Today, data is considered as the new oil. Every day, companies and individuals generate significantly huge volumes of data. This volume of data being exchanged between individuals and other stakeholders gives rise to big data. However, the emergence of big data comes with certain big challenges also.
Such a collection of data is continuously expanding at a booming rate. An online report states that about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every day! The past couple of years have accounted for nearly 90% of the data. Such a huge ‘data explosion’ must be addressed by leveraging data centers.
Data centers are gaining importance when it comes to big data and storage. This data explosion serves as a 2-way flip coin. On the one hand, this vast volume of data gives clear insights into the generated data. While on the other hand, this volume of data draws several challenges. Out of all the challenges associated with big data, the prominent one remains- how can this data be stored?
Impacts of Big Data on Data Centers
- Electrical Infrastructure- The existing electrical infrastructure of any data center continues to be a significant concern when handling big data. The biggest question that any data center provider has- is whether the current infrastructure will handle the incoming traffic volume. The answer to this question lies with a big no. You must be wondering why we say NO; the reason is such a huge data volume must be addressed by a more robust and secure electrical infrastructure. Thus, to handle such data volumes, the existing electrical infrastructure in the data centers can either be enhanced or a new infrastructure must be deployed. Various data center providers are undertaking several campaigns to measure their existing electrical infrastructure and further expansion plans to more recent locations. The reliability of existing electrical infrastructure is vital when it comes to processing huge data volumes.
- Electrical Power and Cooling Big data also has a significant impact on the power consumption of a data center. Since the electrical infrastructure is continuously expanding, power consumption also increases by many folds. So, the big question with growing power consumption is how can this power demand be met? This power needs to be renewable, abundant, and, most notably, energy-efficient. Thus, increasing data has a significant impact on power demand and cost. Data center managers are also considering more power consumption and associated costs. The physical location of data centers is also essential when it comes to estimating costs. Usually, data centers are located far from major towns. The cooling cost of a data center accounts for nearly 30-40% of the total power costs of a data center.
- Storage Infrastructures Big data also impacts the storage infrastructure in data centers. Traditional data centers are designed to store relational data; however, with such vast volumes of data being generated, data centers now keep different forms of data. To cope with the varying forms of data, the storage infrastructure needs to be enhanced for supporting and keeping colossal data volumes. Big data is well known for its 4Vs (velocity, variety, veracity, and variety); thus, modern data center storage needs to be upgraded to support these features.
- Varying Traffic Patterns Big data depends on various data sources. With the type, format, and size of data getting varied, there arises a change in the overall data pattern. For a data center provider, these changing patterns in traffic can also be a concern. To address these changing traffic patterns, the engineering team of a data center needs to think of innovative designs and how these designs can be deployed. This changing traffic pattern also impacts the data center storage and thus, the existing storage infrastructure needs to be changed accordingly.
- Data Center Security Big data will significantly impact the security of data centers. The core of big data revolves around data only; therefore, its security at the storage level needs to be appropriately addressed. This data needs to be with the highest security mechanisms as it contains highly-confidential information of an organization and individuals. Business organizations are using various techniques to avoid such common data security threats. The security of the data center needs to be uniformly implemented across different levels. With the expanding data center infrastructure to cater to huge data volumes, DC providers must also ensure the planning of correct security measures to avoid all such threats.
Conclusion
Today, data centers and their infrastructure are impacted by big data. Some of these major impacts have been discussed above and for hinder-free business operations, data centers providers must address these challenges with the highest priority. If the data center provider is looking to come up with a new data center, it must be designed with all the discussed big data concerns.
If you’re looking for a trusted data center provider that can address all your big data and ensure business continuity, reach out to Team bodHOST today.