Ensuring that a data center operates
reliably is a never-ending journey and once a data center is built and
operational, it is extremely difficult to change the fundamentals of the
facility so designing the highest quality upfront before a data center is
constructed is best for maximum uptime.
A standardized method used to define a
data center’s up time is from Tier 1 to 4 that is used for measuring data center performance, investment and ROI (return on investment). The TIA-942 rating
system that has a scale of Tier 1 to Tier 4, where a more robustly designed
data center is indicated with the highest scale; is less prone to failures and
downtimes.
Data centers with a Tier 4 rating is
designed to accommodate mission critical servers, computer systems facilitated
with fully redundant subsystems and independently structured security zones
that is regulated by biometric access controls. Simply broken down, here is the
Tier differentiation:
·
Tier 1: Non-redundant capacity
components (single uplink and servers)
·
Tier 2: Tier 1 + Redundant
capacity components
·
Tier 3: Tier 1 + Tier 2 +
Dual-powered equipment and multiple uplinks
·
Tier 4: Tier 1 + Tier 2 + Tier
3 + All components are dual-powered and fully accountable including uplinks,
storage, chillers, HVAC systems, servers, etc.
A Tier 4 site builds upon Tier 3 and
adds on the requirement that all distribution paths are required to be active
at all times and must be compartmentalized with continuous cooling system even
with disruptions.
That’s why TIA-942 Tier 4 data centers can withstand any
single failure crippling its capacity system, component and distribution
element which will not affect computer equipment. Instead the system responds to
a breakdown, preventing further impact to the data center and this is important
to contain unexpected events such as breakdowns, fire, flood, explosion, etc.
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