A data center is a facility that houses an organization's IT equipment and operations in a secure and effective manner. It contains components like routers, switches, servers, storage systems, and security devices that are critical to a company's continuous operations. Data centers must prioritize reliability, efficiency, security, and constant evolution. They have existed since the advent of computers and are defined by their space, power, cooling, and connectivity requirements. A typical data center building contains computer rooms, control rooms, office areas, entrance facilities, electrical and storage rooms, generator rooms, and delivery areas. The primary functions of a data center are to securely house computing, storage and networking devices and provide the necessary power, temperature control, connectivity, and support

1. What is a data center?
A data center is a facility that houses an organizations IT operations and equipment’s
in the most effective and secure manner. Technically speaking, a it is composed of a
number of elements such as routers, switches, security devices, storage systems,
servers and more. These are the components that IT needs to store and manage the
most critical systems that are vital to the continuous operations of a company.
Because of this, the reliability, efficiency, security and constant evolution of a data
center are typically a top priority.
They have existed in one form or another since the advent of computers. The main
pillars of a data center facility can be classified as Space, Power, Cooling and
Connectivity. Operation of a data center will be related to or depend on these four
constraints. Each constrains are larger than you think and more details will be
discussed in coming slides.
An over view models of data centers building can be as below,

2. This picture is as simple as possible to show the building structure that a data center
consist of. However please note that some of these facilities will differ based on the
standard/certifications that each data center follows.
Typically a data center building will have all building facilities as per the local law
with the addition of below areas,
Building Area Function
Computer room/server room House computer racks and communications
equipment
Control room/Network Operations Control (NOC) All control and monitoring functions are
concentrated
General office area Works space for Computer/Electrical and
Mechanical engineers
Entrance facility/meet-meroom/point of
demarcation
Where external communications cabling
enter the building
Firegassuppression storageroom Space depends on the type of gas used
Electrical switch room
Electrical power cables enters the building and
forms a demarcation point
UPS in battery room Recommend: For loads of 100 kVA and above, to
have a separate UPS room
Generator room Houses standby diesel generators
Fuel oil storage Houses diesel fuel for generators
Storage and build area/staging or provisioning
room
To store and unpack, prepare and build equipment
Delivery and loading area Adjacent area to allowheavyequipment tobe
shipped into the building
Planning and meeting room To hold meetings
Internal staff facilities Male/female/disabled toilets and showers
Electrical substation Due to power needs, a separate substation may
be required

3. Air conditioning condensers A securearea isrequireddependingon
the air conditioning requirements
External staff facilities Parking spaces
Also I would like to make your attention to the definition of a data center as below
based on certain standards like TIA(Telecommunications Industry Association) and
EU(European Union).
TIA 942 states that a DC is “A building or portion of a building whose primary
function is to house a computer room and its support areas”
EU Code of Conduct states that “All buildings, facilities and rooms which contain
enterprise servers, server communication equipment, cooling equipment and power
equipment, and provide some form of data service”
Data Centre Functional Requirements
Have you ever thought of a requirement for having a data center? What is the
function of a data center ? Answers are as simple as below,
To locate computer, storage and networking devices safely and securely
To provide the power needed to maintain these devices
To provide a temperature-controlled environment within set parameters needed
to run these devices
To provide connectivity to other devices both inside and outside of the data
centre
To provide other services that may be required to support these devices.
Hope the things are clear for you. Feel free to comment for any queries or
suggestions.

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