subject: A Few Important Things That Make A Professional Colocation Service Datacentre [print this page] A company may find co-location hosting a far cheaper and more convenient option than running their own It department since the host can offer them bandwidth at a cheaper rate than other alternatives and the host can maintain their servers, network equipment and data storage systems for them. By using a colocation service, a company can take care of the non-IT side of the business whilst the colo host looks after the IT side. Below are some of the measures that good co-location datacentres will utilise in order to provide secure facilities.
Fire protection is extremely important in a colo datacentre. Fire protection measures can include sprinkler systems, smoke detectors and using inert gases that do not damage computers for fire suppression. Colo facilities may also have internal fire walls, which are physical walls in the datacentre building that are fire-proof to impede the spreading of a fire.
The colocation service datacentre should have adequate security. Guards may patrol the datacentre premises, visitors may require access codes or cards or a guard escort, motion sensors may be installed in the datacentre and there may also be CCTV present. Individual companies' equipment may be stored in separate locked facilities that require a key for access. Additional colocation service security measures may include iris scanning, voice recognition and fingerprint recognition.
To ensure equipment functioning is not disrupted in the event of a power failure, the co-location provider should utilise an uninterruptible power supply. The datacentre should also have generators on the premises ready to take over in the event of a power failure. Diesel should also be stored on the datacentre premises to keep the generators running. There should be redundant sets of generators to provide additional security if the power fails.
Colo datacentres should implement a lightning protection system to prevent spikes through the electricity supply which might damage the servers. Before reaching the servers, the colo host should route the power through the lightning protection system, generator changeover panel and uninterruptible power supply.
The equipment within a co-location datacentre requires a great deal of cooling as it generates a lot of heat. The colo datacentre should have a good redundant air-conditioning system installed in order to keep the equipment cool.
In terms of connections, a co-location provider should have multiple redundant fibre optic cable bundles entering their datacentre from many different points. Therefore if one cable bundle is damaged then communications will not be affected. The co-location provider may also use wireless or satellite connections.
A good colocation service will have water detection sensors installed in the datacentre so that if a leak occurs the staff will be notified of it and can fix the problem quickly.
The above are some of the key features that help to make a colocation service datacentre safe and secure so enquire whether the colo providers you are interested in have implemented such measures before settling on one.
