The data center is the nucleus of some 99 percent or more of the businesses out there. Central stations and calls centers and proprietary monitoring facilities are mini- or full-blown data centers in their own rights as information, security and vital data jumps on the network.

Data centers continue to grow in size and capacity, but recent trends point to a greening of these entities, with a focus on a smaller footprint, less power consumption, thermal management and more. Now, the emphasis is on making these entities more cost effective and efficient. Rapid change and the stress of high-density IT equipment can exact its toll on these cost centers. Migration paths and future proofing becomes critical in the move to reduced total cost of ownership.

One of the new buzzwords is virtualization and cloud computing, which may lessen the load on the data center and reduce its carbon footprint.

Security and data centers

There's a security side to data centers, besides information security. Security cameras are increasingly used to secure data centers and other changes are being made to tighten these facilities and protect their assets. SD&I magazine asked Karl Griffith, director, Enterprise Market for Graybar in St. Louis, for his take on the security side of data centers.

1. How are surveillance cameras being used in data centers?

"Physical security is important to the data center. Nearly every business has a data center. Data centers house the mission-critical data and technology services of businesses. Therefore, companies as well as the operators of data centers will go to great lengths to ensure their facilities are protected.

Cameras are typically used throughout a data center. Day/night and infrared cameras monitor the perimeter of a data center to help protect the entire building and all property entrances and exits. Inside the data center, the lobby and/or reception areas are also typically monitored by cameras. Identification is verified and pictures are stored in databases for future use if needed.

Also, cameras monitor all data center equipment including rows of servers, data storage and communications equipment. Some data centers are co-location facilities where multiple businesses house their data processing equipment in the same facility and share infrastructure. In these cases, tenants will monitor their own equipment remotely in addition to the cameras of the data center property owner and service provider."

2. What other security is in place in data centers?