Are they considering the four main components of a data center? Fire protection, Technical equipment, and Ventilation and cooling systems. How do these relate to each other? Listed below are the main components of a data center. 

Ventilation and cooling systems

Data centers can use innovative design strategies to reduce cooling costs and power consumption. By using intelligent speed controls and reducing the amount of airflow, these facilities can ensure the cooling capacity of their data centers. By implementing these strategies, data center owners can provide their facilities with cooling and energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint.

When heat or humidity levels are high, servers will experience operating failures. They can reduce airborne irritants by removing dust and other pollutants from the data center environment.

Fire protection systems

Data centers must implement effective fire protection systems to protect their most valuable assets. While there are fewer people in a data center than in a typical office, the importance of fire alarms in a data center cannot be underestimated. Fire alarms in a data center must alert staff and evacuate the building as quickly as possible. The noise level in a server room is incredibly high, making it essential to install an alarm system that can be heard clearly from afar. Data centers should install an EN54-23 compliant visual fire alarm system in their server room. This should be in the form of a strobe unit.

The data center must also install aspirating smoke detection systems that detect smoke and early warning signs of fire, allowing staff to take immediate action. Fire suppression systems in a data center infrastructure consist of building-level fire sprinklers and handheld fire extinguishers. Fire suppression systems in data centers are similar to those in commercial buildings. While the ceiling and wall sprinklers are critical for the early detection of a fire, they can be insufficient if a fire has spread to a data center’s servers.

Technical equipment

Technical equipment is a critical component regardless of the type of data center you need. Unlike traditional office buildings where you can replace equipment, a data center must maintain its systems and facilities while maintaining high-performance levels. There are three types of data center infrastructure: Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III. Each one aims to provide maximum uptime while maintaining an unmatched level of security. All data centers should have UPS, redundant power, and cooling systems. In addition, the data center must be completely fault-tolerant, which means it can continue operations despite any fault in its network or facilities.

In addition to servers, other essential components of a data center infrastructure include network equipment, firewalls, routers, and different types of hardware. These systems provide connectivity to other members of the infrastructure. The data center’s network equipment connects the servers and the outside network.  All of the various components are integral to the data center’s success.

Backup generators

There are several options for data center power backups. Among the three, diesel generators, batteries, and internal combustion engines are the most common. While diesel generators are the traditional choice, they are increasingly under scrutiny due to their lack of reliability. Internal combustion engines are the most reliable and respond quickly to changes in load.

The amount of backup power required for a data center depends on the nature of the business. For example, if a company needs 50 megawatts of backup power for all its servers, it should also have that same amount of backup power. Often, organizations start with a lower amount of backup power and increase it as needs change. Generally, a data center’s backup power needs will increase as the organization grows.