The design should have best practice methods like a modular design where each requirement can be implemented with its least common denominator and can be upgraded as the requirement increases. It is also recommended to simplify the infrastructure design and eliminate complexity, rather than trying to manage it.
Availability the most important aspect of Data Center, it should able to support 24x7 across bussiness. The design aspect considerations for 24x7 includes Domain servers, Database servers, Storage servers and other servers, also includes Networks, Power supply and Telecom links.
Apart from regular Security aspects like Access Controls, fire walls & Anti-Virus, the design should consider implementing information security.
Manage after Build-up:-
As the build-up may be complex but manging the Data center should be as simple as possible. There should be a separate area dedicated for a centralized management of the entire data center. There should be a Network Management System to monitor the health of servers and data storage arrays.
The data center design itself is crucial to ensure ease of maintenance. Zero downtime maintenance is critical in todays 24x7 work environment. This can be achieved by having atleast N+1 or N+N redundancy in all the key components, viz, power, cooling and network. This ensures not only higher uptime but flexibility to do maintenance by shutting the one component after other.
Maintenance of upto date documentation, which can enable the facilities team to know which live systems will get impacted in case of maintenance failure. Also, preventive maintenance needs to be planned in advance during minimum business load. Based on criticality of data center components, appropriate levels of support should be maintained with the vendors.
