The data center sector is continually having to adapt to technological advancements and the new industry demands they inevitably generate. This means that data center management is in a continual state of adaptation and improvement. With that in mind, here is a quick guide to the evolving trends and strategies in data center management at the present time.
Emerging technologies and data center management
Data centers are typically very quick to adopt emerging technologies and to integrate them into their operations. Right now, the most influential emerging technologies are artificial intelligence (AI) edge computing, and the internet of things (IoT).
Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI-powered systems can analyze vast amounts of data in real time, predicting potential issues before they occur and enabling proactive maintenance. Moreover, AI-driven automation streamlines tasks such as workload optimization, resource allocation, and energy management, improving efficiency and reducing operational costs.
Edge computing
Edge computing requires data center managers to reevaluate network architectures, deploying smaller, decentralized data centers at the edge to process data locally. This approach enables faster data processing for latency-sensitive applications, such as IoT devices and real-time analytics, while also enhancing data privacy and security by minimizing data transfer over the network.
Internet of things (IoT)
Data center managers are implementing IoT sensors for environmental monitoring, equipment performance tracking, and energy management. These sensors provide real-time insights into data center operations, optimizing resource utilization, identifying potential issues, and enhancing overall efficiency.
Sustainability practices in data centers
All businesses are now under strong pressure to operate as sustainably as possible. In the data center sector, the main focus of current sustainability efforts is lowering carbon emissions. Here are three strategies many data centers are adopting to achieve this.
Server consolidation
Server virtualization consolidates multiple virtual servers onto a single physical server, optimizing resource utilization and reducing the overall hardware footprint. By running multiple virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical server, organizations can significantly decrease energy consumption, cooling requirements, and space utilization.
Renewable energy integration
Integrating renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, or hydroelectric power reduces reliance on fossil fuels and decreases carbon emissions. Additionally, advanced energy management systems optimize energy usage, balancing workload demands with renewable energy availability to maximize sustainability benefits.
Efficient cooling systems
Implementing efficient cooling systems, such as precision air conditioning, hot/cold aisle containment, and evaporative cooling, minimizes energy usage while maintaining optimal operating temperatures. Additionally, leveraging free cooling techniques, such as air-side economization and water-side economization, harnesses natural environmental conditions to further reduce energy consumption and operational costs.
Ensuring security in modern data center management
The fundamentals of cybersecurity are the same as they have always been. Essentially, cybersecurity rests on access controls, authentication, and encryption. The approach to implementing these fundamentals is, however, improving all the time.
Network micro-segmentation
By limiting lateral movement within the network, network micro-segmentation minimizes the potential impact of a security breach and restricts unauthorized access to sensitive data and critical systems. Implementing network micro-segmentation reduces the attack surface, enhances visibility into network traffic, and strengthens overall data center security.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
MFA typically involves combining something the user knows (e.g., password) with something they have (e.g., security token or biometric data). By adding additional layers of authentication, MFA mitigates the risk of unauthorized access resulting from compromised credentials or brute-force attacks. Implementing MFA reduces the likelihood of successful unauthorized access attempts, enhancing overall data center security.
Encryption for data at rest and in transit
Implementing encryption ensures data confidentiality and integrity, even if unauthorized users gain access to the data. Utilizing strong encryption protocols and key management practices safeguards data confidentiality, mitigates the risk of data breaches, and enhances overall data center security.
Scalability options for data center management
Effective scalability is now essential for many businesses. It is closely linked with both operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Here are three of the most popular strategies for achieving it.
Modular data centers
Modular data centers are designed for plug-and-play installation, allowing organizations to expand data center infrastructure in incremental units as needed. Modular data centers offer scalability, flexibility, and portability, enabling organizations to deploy additional capacity closer to the point of demand or in remote locations where traditional data center deployment may be impractical.
Public cloud computing
Public cloud computing enables data centers to scale resources dynamically by provisioning virtualized compute, storage, and networking services on demand from a third-party cloud provider. With public cloud computing, organizations can rapidly scale infrastructure resources up or down in response to changing workload demands without the need for upfront capital investment in physical hardware.
Software-defined infrastructure (SDI)
SDI abstracts and virtualizes data center hardware resources, including compute, storage, and networking, into software-defined pools that can be dynamically allocated, managed, and optimized through software control. SDI enables centralized management and orchestration of data center resources, allowing administrators to provision, configure, and scale infrastructure resources programmatically via software-defined interfaces.
