Data Center Design and Architecture

Data is essential for companies’ operations in the digital age. It is at the core of key processes, from internal operations to customer support. Large volumes of data need to be stored in locations that meet technological and business requirements. Traditionally, these were information centers located within the buildings of the companies that used them, containing servers and necessary equipment. Today, modern data centers, such as Digital Realty’s data center in Zagreb, are critical data storage locations essential for maintaining fast and extensive processes vital for the functioning of our society. The design and construction of these centers require extensive planning and resources to ensure that their capacities can support companies for the coming decades.

Choosing the Right Data Center Design

Designing the infrastructure of a comprehensive data center involves the following key items:

• power supply
• cooling (hot/cold aisle)
• connectivity with partners, operators, and internet exchange hubs
• security
• location

The selection of elements that determine the architecture of the data center depends on the aforementioned items and business requirements. Purpose-built data centers typically utilize physical space in the most efficient way possible to allow for growth in the coming years. Careful planning and a modular design that enables airflow and expansion are necessary for the storage of equipment and server racks.

Data Center Connectivity

In data center design, the most popular solution is modular construction, which means that racks and servers can be removed or added without interrupting operations. The purpose of such construction is precisely to increase or decrease capacity without issues. Cable systems in data centers often outlast other equipment, and some remain in use for years. Therefore, good cable organization within racks and management is crucial for seamless connection and disconnection of individual equipment elements. Power cables and data cables are usually separated in cable systems to prevent potential interference.

Data Center Cooling

The cooling system is a fundamental feature of every data center, as heat can easily reduce the lifespan of equipment or ultimately destroy it. Dense equipment stacking in one building generates significant amounts of heat. There are several cooling solutions for data centers that vary depending on the center’s location.

Types of Data Center Cooling Systems:

• adiabatic cooling (air)

In the most common cooling systems, those using air, fans built into racks draw air away from the servers. Fans are arranged in so-called hot and cold aisles. On one side of the servers, cooled air passes through the cold aisle and releases cool air into the rack. On the opposite side, fans blow warm air away from the servers through the hot aisle and exhaust it from the room.

• liquid cooling (water)

Chilled water is a denser medium than air and therefore conducts heat more effectively. Water is pumped through coils in a closed system and removes heat from the servers. The heated water then passes through a cooling unit, and the cycle repeats.

• immersion cooling

This cooling system is often considered the future of cooling, involving the replacement of water, which does not work well with electricity, with a dielectric liquid coolant (chemically and electrically inert). The properties of this liquid allow for the immersion of equipment parts, eliminating the need for pumps and coils. Immersion cooling addresses potential issues associated with water near electrical equipment, as well as problems with interrupted airflow, enabling denser equipment layouts and more efficient data centers in the future.

Support Teams in Data Centers

When designing a data center, it is essential to consider the support of skilled engineers. Interdisciplinary staff need a space for collaboration in the data center, an operations center with advanced monitoring equipment. IT professionals and engineers specializing in cooling, humidity, and server racks should be located on-site to respond quickly in emergencies and when maintenance is required. They can also provide consultations and migration to data center environments for companies looking to leverage the benefits of colocation and cloud services. Support teams can also contribute to the design of the data center network and manage network configurations for complex multi-purpose and hybrid cloud services.

Data Center Security

Protecting confidential data is one of the main reasons companies opt for data center services. The data and equipment housed within require robust security protocols to protect business-critical elements. Access to the data center is under strict surveillance for security and equipment preservation – dust and other contaminants must be minimized. Larger data centers also include physical barriers at every part of the facility: measures against multiple persons or vehicles passing simultaneously, biometric scanners, and on-site monitoring staff. In the server room, there are racks that can be locked, providing users with additional security as only data center managers can control who has access to the servers.

Data Center Management Tools

Data centers often involve tools that help CTOs and IT professionals monitor infrastructure and the operation of IT systems:

• Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM): software that includes consoles for monitoring company resources off-site and overseeing all resources, colocation, and public cloud services.
• Software Defined Networking (SDN): tools for shifting management from hardware to software and resource allocation for the most efficient use according to company requirements.
• User Portals: self-service online portals for managing data and available computing resources.

Airflow Design

Managing airflow in the data center is as crucial for its operation as cooling systems. These two mechanisms work in harmony to protect confidential data and equipment. Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) cooling units use chilled water and air to maintain the internal environment within specified parameters of temperature, airflow, and humidity. Server components such as magnetic tapes (critical for data storage) are particularly sensitive to humidity changes. When designing the architecture of the data center, it is important to consider such requirements.

Power Supply

Power supply in modern data centers is based on density, reaching over 10 kW per rack (in the new LON3 center in London). This is the new industry standard for services rapidly evolving in the fields of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and high-definition on-demand content streaming. The large amount of energy required raises questions of efficiency. Using a measure that represents the industry standard for measuring energy consumption efficiency – PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness), the efficiency of data center power supply is determined, and many centers are designed to keep this value as low as possible to achieve greater environmental sustainability.

Data centers require large amounts of energy and are connected to the main power grid. Electricity from the main grid is conducted through cables designed to minimize heat dissipation to the lowest possible level and increase energy utilization. All data centers should have at least N+1 power redundancy to ensure uninterrupted operation even in the event of a power outage. For this purpose, data centers use fuel-powered generators and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems powered by batteries. If there is a power outage from the main grid, UPS systems continue to supply equipment with energy from their batteries, thus providing protection against voltage spikes and power until generators are activated.

Data centers are hubs of technological innovation where large amounts of data and state-of-the-art equipment are stored. The spaces they occupy are designed to provide the highest levels of connectivity, efficiency, and quality of operation. For more information about the services of Digital Realty’s Zagreb data center ZAG1, feel free to contact Digital Realty.

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