There are numerous data centers based on several factors, including how they are owned, energy efficiency, and technologies used. Here are just some of the main types of data centers:
Managed Data Centers
Managed data centers are third-party service providers that offer data storage, computing, and other relevant services to help run and manage an organization’s IT operations. They monitor, deploy, and manage the data center model. A managed data center can be either fully or partially managed and sourced from colocation facilities, cloud data centers, or fixed hosting sites.
A partially managed data center means that the organization has administrative control. A fully managed data center, however, means the service provider controls all of the back-end data and technical details.
Managed data centers as a whole are great for medium to large businesses. You don’t have to handle regular maintenance or security.
Enterprise Data Centers
Enterprise data centers are private facilities directly supporting a single organization and its IT operations. This type of data center can consist of multiple centers located around the globe to support the organization’s essential functions and can be situated on or off the premises depending on their convenience.
Establishing data centers in various global locations means their customers can receive faster, more efficient service.
These enterprise centers can have several sub-data centers.
Intranet centers control the data within the main enterprise center. They use the data for research, development, marketing, and other functions. Extranet centers perform business-to-business transactions within the data center network. The company accesses these services through VPNs and private WANs.
Enterprise data centers are perfect for significant enterprises planning on expanding globally and who can afford to support multiple data centers at various locations. It can be a valuable asset to businesses that want to track power bandwidth utilization and allows them to scale their capacities accordingly.
Colocation Data Centers
Colocation data centers, aka “colo” is a facility that businesses can rent from data center owners to enable IT operations and support servers, devices, and applications. These data centers have become highly popular nowadays for organizations that can’t afford to build and manage their own data center but still require one. In a colocation data center, you can use numerous features like building, security, equipment, bandwidth, and cooling systems. This allows them to connect network devices to various network and telecommunication service providers. Even if you rent space from a data center provider, your employees can continue to work within the space and connect with other company servers.
Colo data centers are ideal for medium to large businesses and allow you to support business growth by adding or removing servers and devices. They also allow you to host your data center at several global locations to optimize your customer experience. They give you high reliability with extraordinary servers and computing power.
This saves you money because you don’t have to build multiple data centers from the ground up at various locations. Instead, you can rent the space you need based on your budget and current needs. Forget about having to maintain the center on your own.
Cloud Data Centers
The other popular data center is the cloud data center. This center is a cloud service provider that manages the data center to support a business’ systems and applications. It is very similar to a virtual data center, however, it comes with even more benefits than colocation data centers.
You may have heard of several cloud service providers: Google, Amazon, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Salesforce, and more. When data is uploaded to a cloud server, the service providers copy and split the data. They then store it in multiple locations to ensure it will never get lost. Even if something goes wrong, they also back up your data so you won’t lose it.
There are two kinds of cloud data centers – public and private.
Public cloud providers such as AWS offer the general public many resources throughout the internet. Private cloud providers, however, offer personalized cloud services to fit the needs of the user and give them singular access to private clouds.
Cloud data centers are great for almost any organization and are one of the most cost-effective options. You only need to pay for what you use and aren’t required to keep up with regular maintenance.
It offers a flexible pricing plan. You can pay a monthly subscription and be more aware of your expenditure.