Overcome These Top 5 Challenges as a Data Center Manager

Data centers are experiencing rapid growth to meet the burgeoning demand for processing power and storage capacity. Growth can be painful: Data center managers face tough decisions when adding IT assets and expanding their operations. A recent survey by Prylada sheds light on their most pressing challenges.

Power Infrastructure. Increasing data center densities enable organizations to pack more IT resources in the same physical footprint. However, this also makes it difficult to ensure high availability and control energy consumption. If power is not distributed properly, scalability is hampered and outages become more frequent. Additionally, data centers are increasingly reliant on backup power sources due to an unstable power grid.

Physical Security. Data centers are naturally concerned with cybersecurity, but physical security is also critical. Physical access must be carefully controlled and logged to prevent theft, vandalism or data exfiltration by intruders and other malicious actors. Physical security also encompasses protection from environmental hazards such as cooling system failures, fires, and water leaks.

Cooling Efficiency. Closely related to power management is cooling efficiency. Today’s powerful servers generate a lot of heat, and global warming adds to the challenge of keeping IT equipment cool. Traditional cooling systems require a lot of power, which adds significantly to data center overhead. Hyperscale data centers rely on liquid cooling but are facing pushback from communities due to the large amounts of water they consume. 

Outdated Equipment. Many data centers try to squeeze every ounce of value out of equipment. By doing so, however, they may be failing to take advantage of systems that are more powerful and energy efficient. Experts say data centers should refresh equipment every two to four years to ensure the highest levels of efficiency and security and maintain a competitive advantage. 

Capacity Management. Capacity management lies at the intersection between cost control and risk reduction. Data centers operate most cost-efficiently at maximum capacity. Excess capacity wastes space, power, and operational resources. However, data centers must also have some amount of unused capacity to protect against outages and meet requirements for rapid scalability. Balancing these competing objectives requires careful monitoring of data center performance and environmental metrics.

Addressing these challenges starts with data center design, which is determined by the physical constraints of the facility, the amount of compute and storage capacity that’s required, and the unique needs of the business. That said, organizations benefit from following industry best practices for design, layout, mechanical and electrical systems, and physical security. 

Rahi’s data center experts have years of experience designing and outfitting data centers to meet a wide range of requirements. Our robust, efficient, and innovative data center design services incorporate site evaluations, planning, and migration testing. Our data center site optimization services are designed to help customers cut operational costs while increasing uptime. 

We also offer a complete array of data center infrastructure services, including:

• Mechanical and Thermal Engineering 
• Structural Implementation 
• Cooling Assessments
• Rack, Row, and Data Center Containment Solutions
• Equipment Installation / Rack and Stack
• Cabling and Connectivity Documentation
• Power System Design, including Busways, Floor PDUs, and Rack PDUs 
• UPS Specification, Installation, and Startup
• Hardware and Software Configuration 

As a leading global systems integrator, we deliver best-of-breed data center solutions from industry-leading vendors.

Growing IT workloads and ever-changing demands have contributed to the complexity of the data center environment. As the pace of business continues to accelerate, organizations need a flexible and scalable infrastructure that supports evolving technology requirements and enables the rapid rollout of IT services and resources. Rahi provides full-lifecycle services that help overcome today’s data center challenges.