E-Newsletter Archive
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December 2006
Server Co-location for “Wall Street West” and Beyond
The initiative to bring operations centers of financial service companies into the Lehigh Valley is beginning to take shape. The distance from New York’s financial district is a large enough buffer to protect against natural or man-made disasters, yet it is close enough for personnel to quickly reach their backup operations centers. Over $30 million in state and federal funding has been earmarked for building the infrastructure to serve the high-capacity communications needs of this data-intensive industry. The Lehigh Valley currently has fiber optic and copper broadband networks throughout most of the region, so there are some valuable data services that are available today.
 The need for instantaneous and frequent increment backups is increasing, especially in the financial services industry where trade orders are constantly being placed and the loss of such information is extremely costly. However, it’s not just financial service companies that need to protect their mission critical information in a secure and efficient way.
Businesses of all types are realizing that downtime is very costly, and an economical way to keep their data at a secure-yet-accessible offsite location is an excellent way to prevent such downtime. Other factors are now making the traditional nightly backup cycle inadequate for many organizations. For example, the volume of data created by many firms in a typical day is so great that the backup window (the time required to transfer new information to the targeted backup media) is now longer than the allotted overnight timeframe. The frequency of critical data updates has also increased, such as from e-commerce applications that create orders at random intervals throughout the day. It used to be that only the largest corporations could afford to have their data replicated at a remote site. Today there are some economical alternatives to the traditional data-mirroring technologies of just a few years ago, such as server co-location.
The co-location service market is expected to increase 15% in the next year. This is typically a service in which the vendor provides space within its data center for companies to install their equipment and operate them as an extension of their primary data center. New technologies are making co-location service more economical and more convenient than ever before. Less bandwidth is needed because they can utilize “data delta” technology, which only transmits data that has changed since the last backup cycle. Data compression and encryption technologies provide the speed and security necessary for the transmission of mission critical information. A wide range of software providers market this backup technology and are compatible with most enterprise-level operating systems. Hard drives are also coming down in price, so storing the information is more economical than ever before. Bandwidth is another element of remote backup systems that has come down in cost, which was typically very expensive to set up and maintain. New infrastructure investments by many telecommunications carriers have made broadband service much more affordable than just a few years ago.
Cost, of course, is a major factor driving the co-location service market growth. Leasing space in a co-location facility is much cheaper than building your own, even if your hardware components could fit in a small data closet. For example, if a company with two locations wanted to set up remote servers at the second location, there would be significant costs to provide a suitable climate to operate those servers. A dedicated HVAC system is required to provide the proper temperature and humidity for operating high performance equipment. An internal fire suppression system is necessary to extinguish any combustion inside the data center. And UPS and power generator equipment are also mandatory to protect against power grid downtime. Needless to say, all of these data center systems are costly, so it makes sense to lease space in a well-equipped vendor’s facility rather than build your own for small to medium-scale requirements.
Like any other industry, there are many different levels of sophistication among vendors in the co-location service market. In order to provide the most secure environment possible, the server equipment needs to be installed in a true data-rated vault. Records Management & Archiving (RMA) has installed a Class 125 data vault to protect the valuable contents entrusted to its facility. The most advanced clean agent fire suppression system is deployed to protect against the threat of fire inside the vault chamber. To augment the fire suppression system, a VESDA early warning fire detection system analyzes air samples within the vault to help ensure that combustion doesn’t even get a chance to start. Redundant HVAC systems provide the proper climate for long-term operation of high performance servers. A dedicated battery backup UPS and a dual fuel power generator can keep RMA in operation even if there is a regional power outage for days.
Most co-location services charge clients a set fee for broadband service, using a small part of the bandwidth that the vendor has installed at its facility. This typically is more costly for the client than a direct contract with the carrier, since this bandwidth is a revenue-producing part of the service package. A co-location service that allows the client to set up their own broadband service cuts out the middle man for both cost control and change of service requirements. RMA provides space in standard server racks for clients’ servers, tape drives or other equipment. The client then sets up their broadband service directly with the carrier, with the help of RMA staff. This gives clients direct control over their components and broadband service for their remote data center needs. RMA also provides a recovery suite for clients and work tables for service technicians.
The financial service firms of Wall Street are just one group of companies that can benefit from server co-location. The need for cost effective and secure data backup is an essential element in any conscientious organization’s business continuity program. “Wall Street West” may become a reality in the near future, but new technologies and communications infrastructure have made server co-location a very attractive option in the Lehigh Valley today.
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