Seven principles of the effectiveness of a data center from Microsoft

Aerial view of Microsoft data center in San Antonio, Texas (DC area of ​​43660 m2)

Paul Slater is one of the most Microsoft employees involved in the telecommunications industry. He is one of the corporate employees who are responsible for the development strategy of corporate data centers. At the same time, Paul believes that the automation of data centers, with a maximum replacement of human workers by robots, is a matter of the next 10 years.

In addition, Paul Slater sees some other directions for the development of data centers, which he recently presented to the audience at the Data Center World conference, which was held in Las Vegas. These directions, or the principles of efficiency of data-centers are stated in continuation.

It is worth noting that Microsoft has very good data centers, which many experts call the most efficient data centers in the world.
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1. Designing a data center in accordance with local conditions

The answer to the question “what makes a data center efficient” is quite complex and complex. This is one of the reasons that data center solution providers offer different equipment, which often differs significantly from their counterparts in one way or another.

According to Microsoft, one of the main factors that should be taken into account when creating a data center is local conditions. For example, a data center can be built in a place where land and electricity are very cheap. In this case, it is possible to build large data-centers with high energy consumption without special expenses. If a company needs a data center in the middle of Manhattan, this is a completely different story, here every square meter and watt of energy matters.

All this may seem obvious, but many companies build data centers according to standard solutions, without taking into account local conditions. In this case, high returns at low operating costs should not wait.

2. Standardization and unification

The most effective will be a data center, the space of which is used at 100%. The corporation is trying to fill the space of data centers belonging to it, fully, as soon as possible. In addition, the equipment that the company uses is standardized.

In this case, the operating costs of equipment maintenance (which can suddenly fail) are lower than in the case of using any special equipment and components.

The company tries to manage its data centers using tools such as, for example, Data Center Infrastructure Management.

3. We design the possibility of change

Over time, the data center and the requirements for it will change. Therefore, when creating a data center, it is worth setting the possibility of changes in advance. After all, technologies are changing so quickly that few people have time to adapt to them immediately. Technological solutions used today may have to be changed in six months. At the same time, you can not even imagine what exactly will undergo changes.

An example is the replacement of conventional disks with SSDs - this has led to some changes in the thermodynamics of data centers. It was very difficult, even if possible, to guess at once.

4. Automation

Automation of processes is most effective in the case of a homogeneous, homogeneous environment. If everything is unified, as recommended above, then it will be a simple task to introduce automation processes (everything is relative, of course).

Two years ago, Microsoft tried to standardize all its equipment and processes in data centers. As a result, we later managed to quickly deploy some solutions to automate a number of processes. At the same time, Microsoft is trying to actively participate in the Open Compute Project, using its own experience and partners.

Openness is another important factor.

5. Integrated environment

If you want an efficient data center, says Slater, you should plan from top to bottom. First, you need to consider the capabilities of the processes and applications that the data center equipment must support, and then select the actual equipment itself.

If everything went right, the design will end with the creation of a highly integrated system, where each element is used in the work, supporting one or another application or service.

6. Reliable, flexible software

Good, reliable software pays for itself fairly quickly. In this case, with the help of software, it is possible to “squeeze” the maximum possible work efficiency out of equipment, even if the equipment is somewhat morally outdated.

Microsoft uses cloud solutions, and the company has also begun offering cloud solutions to its customers instead of individual software licenses. So now the company can scale its work to a very large extent.

One of the most striking examples of cloud software implementation is the Microsoft Office 365 service.

7. Data center must respond quickly to changes.

The faster a new service is introduced, the better. At the same time, the service should be supported by the equipment of the data center itself. Accordingly, initially the data center project should include the possibility of such changes and support for new equipment. Thus, according to Slater, one can “ride the law of Moore ”.

At the same time, he emphasizes the need for standardization of equipment and services described above. This allows you to most effectively use the resources of your DC.