Modern Data Center and Networking

- The Evolution of Data Centers

Infrastructure Is Everywhere - So Is Your Data. The role of I&O (intake and output) in the future will be to manage the global infrastructure and its associated services, moving away from only hardware and software. The end result will be an environment focused on enabling the rapid deployment of business services and deploying workloads to the right locations. 

As technologies like AI and machine learning are harnessed as competitive differentiators, planning for how explosive data growth will be managed is vital. Today, most of enterprise IT infrastructures will focus on centers of data, rather than traditional data centers.

Due to integration and connectivity, colocation and/or cloud partner ecosystems will be critical for future infrastructures. All workloads are not equal, and proper placement is key to unlocking their true potential to the business. Infrastructures are dynamic and must be able to change quickly, as markets and providers change Edge and IoT deployments are stretching infrastructures, shifting priorities and adding complexity.

- Next Generation Data Center

For many years, data centers have been the center of tech operations for businesses of all sizes, whether they manage their own data centers or rely on data centers as a service from third-party vendors. In any case, data centers are evolving; thanks to advanced technology like cognitive computing and predictive analytics, today’s data centers are becoming smarter and more capable. 

But what, exactly, does this mean for you and your business? Next generation data centers employ many new technologies, including:

• Software-defined control. Next generation data centers rely on software-defined technologies as their logical layer, allowing for better control of physical and virtual resources.
• Automation. One of the biggest priorities of a next generation data center is automation—streamlining workflows and reducing the burden of manual upkeep. Resources can be allocated dynamically, resulting in far greater efficiency and less room for error.
• Machine learning. Many high-tech data centers now employ the use of machine learning and cognitive computing to learn from real-time data and adjust their performance on the fly.

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- Cloud + Data Center Transformation

Cloud computing is an on-demand service that has gained widespread traction in enterprise data centers. The cloud enables data centers to operate like the Internet, where computing resources can be accessed and shared as virtual resources in a secure and scalable manner. As with most technologies, trends start in the enterprise and move toward adoption by small business owners.

The use of cloud computing services and applications continues to increase at a rapid rate, leading to the rise of vast 'hyperscale' cloud data centers. Both consumer and business applications are contributing to the growing dominance of cloud services. 

- The Main Difference between a Cloud and a Data Center

Cloud computing lives in data centers, and we use networks to get to it. The main difference between a cloud and a data center is that a cloud is an off-premise form of computing that stores data on the Internet, whereas a data center refers to on-premise hardware that stores data within an organization's local network. While cloud services are outsourced to third-party cloud providers who perform all updates and ongoing maintenance, data centers are typically run by an in-house IT department.  

Although both types of computing systems can store data, as a physical unit, only a data center can store servers and other equipment. As such, cloud service providers use data centers to house cloud services and cloud-based resources. 

For cloud-hosting purposes, vendors also often own multiple data centers in several geographic locations to safeguard data availability during outages and other data center failures. When your data is stored on cloud servers, it automatically gets fragmented and duplicated across various locations for secure storage. In case there are any failures, your cloud services provider will make sure that there is a backup of your backup as well! 

- On-Demand Computing in Cloud Computing

On-demand computing is a delivery model in which computing resources are made available to the user as needed. The resources may be maintained within the user's enterprise, or made available by a cloud service provider.

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. The term is generally used to describe data centers available to many users over the Internet. Cloud computing has become the ideal way to deliver enterprise applications—and the preferred solution for companies extending their infrastructure or launching new innovations.

- Three Types of Cloud Data Centers

We’ve all learned that cloud computing lives in data centers, and we use Internet to get to it. That’s a useful model, but the truth is that we’ve been using three kinds of cloud computing for years now, and data center-based clouds are just the first type of cloud to reach mass adoption. The next best-known type of cloud, the overlay cloud, is spread across many data centers but functions independent of any one cloud. The least-known type of cloud is highly distributed on clients and devices and emerges from the ability of a single administrator to manage hundreds of thousands of devices from a single console.