Whether or not we know it, we all rely on IT data centers daily for sourcing information from. Data centers are critical for supporting business operations, and companies with large amounts of IT usage use them for managing and storing data, supporting business applications and facilitating connectivity online and between devices. Data centers are ever-evolving as our data needs do, too, and here, the Procurri team explains the basics to how data centers are made up and how they work.
What is Data Center Network Architecture?
The network architecture of a data center is the type of hardware, layout of hardware and configuration of hardware within a physical data center facility. The architecture includes all equipment, such as storage facilities, networking devices, servers and any other computing resources.
What does good Data Center Network Architecture look like?
Every organization will have its own requirements for data center configuration, but robust network architecture should facilitate:
- Efficient traffic flow
- The determination of ‘ideal paths’ for data to take through the network
- Peak performance at all times
- High availability.
A well-designed data center network architecture will be able to manage variances in demand and data type at all times, always providing a seamless service for the end user.
If you’d like to discuss network architecture choices for your data center, get in touch with the Procurri team today!
Data Center Networking Components
In most cases, data centers are made up of a variety of physical infrastructure hardware and network devices. These include:
- Servers – the computers that deliver data to the other devices connected through the network. Servers host the databases locally
- Storage devices – SANs (Storage Area Networks), DAS’ (Direct Attached Storage) and NAS’ (Network Attached Storage), which store and manage the data
- Cabling – copper and fibre-optic cables that allow devices to be connected within the data center environment
- PDUs (Power Distribution Units) – providing the power supply to distribute the necessary electricity between the racks of computers and networking equipment. These are usually complemented by fallback power supplies in case of failure, to avoid outage
- Racks, cabinets and enclosures – the physical furniture storing the hardware in the data centre. Racks must ensure optimal airflow between hardware to avoid overheating and to increase performance
- Cooling systems – a variety of systems designed to avoid the overheating of hardware.
Networking Hardware
The components that make up the network within a data center may vary widely dependent on the business’ requirements, but are usually comprised of the following:
- Switches – connecting servers, storage systems and other devices on a network by providing data transfer and communication between them
- Routers – connecting data centers and other networks, such as the internet. Routers ensure data packets are delivered to and from the correct destinations while maintaining security standards
- Firewalls – enforcing security practices by monitoring traffic against security rules to protect against unauthorized access and other threats
- Load balancers – distributing network traffic evenly across servers, to ensure that no server is overburdened. This helps maintain peak network performance without disruption or delay.
The main types of Data Center Network Design
he arrangement of networking devices and how they connect with one another is known as data center network design or data center network topology. Network topology determines how the data travels between the devices connected to it, and is usually designed with the use of mapping tools to visualize the network physically and plan it out.
Ideally, the topology of a data center network will allow for the desired performance requirements, scalability, and fault tolerance. Most often, the topology is designed for east to west (side to side) traffic as opposed to up and down traffic to allow for data to flow between servers rather than through lots of network layers.
There are three primary types of data center network topology, and these are as follows:
Three-Tiered Data Center Network Architecture
The three-tiered approach is made up of three layers: the core, which provides connectivity between different parts of the data center; the distribution layer, which aggregates traffic from the access layer; and the access layer, which connects the end devices.
This network set-up accommodates up and down data traffic across network layers but is often not appropriate for data centers where traffic may vary, as bottlenecks can occur on the core layer when it becomes busy and/or congested.
Spine-Leaf Data Center Network Architecture
The most modern approach to data center network topology, spine-leaf (or leaf-spine) topology is the most efficient and scalable approach to networking and so works well in demanding environments.
In the spine-leaf approach to architecture, the access layer is known as the leaf switches and the core layer as the spine switches. Leaf switches connect directly to spine switches, allowing data to transfer without a third layer. This makes for efficient connections, improved latency and reduced levels of bottlenecks or delays.
Fat Tree Data Center Network Architecture
The fat tree approach consists of three switch layers: core switches, aggregation switches and edge switches. High-end switches are replaced with multiple low-end switches interconnecting, allowing for any device to reach another with no more than three hops. This efficient transfer results in lessened congestion or oversubscription.
Other Considerations to make on Data Center Network Architecture
There are several main principles of data center network architecture that businesses should consider when establishing, recommissioning or changing their infrastructure. The considerations to be made are as follows:
Capacity
- Can the network architecture handle the organization’s current workload demands?
- Are any projected increases in demand, volume or processing requirements catered for?
- Are any upcoming plans for infrastructure development, consolidation or upgrades able to work with the current network architecture?
Scalability
- Does the network architecture facilitate uptime, both short- and long-term?
- Will the network architecture allow for uptime to continue even if core components fail? Are there sufficient back-up systems?
Security
- Is security a key consideration of the infrastructure’s setup and ongoing management?
- Are sufficient cybersecurity measurements in place?
- Is a system in place to consistently review security requirements?
Legalities
- Are all legalities and necessary security regulations being adhered to?
- Are all data regulations being adhered to?
- Is the data center physically secure with restricted access to trusted personnel?
Business continuity and disaster recovery
- Are sufficient disaster recovery systems and protocols in place to restore service from outages?
- Are all business continuity plans and protocols legally and operationally resilient?
Performance
- Is the current hardware performing as it should? Is this performance sufficient for demand?
- Is the current hardware almost at or past EOSL point? Is it still receiving sufficient patches and upgrades?
- Do IT have sufficient access to spare parts?
Emerging tech
- Is the current network architecture able to adapt to and work with new emerging tech and trends?
- Does the current network architecture have the capacity for increasing demand as a result of emerging tech?
All of these questions need to be asked in the design of data center network architecture so that businesses are able to remain functional, compliant and safe – no matter what the future holds.
The difficulties in navigating Data Center Network Architecture
Even the most senior and experienced IT infrastructure managers may struggle to form the composition of comprehensive network architecture as there are so many factors to consider and changing environments to remain adaptable for. As such, the biggest challenges in designing and developing robust data center architecture are often as follows:
- Complexity
- Sourcing robust Third Party Maintenance
- Sourcing spare parts for older hardware
- The adoption of new tech into existing hardware configurations
- Ever-evolving security threats and vulnerabilities
- Misconfigurations and compatibility issues as hardware updates, upgrades and changes
- Skills shortages in the relevant IT fields
- Natural disasters.
How to overcome Data Center Network Architecture issues
In such a complex and ever-moving environment, it’s no surprise that so many organizations choose to have their data centers managed by third party experts rather than hiring and managing their own specialist teams.
With access to Level 4 engineers worldwide on-site and remotely around-the-clock every day, Procurri’s expertise and vast hardware inventory provide an unbeatable data center maintenance service, no matter how tricky or rare your configuration may be. Get in touch with the team today to discuss your options for a fully-functioning, optimized and safe data center set-up.