What Is A Data Centre?

Date First Published: 18th April 2022

Topic: Computer Networking

Subtopic: Network Services

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 4/10

Learn more about what a data centre is in this article.

A data centre is a location in a building where computer systems, web servers, mail servers, file servers, and storage systems are stored in a single location. They are often used by organisations and contain rows of rack-mounted computers as well as networking equipment, such as switches, routers, and Ethernet cables that are stored in a glasshouse to protect sensitive computers and equipment. They are basically large rooms with IT equipment.

Note:

Data centres can be simple and consist of a room of only a few servers or complex and consist of a building of servers.

Types Of Data Centres

Data centres can be private, shared or public.

• Private data centre – These data centres are not offered to the public and only certain people have access to it. Resources are not shared with other businesses and private data centres allow for customisability and more control over it.
• Shared data centre – These data centres are owned by one organisation that allocates storage space to other client organisations that do not have the financial and technical resources that are required for maintaining a data centre.
• Public data centre – These are accessible to anyone and are provided through organisations over the internet. Server storage space is allocated to people all around the world and is used in several cloud storage applications and web hosting services. The advantage of public data centres is that there is no need for every organisation to maintain their own data centre.

Requirements

Data centres need to be maintained and stored properly. It is necessary for data centres to be stored in an environment that is not too cold or too hot with cables of a sufficient length, as well as smoke detection and water damage prevention.

It is important that data centres are easy to upgrade as computer technology is evolving all the time. Data centres must be built in an efficient way with high-bandwidth connections in order to prevent bottlenecks. However, most data centres have monitoring tools that can automatically detect bottlenecks and attempts to gain unauthorised access so that they can be quickly dealt with.

History

The first data centre was around in the 1940s, representing ENIAC. During the course of the growth of the microcomputer industry and particularly during the 1980s, computers started to be used everywhere. In terms of complexity, IT started to grow and at that time period, organisations were aware of the need to control IT equipment. The growth of networking equipment, as well as the new standards for structured cabling, made it possible for a hierarchical design to be used that put all of the servers of the company inside one room.