Data Center Environment

Definition

The data center environment is any production environment that is deployed in one or more data centers to provide efficient server support for the execution of one or more applications.

Objectives

The typical objectives of a data center environment are to provide:

• Safe scalable network access to other networks (e.g., via firewall to client, contact center, and Internet).
• Efficient execution of applications.
• Efficient integration with database and legacy systems.
• Facilities support including cooling, fire suppression, physical security, and uninterruptable power supply.

Benefits

The typical benefits of a data center environment include:

• An integrated data center environment enables organizations to more efficiently manage and maintain corporate data resources.
• An integrated data center environment enables large server computers to provide cost-effective computation-intensive services to thin client computers.
• A separate data center environment enables users to use the application independently of development, integration, and system testing.

Contents

The typical major contents of a large data center environment are:

• Hardware Components:
  • Client Tier:
    • Operator Workstations
  • Presentation Tier:
    • Local Area Network
    • Router
    • Firewall
    • Web Accelerator (Cache)
    • Switch (Load Balancer)
    • Directory Naming Service (DNS) Server
    • Distributed Director
    • eMail Servers
    • Phone Servers
    • Web Servers
    • Wireless Servers
  • Application Tier:
    • Local Area Network
    • Firewall
    • Switch (Load Balancer)
    • Application Servers
    • Third Party Application Gateway Servers
    • Security Servers
    • Security (e.g., LDAP) Database
    • Content Management Servers
    • Personalization Servers
    • Report Servers
  • Enterprise Integration Tier:
    • Local Area Network
    • Firewall
    • Switch / Load Balancer
    • Database Servers
    • Legacy Servers
    • Middleware Servers
    • Printer Servers
    • Disk Libraries
    • Tape Libraries
    • Printers
  • Facility Tier:
    • Cooling System
    • Fire Suppression System
    • Physical Security System
    • Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) System
• Software Components:
  • Application software
  • Enterprise support software
    (e.g., accounting, marketing, inventory, order management, order fulfillment, etc.)
  • Web, WAP, and Voice server software
  • Presentation software
  • Personalization software
  • Application server software
  • Content management software
  • Search software
  • Security software
  • Database management systems
  • Legacy and external system adapters
  • Operating systems

Stakeholders

The typical stakeholders of a data center environment are:

• Producers:
  • Environments Team
• Evaluator:
  • Environments Inspection Team
• Approvers:
  • Technical Leader
  • Project Manager
  • Customer Representative
• Maintainer:
  • Environments Team
• Users:
  • Operations Team, which uses the data center environment to operate the applications.
  • Maintenance Team, which uses the data center environment to maintain the applications.

Phases

• Business Strategy: Not Applicable
• Business Optimization: Not Applicable
• Initiation: Not Applicable
• Construction: Completed
• Delivery: Maintained
• Usage: Maintained
• Retirement: Archived

Preconditions

A data center environment can typically be started if the following preconditions hold:

• The construction phase has started.
• The environments team is adequately staffed and trained.
• The system architecture document is reasonably complete and stable.
• The data center environment section of the project environments description document is reasonably complete and stable.

Inputs

The typical inputs to the data center environment include:

• Work Products:
  • System Architecture Document, which documents the hardware architecture of the data center production environment including associated architectural mechanisms.
  • Project Environments Description Document, which documents the objectives, physical location, stakeholders, components, and estimated costs of the data center environment.
• Stakeholders:
  • Requirements Team, which ensures that the data center environment adequately implements the requirements.
  • Architecture Team, which ensures that the data center environment adequately implements the system architecture.

Guidelines

• There may be multiple data center environments if multiple data centers are produced to minimize web traffic, provide global load balancing, and provide redundancy as part of disaster recovery planning.

Conventions

The data center environment is typically constrained by the following conventions:

• Data Center Environment Inspection Checklist

Examples

• Not applicable.