Data Center Design
Exam Topic 1: Enterprise DC Architectures
Data Center 1.0
- Centralized
- Used mainframes to process and store data
- Users used terminals to access and work on mainframes
- benefits: availability, resiliency, and service level agreements (SLA)
Data Center 2.0
- client/server and distributed computing into the mainstream data center
- Bussiness applications installed on servers
- users accessed data from servers using client softwares on PCs
- Application services were distributed
- Decentralized
Data Center 3.0
- consolidation and virtualization
- Increased Overall Return on Investment (ROI)
- Lowers total cost of ownership (TCO)
- Automation
Data Center 3.0 Components
Virtualization
- Segmentation of LAN (Virtual LAN – VLAN), segmentation of Storage Area Netwror (Virtual SAN – VSAN), segmentation of network device instances (Virtual Device Contexts VDC)
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Visibility and policy control for virtual machines (VM) using Cisco Nexus 1000V virtual switch
- Multivendor support
Unified computing
- Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) converges computing, network, storage, and virtualization
- x86 servers provide lossless 10GE unified network fabric
- Uses Cisco Virtual Interface Card to virtualize interface cards on servers
- Cisco VN-Link virtualization
- Extended Memory Technology support
Unified Fabric
- Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) over 10GE
- FCoE supported on VMWare ESX/ESXi vsphere 4.0 +, Cisco Nexus 5000 and the Nexus 4000 and Converged Network Adapters (10GE)
- iSCSI supported on Cisco Catalyst, Cisco Nexus, and Cisco MDS switches
- Data center bridging supported on Cisco Nexus 5000 and the Nexus 4000
- Cisco Nexus 5000 support unified fabric lossless operation for improved iSCSI performance
Benefits: incredible flexibility, visibility, and policy enforcement
Data Center 3.0 Topology Components
Exam Topic 2: Challenges in the DC
Challenges
- Power
- need for energy efficiency
- Rack Space
- Scalability
- Management
- Security
- Virtualization supports
- Required management effort
Data Center Space
- Number of racks
- floor loading is affected by the rack weight
- Heat from appliances
- Power needed
Data Center Power
- Power used to cool devices
- Power redundancy
- Power requirements for current equipment
- Future power requirements
- Power for UPS, generators, HVAC (air conditioning), lighting, and all the network, server, and storage equipment
- Include PDUs, circuit breaker panels, electrical conduits, and wiring necessary to support the desired amount of physical redundancy
- Power consumption areas: Cooling + Servers + Storage + Network + Conversion and lighting
Data Center Cooling
- Humidity levels can affect static electricity. High static can damaneg equipment. Recommended 40 – 55 % Humidity
- Proper airflow required. Alternate cold and hot aisles in data center. cold aisle – equipment face to face. Hot aisles – back to back. Cold aisles have perforated tiles that pass cold air through the equipment and to the back
- Prevent hot air from mixing with cold.
- Increase airflow by blocking air esxcapes
- Increase height of raised floor
- Spread equipment into unused racks
- Open racks other than cabinets
- Cabinets with mesh front and back
- Perforated tiles with larger openings
1 watt = 3.41214British Thermal Units (BTU)
Data Center Heat
- High density blade servers produce more heat
- Increase air conditioning HVAC
- Increase airflow through devices
- Increase space btw racks and rows
- Alternative cooling: Water cooled racks
Data Center Cabling (Passive Infrastructure)
Cabling characteristics:
- Physical connectors
- Media type
- Cable length
Fiber Optics:
- Longer distances
- Less prone to interference
- Single mode and Multimode
Copper:
- Prone to interfernece
- Widely available
- Less costly
- Shorter distance (100 m)
Cabling
- Should be easy to maintain
- Support various media types
- abundant
Cable managemnet is affected by :
- № of connections
- media type
- Cable organizer type
- Space for cables
Avoid:
- Inadequate cooling
- Accidental disconnects
- Unplanned dependencies
- Difficult troubleshooting
Exam Topic 3: Enterprise DC Infrastructure
CyberSecFaith 