friendlydatacenterhasbeendesigned.
Theneedsofmoderndatacenters
ITbusinessisoneofthemostcriticalaspectsofthebusinessofmostorganizations.Oneofthemainconcernsisbusinesscontinuity;companiesrelyontheirinformationsystemstoruntheirbusinesses.Ifasystembecomesunavailable,companyoperationsmaybeweakenedorcompletelystopped.ItisnecessarytoensureareliableinfrastructureorganizationforITbusinessandminimizethepossibilityofdamage.Informationsecurityisalsoaconcern.Forthisreason,adatacenterhastoprovideasecureenvironmenttoensurethatthepossibilityofasecuritybreachisminimized.Adatacentermustmaintainhighstandardsfortheintegrityandfunctionalityofitshostenvironment.Thisisaccomplishedbydoubleredundantfiberopticcablesandemergencybackuppowergeneration.
DataCenterClassification
AnunderwaterdatacenterbuiltbyanenterpriseinZhuhai
ThedatacenterinfrastructureisdescribedinTIA-942:DataCenterStandardsOverviewClassclassification.Accordingtotheinformationfault-tolerantequipmentandnetworkdesign,fromthefirstlevel(Tier1)ofthesimplestfault-tolerantdesign,thesecondlevelwhereasinglenetworkandindividualdeviceshavefault-tolerantconfiguration,andthethirdlevelwheredualnetworkbackupbutonlysingleoperation,toThefourthlevel(Tier4)withcompleteoverlapfaulttoleranceandsimultaneousoperationofmultiplenetworks.Atpresent,thenewlarge-scaledatacentersareallfourth-level,designedwithacompleteoverlappingnetworkanddividedsecurityareas,andprovidesufficientbackupandbackupcapacitytoensuretheuninterruptedandsafeoperationofthedatacenter.
Inaddition,inANSI/BICSI002-2014(DataCenterDesignandImplementationBestPractices),datacenterreliabilityandavailability(ReliabilityandAvailability)aredividedintolevel0tolevel4.
Differenttypesofdatacenterswillhavedifferentdesignconsiderations,startingfromthechoiceoflocation,toexternalpowerdeliveryrequirements,physicallayout,coolingsystem(airconditioning)considerations,internalpowersupplysystemdesign,firepreventionandshockresistanceThedesignofnaturaldisasters,securityprotection,etc.allneedtobeconsideredanddecidedbeforestartingtobuildadatacenter.[3]
Physicallayout
Adatacenteroccupiesoneroom,oneormorefloors,oreventheentirebuildinginabuilding.Mostoftheequipmentisoftenplacedinrackswith19-inchcompartments.Theseracksareplacedinrowstoformacorridor.Thisallowspeopletoaccessthecompartmentfromthefrontorback.Serversvarygreatlyinsizefrom1Userverstostoragedevicesinindependentsilos,andstoragedevicestakeupalotoffloortiles.Someequipment,suchasmainframecomputersandstoragedevices,areoftenaslargeastheirracksandplacednexttothem.Verylargedatacenterscanbeplacedincontainers,andeachcontainercanhold1,000ormoreservers;whenrepairsorupgradesareneeded,theentirecontainerwillbereplacedinsteadofasingleserver.Locallycompiledcodecancontroltheminimumascent.
Thephysicalenvironmentofthedatacenterisstrictlycontrolled:
Airconditioning
Airconditioningcontrolsthetemperatureandhumidityofthedatacenter.ASHRAE's"ThermalGuidelinesforDataProcessingEnvironments"recommendsatemperatureof18-27°Candahumidityof60%orless,withthebestconditionofthedatacenterat17°Casthemaximumupperlimit.Thepowersupplyheatstheairinthedatacenter.Unlesstheheatisremoved,thetemperaturewillcontinuetorise,causingthepowersupplytomalfunction.Bycontrollingtheairtemperature,theservercomponentsmaintainthetemperature/humidityrangespecifiedbythemanufacturerontheshelflevel.Theair-conditioningsystemhelpscontrolhumiditybycoolingtheairinthespacebelowthedewpointbackandforth.Ifitistoowet,thewaterstartstoconcentrateontheinternalcomponents.Iftheairisdry,theauxiliaryhumiditysystemwillincreasewatervapor.Ifthehumidityistoolow,itwillcauseelectrostaticdischargeproblems,whichwilldamagethecomponents.Anundergrounddatacentercancostlessandkeepcomputerequipmentcoolcomparedtoconventionaldesigns.
Moderndatacenterstrytouseeconomizingequipmentforcooling,wheretheyuseoutsideairtoensuredatacentercooling.ThereareseveraldatacentersinWashingtonStatethatuseoutsideairtocoolallserversfor11monthsayear.Nochillersorairconditionersareused,savingmillionsinelectricitybills.
Powersupply
Asetofbatteriesinalargedatacenterareusedtoprovideelectricityuntilthedieselgeneratorcanbestarted.
