Size doesn’t matter: Data centres aren’t just for large enterprises

Think your business is too small to support a “real” data centre? Think again. Telemanagement columnist Carmi Levy warns that business capability and sophistication are no longer constrained simply because a company lacks hundreds of employees, a rich IT budget and dedicated, state-of-of-the-art facilities. No matter your size, protect your data – and your client base – with a few simple and proven tips. A friend of mine runs a home-based business. His server sits in the footwell of his desk, jammed up against his external backup drive and a dustybunny-covered pair of slippers that he hasn’t worn since his Kindergarten-aged son was born. When it gets really cold in winter, the cat often likes to curl up on top of the system for some welcome warmth. It was physical, obvious, tangible. And for generations, this comforting process was sufficient for most businesses – and for most business owners to sleep well at night. He laughs at me whenever I refer to his solution as a data centre, since his environment clearly lacks the raised floor, dedicated air conditioning, halon gas fire suppression system and purpose-built rack and cable management hardware he worked with earlier in his career. He says his business is too small to support what he likes to call a “real” data centre. He insists his network setup is good enough to support his business, and he doesn’t need to formalize the process any more than he already has. At the risk of ticking him off, he’s wrong. The classic definition of the term “data centre” has always applied to the dedicated spaces specifically designed to support big iron mainframes, midrange systems and server farms. Only large or large-ish companies could afford to build these complex beasts and hire specialized staff to keep everything running smoothly. That’s all changing. The very definition of a business or company is evolving as technology allows individuals or smaller teams to act much bigger than they ever would have dreamed. The small office/home office (SOHO) has become an accepted part of the residential landscape as more of us strike out on our own. Since the Canadian economy skews even more heavily toward smaller businesses, it’s a trend we know all too well. And size doesn’t matter. Business capability and sophistication are no longer constrained simply because a company lacks hundreds of employees, a rich IT budget and dedicated, state-of-of-the-art facilities. My friend’s business crunches out an analytical capability that exceeds that of his former employer, a billion-dollar firm with offices in every province. He now competes against his former employer for work that would have been way out of his league just a couple of years ago. Yet for all the technology capability he has at his disposal, he’s playing with fire. When the cat’s fur completely jams the system fan intake on his server – it’s half-clogged now – and his hard drive fails, he may not be able to get his data back. That’s because that backup drive jammed between the system and his desk hasn’t been configured to routinely and automatically sync his data. Power is another sore point, since he lives in a century-old house with somewhat sketchy electricals. Although power surges are a regular occurrence at his place – he’s on his fourth microwave oven in as many years – he sheepishly admits not having the time to go out and buy an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that could protect his system from an unplanned outage. The environment itself, subject to drafts in winter and high temperature and humidity in summer, also puts his technology at risk. An energetic Kindergartener who occasionally explores under the desk and bumps the equipment only compounds the problem. What my friend needs is a plan. And a slight change in attitude. He needs to realize that despite the apparent informality of his home office, he’s running a data centre just as crucial to the survival of his little company as the custom-built basement bunker he used to support for his old company. In cases like his, simple changes promise major rewards: • Position it. Move your equipment to a low-traffic area to avoid inadvertent jostling. Avoid temperature and humidity extremes and leave enough open space around hardware for adequate ventilation. Encourage the cat to find another resting spot. • Power it. Power bars won’t cut it. Match up a UPS to your power requirements and make sure all mission critical equipment uses it. • Encase it. Secure, ventilated enclosures can protect your data equipment from little fingers and maintain temperature control, too. • Manage it. All the technology in the world will fail if you don’t apply consistent processes to it. Install and use backup software with external drives to automatically sync business data. Regularly bring backed up data offsite to prevent total loss in the event of a fire or other disaster. In the end, home offices and smaller commercial offices face a similar challenge. When mission critical technology like servers, phone systems and network equipment is installed in broom closets, beside the photocopier or in the back of the kitchen, it’s exposed to a whole range of risks that devices in secure, temperature-controlled facilities simply never have to deal with. Although it rarely makes sense for smaller or home-based companies to build that perfect data centre space, a little bit of planning can significantly cut the risks associated with having everything out in the open.

Size doesn’t matter: Data centres aren’t just for large enterprises

News | 06/26/2009 3:28 pm EDT

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