subject: Disaster Recovery And Preparedness [print this page] Companies that are aware of the risks associated to natural disasters are prepared for a quick response and damage mitigation. These companies usually have a disaster recovery plan. As part of this plan, companies often include the use of modern data centers. These colocation data centers provide excellent security, but how prepared are they for natural disasters?
Disaster Preparedness in Colocation Centers
Service availability is one of the prime concerns for colocation customers. Ideally, access to servers should be maintained 24/7/365. Compared to other disasters, network or power outages occur more often. Clearly, colocation centers should have various service outage mitigation and prevention strategies in places.
Austin, as a major metropolis, provides great options for disaster recovery. At least 17 different network carriers service the Austin area. With such diverse options bypassing problems in several carrier networks simultaneously poses little difficulty. A customers carrier changing their policies in a disadvantageous manner causes little problem when so many options exist.
Austin colocation centers have a fundamental advantage in terms of their power supply. The Texas power grid is mostly separate from the rest of the United States. The only other state with its own power grid is Alaska. The remote location of Alaska makes it impractical for data centers. The rest of the country is on either the Eastern or Western power grid. With their own power grid Austin colocation centers will not suffer from cascading power outages in other states.
Austin colocation centers do not just rely on their independent power grid. Austin colocation centers also provide uninterruptible power supplies to their customers. Facilities have generators with multiple fuel sources to provide protection against fuel shortages. Automatic detection of power failures and redirection of power supply lines keep services from going off-line during grid failures.
Fire detection, protection, and suppression is another key area of concern. Failure to detect fires early will obviously lead to equipment damage or destruction. Careless choices in fire suppression systems causes systems to suffer water damage or overheating. Fire suppression systems in server facilities must not leave behind water, oily residue, or particles. Systems using compressed non combustible gases work by displacing oxygen. Systems that displace oxygen with inert gases will prevent equipment damage.
Another often over looked danger is high wind speeds. Austin colocation centers constructed to withstand wind speeds in excess of 150 mph will provide protection against hurricanes and tornadoes.
It is of paramount importance that should a disaster occur responses are prompt and thorough. In order for responses to be prompt a dedicated 24/7/365 support staff's presence is desirable. Expert personnel on call in the immediate area will help make responses effective. The ability for companies to staff their own employees on the premises makes service specific responses even quicker. A quality Austin colocation center will have a diverse variety of disaster support available.
Closing Advice on Austin Colocation Center Disaster Recovery
Austin colocation facilities having multi-layered mitigation and response techniques will provide the highest levels of protection. For particularly mission-critical systems response plan customization prior to disasters occurring is a good practice. Finding a Austin colocation center which will work with users to address all their concerns is of foremost importance.
