Colocation Data Center Monitoring

When it comes to colocation data center monitoring, a few businesses are concerned about security of data and assets. The thought of putting servers in far-flung places and having them run by way of a third-party is a reason that might, and has, prevented certain groups benefiting from the advantages of data center colocation. It’s a problem that affects cloud service providers and colocation data center operators and around the world, but it’s one that can be solved through education.

Customer Colocation Data Center Concerns

data center colocation customer concerns

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Explaining how a typical colocation environment is specifically built to offset customer worries about loss of control is the most effective technique to answer customer concerns.

Ownership Of Hardware And Software

Customers own all hardware and software installed in colocation data centers. Customers rent the space, which includes a clean power supply, efficient network infrastructure, and smart cooling systems. But they own all of the IT equipment installed in the space, as well as all of the applications that the equipment supports. The data center supplier owns only the space itself.

Maintenance And Upgrades

The majority of colocation service providers provide customers the option of having onsite experts do routine maintenance and provide 24/7 support. Customers should be reassured that the security of their data and applications is not jeopardized by this service, which should be offered in a non-intrusive manner. Customers can also undertake their own maintenance and hardware upgrades without any outside interference. The customer has complete discretion over how and when maintenance work is conducted, as well as who performs it.

Security

When shifting asserts to an offsite location, data and application security are not jeopardized. In reality, when compared to the bulk of onsite server deployments, colocation data centers offer considerable security benefits.

Physical security, comprehensive CCTV coverage in all areas, and biometric access control systems, for example, protect colocation data centers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customer hardware and software are given the highest level of protection imaginable, exceeding that of most corporate offices.

Future Plans

One of the most significant concerns that businesses have when considering shifting their IT infrastructure to a colocation environment is the future. How can they be confident that the data center colocation service providers they chose will be there to assist them in 5, 10, or 20 years, even if they have complete control of their own equipment? How will they deal with a service interruption if it occurs? This is one of the most essential problems to be considered, and it’s one that individual suppliers must address by citing their corporate history, qualifications, and track record. Customers want to know that your business is well-established and that they can rely on you to supply colocation services for as long as they are required. Ideally you should always look for Uptime Institute Tier Certified Data Centers.

Benefits Of A Colocation

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After demonstrating that customers don’t have to worry about losing control while renting space in a colocation data center, it’s time to educate them on the advantages of doing so.

Reduced Costs

By requiring no capital investment, and operating costs that are always proportional to individual customers’ space and connectivity needs, colocation allows businesses to dramatically cut IT spending. For start-ups and enterprises with aggressive expansion ambitions, colocation services can save money on both initial and continuing IT costs.

Scalability

Commercial organizations that choose a service provider with a network of data centers will find it very easy to scale their IT infrastructure to accommodate future expansion.

Improved Network Connectivity

Colocation data centers are home to ISPs and large cloud service providers. The consolidation of business IT infrastructure into a single data center improves network connectivity significantly. Companies benefit from lower latency and more security with direct connections to cloud services since less traffic is routed through public servers.

Colocation services provide a highly scalable and cost-effective solution for modern businesses’ IT infrastructure needs, with all of the advantages of a dedicated data center and none of the disadvantages.

In-House Data Center Management VS Data Center Colocation

in house vs colocation data center monitoring

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Despite the numerous advantages of data center outsourcing, some industrial organizations may still opt to run their own data centers for a variety of reasons.

Control Over Data

When you entrust crucial equipment to someone else, you face the danger of it being damaged or data being lost accidentally. As previously said, data centers are set up with redundancy and other processes to limit the possibility of this happening. However, some large companies with the skills and resources to handle data in-house want to be responsible for their own servers.

They also benefit from being able to quickly resolve server issues when they arise. Enterprise organizations that choose to outsource must collaborate closely with their service providers to ensure that problems are fixed quickly.

Contractual Constraints

Enterprise business owners may find that they are unpleasantly surprised by the limitations of the contract between their company and a colo facility. Clauses that include vendor lock-in, contract termination or nonrenewal, and equipment ownership may not meet their needs.

Things to Consider in Choosing a Colocation Data Center

Before moving to a co-located data center, enterprise IT directors should evaluate the following eight factors.

Is the agreement adaptable to my requirements?
Is the facility capable of meeting my present and future power requirements?
Is the network in the facility carrier-neutral? Or does it provide a number of different network carriers?
Is this the most appropriate location for my data? Accessible? Are you far enough away from catastrophe zones?
Is the security up to par with my expectations?
Is the data center Uptime Institute accredited?
Is there a plan in place for transitional expenditures in my enterprise business?
Is this data center expandable in the future?
Is there facility for monitoring the colocation data center?

Monitoring Colocation Data Centers

Colocation data center monitoring is an important aspect of the entire strategy that is frequently overlooked. Basic monitoring is simple to set up and can save your life when you’re down to your last few dollars. Monitoring systems are used to identify problems as soon as they occur via a monitoring system and prevents you from facing a low service level from your clients.

AKCP offers a wide range of monitoring devices and services for data centers. With the support of Simple Network Management Interface (SNMP), reports and data are monitored and graphed. Alerts, with a properly configured system, are sent via emails and can be generated for a variety of events, such as interface going down, usage crossing a threshold, etc.

By employing the complete AKCP ecosystem of products, cabinet thermal maps, AKCPro Server, and power monitoring sensor work together to give a complete analysis and assistance in cutting your power costs and improving your PUE.

Cabinet Analysis Sensor

The Cabinet Analysis Sensor (CAS) features a cabinet thermal map for detecting hot spots and a differential pressure sensor for analysis of airflow. Monitor up to 16 cabinets from a single IP address with the sensorProbeX+ base units.

AKCP Cabinet Analysis Sensor

Differential Temperature (△T)

Two strings of 3x Temp and 1x Hum sensors make up the cabinet thermal maps. Keep an eye on the temperature in the front and back of the cabinet, as well as the top, middle, and bottom. In AKCPro Server cabinet rack map views, the T value, or front to back temperature differential, is generated and shown with animated arrows.

Differential Pressure (△D)

To prevent air from mingling from the hot and cold aisles, there should always be positive pressure at the entrance of the cabinet. Because air goes from high to low-pressure zones, it’s critical to ensure that the front of the cabinet has higher pressure and the back has lower pressure for efficient cooling.

Rack Maps and Containment Views

Dedicated rack maps displaying Cabinet Analysis Sensor data can be configured with an L-DCIM or PC with AKCPro Server installed to give a visual depiction of each rack in your data center. Containment views can be set to display a sectional view of your racks and containment aisles if you’re operating a hot/cold aisle containment.

Power Monitoring Sensor

Power Monitoring Sensor

The AKCP Power Monitor Sensor provides critical data and allows you to remotely monitor power. It is designed to work with the sensorProbe+ and securityProbe base units from AKCP. A built-in graphing tool can be used to view data collected using the Power Monitor sensor.