Foreword

Choosing the right Data Centre for your needs is important, for many people it's hard to tell the difference between one facility and the next or to establish the true caliber of a facility.

Hopefully these 10 points will offer you some foresight and help you make an informed decision.

  1. Location, Location, Location
  2. Power
  3. Connectivity - Independence
  4. Connectivity - quality
  5. Knowledge and experience
  6. Tier I, II, III and IV
  7. Security
  8. The Basics
  9. Stability
  10. Luxuries

1. Location, Location, Location

The importance of location can't be stressed enough. The whole purpose of colocating (putting your servers into a data centre) is because you'd like them operational 24x7. As such ensure your choice of Data Centre is mindfully located. Many are at flood risk or in high crime areas, don't assume it's safe or protected. Check for yourself

  • Transport links
  • Power links
  • Communication links 300m from main road and rail networks is best
  • Environmental risks (i.e flood, falling tree's etc)
  • Industrial risks (i.e nearby hazardous industry)
  • Flight paths
  • Nearby Road and Rail (i.e road/rail crash)
  • Local crime (Would you leave a laptop in your car there?)

All small risks but why compromise.

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2. Power

Circuit Breakers

Data Centre's need lots of reliable power. A UPS can provide limited protection for short outages and you'd expect a generator for longer ones.

However other important factors are often overlooked. Do they have enough fuel onsite? How often are these systems tested and checked?

Many generators can only do their full load for 4 hour periods or rely on refuelling contracts which offer not help when there's 30cm of snow on the ground.

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3. Connectivity - Independence

By choosing a Carrier Neutral facility if your IP needs exceed that of your IP provider (in either capacity, quality or reliability) you can choose another. You can also opt to install your own connectivity. This means you can migrate ISP's without physically moving your servers or connect your office to the Data Centre.

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4. Connectivity - Quality

If you're not in a carrier neutral facility you won't have a choice however its still important to ensure your provider has truly diverse connections.
Many facilities use multiple BT tails to connect to the regional Tier 1 POP - the BT tails become the single point of failure.
If they do have diverse connections ensure they're diversely routed

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Knowledge and Experience

Many companies have set-up data centres in the recent years looking to profit, even with an unlimited budget only those with both knowledge and experience are able to offer a truly reliable service. Having 2(N+1) is great but only if it's understood, maintained and operated correctly. Ensure your choice have knowledgeable on site staff

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Tier I, II, III, IV

The industry recognised Tier's are used to describe the weakest element in a data centre.

Tier I - no redundancy, maybe not even a generator!
Tier II - some redundancy, a but a single failure could affect the IT service, faults and maintenance would mean an impact
Tier III - almost full redundancy, any component can be safely removed, a single failure could impact the IT load
Tier IV - Full redundancy, continuous cooling (while the generator starts) no single point of failure at all

The uptime institute create the Tier's and charge to assess Data Centres, many Data Centre's opt not to be assessed but quote their Tier based on the published standards. We encourage you to ask questions yourself and understand how a significant component failure could impact on the IT load

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Security

How secure is the site? Look at both physical security, location, CCTV, staffing, external lighting, passing traffic, access control and local crime

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The Basics

Do they have the basics,

  • Generator
  • UPS
  • Dry Fire Suppression
  • 24x7 On site Staff
  • 24x7 Access (no charge)
  • 24x7 reboots (no charge)
  • 24x7 IT staff
  • CCTV
  • ISO9001 and 27001
  • Access control

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Stability

Are they stable? We're talking finances. How long have they been trading, how busy are they, data centre's cost millions to build and aren't profitable when they're empty. Be careful considering a new supplier in a new facility

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Luxuries

Hopefully you should only have to visit your chosen Data Centre every 2-3 years, however if you do have to pull an all nighter or spend 4-5 days there you'll want to consider

  • Food, vending machine or cafe
  • Build room
  • Showers and Toilets
  • Local Hotel
  • Secure parking
  • Free tea and coffee
  • Rest area / break room

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