He CPD, or Data Processing Center It is essential for organizations that manage large volumes of information and data, since it allows the management and processing of them efficiently and safely. It is a physical place where the servers, equipment and systems necessary for the operation are located. storage, processing and management of a company's information.
Below we will see what it is for, how it is used and its main advantages for companies.
1. What is a data center and what is it for?
A data processing center or CPD (Data Center in English) is the place or facilities where all of an organization's IT operations and infrastructure are centralized. Here it is store and process data and applications Of the same.
It is usually used by medium and large companies since the cost of implementation and maintenance is high. There are "small" CPDs which can occupy a room, or be enormous centers that occupy several floors of a building.
In this sense, for companies security It is an important factor not only in terms of connections but also physically. The Data Centers They may have anti-vibration systems to protect the life of the storage disks, special firefighting systems for electronic equipment and of course, restricted access to the area. It is also important that the maintenance systems of these centers are trained, since there is a lot of electronics and without the corresponding care they could damage thousands of dollars invested in the deployed infrastructures.
2. What function does the CPD have?
The main function of data processing center or CPD is to provide information and communication technology (ICT) services for the company, ensuring the availability, security and confidentiality of data.
It can also be used as a center big data, where large amounts of data are processed through pipelines both in real time and asynchronously. Thanks to its great computing capacity, it is also possible to train simulation models. Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence and put them into production for use. Additionally, they are also usually used to host productivity applications, whether email or management software.
As we will see later, there are components that are mandatory for the implementation of CPD, since without them correct functioning and availability cannot be ensured. This is linked to the fact that the central objective of CPD is secure data storage that are generated per second, in the best possible percentage of time. Regardless of processing them, at least having the ability to save the information to replace any type of incident is vital, a point which cannot be done on a normal computer.
3. Where is the data processing center located?
He Data Processing Center (CPD) It can be located in different locations depending on the organization and its needs. In general, the CPD is located in a physical location that meets the necessary requirements for its correct functioning. The most common are:
- At the organization's own facilities
- In a data center or specialized building
- On the cloud
Data centers that are managed by private businesses for themselves, they are usually implemented in the same building where they are located, either in a room or even a floor depending on the needs. Although there are also occasions where all the hardware is assembled in a facility external to the organization.
In the case of data center providers such as Google Cloud, have special facilities for this, since due to the large volume of clients they have, the addition of the need for storage and computing capacity makes a special infrastructure necessary.
In any case, the location of the CPD must be carefully selected to guarantee the availability, security and confidentiality of the organization's data.
4. Types of data centers
Within the different types of data centers or CPD There are 4 large groups:
Enterprise Data Center
These are built, as their name suggests, to meet business needs. They are generally located in the same company facility, although it can be outsourced.
Managed Services Data Center
These cases occur when the system is outsourced, a provider is hired who is responsible for the installation of the system, its operation and maintenance.
Data Center colocation
Unlike managed services data centers, the provider is only in charge of the infrastructure, but the rest of the points such as administration are on behalf of the company that is hiring.
Data Center in the cloud
This case is different from the other three since the infrastructure and data hosting stops being physical and becomes everything on the cloud, saving large computing areas. For this there are providers that offer these services, among them we highlight Google Cloud as number one in the market, providing high-end storage components.
5. Components of a data center
The components of a data center They focus on providing an environment safe, reliable and efficient for the storage, processing and management of the organization's data. Common technical elements include:
- Servers: These are the centerpiece of any data center. They are responsible for processing and storing the organization's data and providing services to users.
- Computing capacity: which consists of RAM memory and processing capacity with CPUs.
- Storage: the type of storage, capacity and systems by which they are chosen to store the data.
- Security: crucial factor not only for computer security but also physical security.
- Networks: all interconnections between components within the data center and the connection with external networks.
- Refrigeration: either through air conditioning or with new cooling technologies, since there are so many electronic components in a room, it is normal for the temperature to rise. This is why there are always cooling systems, commonly air conditioners to maintain the temperature at an adequate level.
- Power systems: A continuous source of energy must be ensured since without it, the data center is out of service and will cause all the information being processed in that period of time to be lost.