Storage Considerations in Data Center Design

Storage is an increasingly important and complex component in modern data centers. Requirements for fast data access combine with other often conflicting requirements for retention, legal discovery, longevity, integrity, accessibility, security, disaster recovery and so on. All these requirements must be carefully balanced. The recent move toward cloud infrastructures signals an additional requirement--to convert traditional capital expenses (CAPEX) into operational expenses (OPEX). This has the effect of shining a spotlight on the existing operational costs of storage, which brings the power usage the equipment into much sharper focus than has been traditionally seen. Increasing power and rack densities in modern gear have accentuated this trend. This paper will briefly discuss the various considerations that come into play when designing the storage component of a data center. It is not intended to replace consultations with storage professionals and IT architects, who bring a lifetime of accumulated wisdom and experience to bear on the problems that their customers face. It is intended, rather, to help data center designers ask the right questions.