Thebackuppowersupplyconsistsofoneormoreuninterruptiblepowersuppliesand/ordieselorgasgenerators.[4]
Inordertopreventasinglepointoffailure,allelectricalsystemelements,includingbackupsystems,aretypicallyfullyreplicated,andcriticalserversareconnectedTwopowersupply("A-Side"and"B-Side")areas.ThisarrangementisoftenusedtocompletetheN+1redundancyofthesystem.Staticswitchesaresometimesusedtoensureinstantaneousswitchingfromonetoanotherintheeventofapowerfailure.
Datacenterstypicallyuse60cm(2feet)elevatedgroundandmovablebricks.Thecurrenttrendis80to100cm(31to39inches),andtheincreaseinfreespaceistobetterensureaircirculation.Thissupplyisforthefullcirculationofairunderground,aspartoftheconditioningsystem,andalsotoprovidespaceforpowercables.Thedatacablesinmoderndatacentersaretypicallyoverheadcables.Butsomeputthemunderthefloorforsafetyreasons,anditisnecessarytoaddacoolingsystemontheshelf.Smaller/lessexpensivedatacentersdonotraisethegroundbutinsteadusestatictilesonthegroundinstead.Computercablesareoftenplacedincorridorstoensuremaximumairflowefficiency.
Fireprevention
FM200fireextinguishingsystemstoragetank.
Afeatureofthedatacenteristhefireprotectionsystem,whichincludespassiveandactivedesignelements,aswellastheexecutionoffireprotectionproceduresinthebusiness.Smokedetectorswillbeinstalled,itcandetectthesourceofthesmokegeneratedbythesimmerbeforethereisaflame,andsendoutanalarm.Thisallowsinvestigations,interruptsthepowersupply,andenablespeopletouseafireextinguishertoputoutthefirebeforeitgetsbigger.Anautomaticsprinklersystemisoftenusedtocontrolthedevelopmentofafireintoawiderangeoffires.Incontrasttosprinklersystems,event-clearinggassystemsaresometimesinstalledforearlyfires.Passivefireprotectionelementsincludefirewallsaroundthedatacenter,sothefirecanbeeasilycontrolledwithinacertainrangeifthefireprotectionsystemfailsorisnotinstalled.
Security
Physicalsecurityalsoplaysabigroleinthedatacenter.Thephysicalaccesslocationisoftenrestrictedtoselectedpersonnelandincludessecuritycontrolsystems.Videosurveillanceandpermanentsecurityguardsareoftenusedinlargedatacentersordatacentersthatcontainconfidentialinformation.
MobileDataCenter
IBM’sPortableModularDataCenter.
Currently,onlinecommerce,search,andcloudcomputingcompaniesneedtobefastDeployingdatacenters,ordisasterrecoveryapplications,somanufacturershavedevelopedmobiledatacenter(English:PortableDataCenter)solutions,whichcanloadserversandotherequipmentintocontainers,andcanquicklymovethedatacenterandinstallandoperateinashorttime.
Themanufacturersandproductsthatproducemobiledatacentersinclude:
Google'sGoogleModularDataCenter[5][6][7]、
SunModularDatacenterofSunMicrosystems[8],
IBM'sPortableModularDataCenter[9]
ContainerizedofCiscoSystemsDataCenter
HP'sPerformanceOptimizedDatacenter
Huawei'sContainerDataCenterSolution[10]
Amazon'sAWSSnowmobile[11]
Application
Themainpurposeofadatacenteristorunapplicationstoprocessbusinessandoperationalorganizationdata.Suchsystemsbelongtoandaredevelopedinternallybytheorganization,orboughtfromenterprisesoftwarevendors.Likegeneralapplications,thereareERPandCRMsystems.
Adatacentermayonlyfocusontheoperatingarchitecture,ormayalsoprovideotherservices.Oftentheseapplicationsarecomposedofmultiplehosts,andeachhostrunsasinglecomponent.Usuallysuchcomponentsaredatabases,fileservers,applicationservers,middleware,andvariousotherthings.
Datacentersarealsooftenusedforbackupofnon-workingsites.Thecompanymaybookservicesprovidedbythedatacenter.Thisisoftenusedinconjunctionwithbackuptapes.Backupscanputthingslocaltotheserverontapes.However,tapestoragesitesarealsovulnerabletofireandfloodsafetythreats.Largercompaniesmaysendtheirbackupstonon-workplaces.Thiscanbedonebythedatacenterthroughreturninvestment.TheencryptedbackupcanbesenttoanotherdatacenterviatheInternetforsafestorage.
Releasereport
In2021,IDCreleasedthe"ChinaPublicCloudServiceMarket(Q42020)Tracking"report,showingthatthesizeofChina'sIaaSmarketinthefourthquarterof2020willbe3.49billionIntheUSdollar,AlibabaCloudstilloccupiesthenumberonemarketshare,HuaweiandTencentaretiedforsecondplace,followedbyChinaTelecomandAWS.