Network infrastructure

Network infrastructure

Communications in data centers these days are most often based on various networks running the Internet Protocol suite. Data centers contain a set of routers and switches that transport traffic between the servers and to the outside world. Redundancy of the Internet connection is often provided by using two or more upstream service providers.

Some of the servers at the data center are used for running the basic internet and intranet services needed by internal users in the organization: e-mail servers, proxy servers, DNS servers, etc.

Network security elements are also usually deployed like firewalls (a firewall is a hardware/ software device which is configured to permit or deny proxy data through a computer network which has different levels of trust). VPN gateways, Intrusion detection systems, etc. Also common are monitoring systems for the network and some of the applications. Additional off-site monitoring systems are also typical, in case of a failure of communications inside the data center.

Applications

Multiple racks of servers, a modern data center and how it commonly looks

The main purpose of a data center is running the applications that handle the core business and operational data of the organization. Such systems may be proprietary and developed internally by the organization, or bought from enterprise software vendors. Such common applications are ERP and CRM systems.

Often these applications will be composed of multiple hosts, each running a single component. Common components of such applications are databases, file servers, application servers, middleware and various others.

Data centers are also used for off-site backups. Companies may subscribe to backup services provided by a data center. This is often used in conjunction with backup tapes. Backups can be taken of servers locally on to tapes. However, tapes stored on site pose a security threat and are also susceptible to fire and flooding. Larger companies may also send their backups off-site for added security. This can be done by backing up to a data center. Encrypted backups can be sent over the internet to data center where they can be stored securely.