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5 Ways Data Center Storage Needs are Increasing at an Astronomical Rate

Author: Skyla Janice
by Skyla Janice
Posted: Dec 26, 2021

Data centers must cope with the change in requirements resulting from big data collection, analysis, and transmission every day. Between 2013 and 2020, the digital universe will grow by a factor of 10 according to the latest EMC Digital Universe study. Storage requirements are expected to rise accordingly.

The cost per gigabyte of storage is steadily declining due to the continued evolution of disks and solid state drives (for all buyers out there). We are storing data at an unprecedented rate, which surpasses the ability of cramming as much magnetic information (or circuitry in the case of flash) onto every nanometer of surface area.

Thus, it is likely that storage costs will play an increasing role in overall IT budgets in the next few years. In assessing future storage requirements, you need to consider the following five factors.

1. High-density data centers:

Due to escalating storage needs and increasingly sophisticated storage devices, the power requirements per square foot of a data center are increasing rapidly. The design of a modern data center must include high power density. For example, one server rack with 42 servers can consume up to 12-13kW of power in a 25 square foot room. Each server consumes up to 300W of power. Some data center cabinets can hold even more servers; blade server systems, for example, can support more than 10x the number of servers that would typically be housed in a traditional rack. Increasing power density has led to a demand for higher storage densities in data centers.

2. Cost-effective data center storage options:

By building a data center that uses energy efficiently from the start, costs can be controlled for a long time. Designed to accommodate ever-increasing storage needs within a smaller footprint, high density data centers allow you to scale in place without having to build a huge facility.

You can also allocate your storage budget between different tiers to control costs. Analysis of data volume and frequency should be conducted to categorize the data into appropriate tiers based on the type of data you will be storing. More frequently accessed data requires a more expensive storage option, whereas less frequently accessed data can be housed in a less expensive storage solution. Different storage types, from most expensive to least expensive, include RAM, solid state drives, spinning hard drives (SATA or SAS), and tape backup.

3. Cost-effectiveness:

Having a scalable infrastructure prevents costs from becoming unmanageable and keeps performance high. Scalable infrastructure allows you to scale up and down with data growth. Distributed or "scale-out" architectures can be a perfect platform to deal with multi-petabyte storage workloads due to their ability to scale up and down based on compute, storage, or networking requirements. Furthermore, a hybrid infrastructure with the ability to connect different types of environments can be used to move data from cloud to colocation, and if unforeseen storage needs emerge, customers can shift their budget between opex and capex.

4. Security and Safety:

Data management and storage can be complicated by security requirements for companies in the healthcare and payment processing sectors. In some cases, the data may need to be protected in a dedicated environment that is audited by a third party or encrypted both in transit and at rest.

5. Backup and Replication:

Your infrastructure must also be able to support backups and replication in addition to your application requirements. Replication offers protection against predictable hardware failures like natural disasters, while online backup offers protection against unpredictable events like natural disasters. Depending on the amount of replication and backup you need for your application, the amount of storage you will need can more than double.

About the Author

BayTech Recovery offers comprehensive and innovative IT solutions. In addition to providing custom services, BayTech Recovery builds long-term relationships with the clients it works with.

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Author: Skyla Janice

Skyla Janice

Member since: Dec 10, 2021
Published articles: 20

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