Choose A Backup Software For Your Data Center Disaster Recovery Plan

A data center stores all the programs, files, applications and other digital information that a business needs to have, so they may reasonably compete against businesses using the internet. If their files where destroyed, this would bring the companies production to a halt, possibly causing a crushing blow to its positive cash flow. This is why it's absolutely critical to invest time and money in a reliable data center disaster recovery plan.

If you are already convinced that you must protect your data, then the next question is what exactly are we supposed to look for in a data center disaster recovery plan anyway?

It does not matter if you are a huge multinational corporation or a new business just entering your fast growth phase. Every business needs a first rate computer backup system.

Computer backup systems are a part of data center disaster recovery plans because they play the major role of safeguarding the pertinent data that keeps your business alive and restoring that data if a computer hardware failure occurs. Because of the importance of its function, selecting the right computer backup program is critical to your data center's disaster recovery plan.

Listed below are several facts to consider during your search for the best computer backup system:

Protection: How many levels of safety does the program have? Does it have a proper administrative login procedure? Can it keep your files intact in its own "vault" so they cannot leak out, get misplaced, or become erased? Determining what the program's security system can and cannot do is vital in making a selection. The program you want to choose must be capable of top-rate security.

Ease of Access: Even though you're backed up files have to be secure, at the same time they should be easily accessible. This encourages frequent updates and simplifies documentation procedures. An accessible system boosts the businesses efficiency, allowing more time to work on other important issues and responsibilities.

Storage Space: Storage pace is always a big issue for online computer backups. Even a small mom and pop business can have an amazing amount of data that needs to be stored. It's vital to know all your storage options and the limitations of your online computer backups, so you can confirm if it can, in fact, handle all or your valuable data.

Ease of Use: It isn’t a must-have requirement, but an easy to understand and operate program is a big plus for a number of reasons. A simple but effective program will be operated, verified, backed up, and given quality control checks more often. This minimizes the risk of file recovery disaster and increases the likelihood of a full recovery from computer crashes.

Dependability: Another important point to look for is if the program can store and restore your data completely when asked too without having to jump through any hoops? You should make sure it is easy to restore your data.

Don’t include yourself as one of the many businesses that do not pay enough attention to their data center disaster recovery plans. Neglecting to check if your computer backup system is up to restoring a file recovery disaster is going to be a painful experience when you most need it.

At all times you have to remember that depending on which computer backup system you select, it will make or break your data center disaster recovery plans. So be sure to take your time and pick wisely.



Dallas Cabling Service | data center

Four Power System Problems Common in Colocation Facilities

The primary factor that determines uptime for servers in a colocation facility is power. Power outages will knock a network offline and even damage hardware such as motherboards, memory, and hard drives. Despite how intrinsic power is to keeping businesses connected to their networks, only 2% to 3% of colocation facilities have the right power systems in place. The other 97% of facilities most commonly lack redundancy, multiple units carry the energy load even if one unit fails, or have units that are running above capacity, so a unit failure will cause the other units to overload and fail. Every part of the power system – uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), transfer switches or circuit breakers, generators, and power distribution units (PDU) – should be redundant and running below capacity.

Problem 1: Non-redundant Power Grids
Multiple PDUs connected to separate power grids and multiple UPSs should be designed into the colocation facility to offset a power grid failure. Colocation facilities with redundant power grids can connect customer servers to different grids at the same time, so that even if one goes offline, the other will work, keeping the network running without interruption.

Problem 2: Non-redundant UPSs
The UPSs supply power during an outage until the generator can come online; if the UPSs do not turn on immediately at the time of failure, then the network will go down. Even with high quality UPSs, failures are common, so it is critical for there to be multiple redundant UPS units in an “n+1” configuration – all of the necessary UPSs, plus an extra. Functionally, this means that each UPS runs sufficiently below capacity to handle a unit failure without the other units overloading. If there are two UPSs, then each unit must run below 50%, so that if one fails, the other can continue without overloading. If there are three units, each must run below 66%; four units, below 75%. The current load is shown on the display on the front of the UPS.

Problem 3: Transfer Switch Failures
Most colocation facilities use mechanical transfer switches, which are not as dependable as circuit breakers, to switch power from the electric utility to the generator. These switches are one of the most common places the power system fails. Without redundant switches to transfer power at the same point, a transfer switch failure will mean that a network goes down.

Problem 4: Insufficient Generator Capacity
Generators supply power during an outage. To run without overloading, the generator must have capacity to run 1.5 times the total building load. Ideally, a colocation facility should have a redundant backup generator in case the primary generator fails, and the facility should have a process in place for switching power between generators. Having multiple generators is not the same as having redundant generators. One of the most common generator problems with colocation facilities is that the facility started out with a small generator and added generators as it grew. This creates multiple points where power has to be transferred during an outage, increasing the likelihood that a network will go down. As a practical consideration, the generators must be well-maintained, tested monthly, and fully supplied with fuel.

Points to Consider
Fewer than one in twenty colocation facilities have the best power systems in place despite the fact that power systems have the most impact on network uptime. Without well-maintained and redundant components running below capacity at every part of the system, network performance as well as server performance and equipment lifetime will suffer. To make sure that the power system at a colocation facility is robust enough to handle power and equipment failures, two words should be remembered: capacity and redundancy.



Dallas Colocation | data center