What is a Data Center?

The term Data Center is, today, a common term for many. However entering the definition of it may be interesting to many and, as a picture is worth a thousand words, the curious can see in this video some of the facilities acens Data Center in Madrid and is a bit like our life in it. A Data Center is, as its name suggests, a "data center" or "Data Processing Centre" (CPD). This definition covers units and associated systems through which: The data are stored, treated and distributed to the staff or authorized to consult and / or modify processes. The servers that host these data are kept in an optimum operating environment. The first data centers were designed following the classical architecture of network computing, in which computers were "stacked" on tables, cabinets or racks. The need for easy management and optimization of space have made evolving towards team-based systems whose dimensions allow to maximize the volume available in the racks ("enracables" equipment), achieving a high density of equipment per unit of space.

The initial Data Center were not designed to provide advanced network facilities, nor the minimum requirements of bandwidth and speed of current architectures. The rapid evolution of the Internet and the need to stay connected at all times have forced companies to require a high level of reliability and safety, so that corporate information is protected and available without interruption or degradation of access, in order not to jeopardize their businesses, are the size they are. Compliance with these requirements, each day more defendants is possible within a data center. Like a bank is the best place to save and manage money, a data center is to house the equipment and information systems. The stored data are not static data, are in constant motion, interact with one another and result in new data. Its growth is constant and this means not only that they must be protected by appropriate security measures, but also endowed with great "engines that allow them to move nimbly through the information highways". The exponential growth in the number of users of online services has led companies to outsource the management, maintenance and administration of their computers and communications in the Data Center. This allows them to focus on developing their own business and forget about technological complexities arising from the features mentioned above and provide the service without the need for high investment in equipment devoted to this purpose.