• About Us
  • Partnership Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy

Data Center Frontier

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing.

  • Cloud
    • Hyperscale
  • Colo
    • Site Selection
    • Interconnection
  • Energy
    • Sustainability
  • Cooling
  • Technology
    • Internet of Things
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Edge Computing
    • Virtual Reality
    • Autonomous Cars
    • 5G Wireless
    • Satellites
  • Design
    • Servers
    • Storage
    • Network
  • Voices
  • Podcast
  • White Papers
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Events
    • Newsletter
    • Companies
    • Data Center 101
  • Jobs
You are here: Home / Voices of the Industry / How to Mitigate Risk in Data Center Site Selection

How to Mitigate Risk in Data Center Site Selection

By Voices of the Industry - January 11, 2016

How to Mitigate Risk in Data Center Site Selection

It's important to consider all relevant factors that could affect a data center’s performance, especially the potential downtime risks that may stem from natural disaster. (Photo Source: FORTRUST)

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Robert McClary, Senior Vice President and General Manager at FORTRUST, provides his view on how companies can mitigate risk in the data center site selection process. Here are six risk factors to consider.

Robert McClary, FORTRUST

Robert McClary, FORTRUST

1. How likely is the data center to be exposed to an earthquake risk?

For the purposes of illustrating seismic activity in the United States, the United States Geological Survey divides the country into zones, numbered from 0 to 4, indicating occurrences of observed seismic activity and assumed probabilities for future activity. Even with seismic enhancements added to data center equipment, it is preferable to choose a data center that falls within seismic zone 1 or below.

2. Is there a risk that the data center will be exposed to a tornado, hurricane or blizzard?

Refer to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association for records of high-intensity tornado, hurricane or hurricane related weather. If the data center often experiences heavy snowfall, ask how quickly snow would be removed from routes leading to the data center. Tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards are all grand-scale atmospheric events that can negatively affect a data center’s performance. Find a data center that has chosen a site with a low chance of these incidences occurring.

3. Is the data center in a high risk flood or fire zone?

Weather related catastrophes like flooding and wildfire can also impact data center operations. Flooding is a common event that can occur virtually anywhere, so finding an unaffected facility can seem impossible. Find out what might cause a flood in the data center’s region and if it has been effectively or ineffectively handled in the past. The historical causes of floods can clue you in to their frequency, and how effectively the data center controlled them can indicate which site has the best disaster recovery plans in place. The same strategies can be applied to wildfires if the data center lies in an area commonly affected by them.

4. How close are support resources? Does the data center have access to replacement parts, offsite backup media, and alternative power sources?

Is the data center prepared to sustain itself should the main supply of utility power fail? Specifically, are the generators at the data center rated for continuous run time operations as the facility’s primary source of power in an elongated utility event?

When considering alternate power sources, it is important to know if the data center has access to more than one grid from the energy company and whether the grid also feeds a large amount of residential developments or construction sites. In the event power fails, standby and emergency rated generators should be rated for continuous run time operations, but frequently they are not.

5. Does the data center have access to multiple major communications networks and backbones?

Are major carrier routes somewhat proximate to the data center and are they a major fiber route or a smaller spur off the main backbone? How much fiber is already in place, and how much of it is ‘lit’, or ready for service? How much of it is ‘dark’? Are the carriers themselves present in the area or do they rely on third parties for maintenance? Is at least one of the data center’s carriers a Tier 1 provider (peering directly with other major backbones at private and public peering exchanges)? Preferably, the data center should have access to multiple major communications networks, at least one of them Tier 1, off a major fiber route with much of it ready for service. The carriers should be personally responsible for their own maintenance and will be more likely to react quickly to problem along its major fiber route than elsewhere.

6. Is the data center aware of the disasters most likely to strike their location and do they have risk mitigation measures and disaster recovery plans in place?

What are they? Have they been enacted in the past? If so, how effective were they?

Don’t look for a data center with a “guarantee” because nowhere is completely immune to natural disasters. You should also avoid the data center that is unwilling to share their past experiences with natural disasters. Instead, look for the data center that knows about their site’s unique geological risks, is open about them, and has extensive plans to mitigate them. Check out the facility’s uptime record—the one true measuring stick of a data center— to see how well or how poorly they’ve prevented downtime.

Keeping the above questions in mind, look carefully at the geographic location of your data center. FEMA, NOAA, and USGS provide information about what catastrophes have historically happened in every part of the country—and what might be likely to happen next. Find a data center ahead of the game, one that has specifically chosen their location to be outside the range of most natural disasters. This will help assure the 100% uptime so critical to your business success.

It’s true that no matter where you choose, no place is 100% safe, which is why data center site selection is so important. You may want to partner with a data center that has taken all risks into account and has put measures in place to guard against any and all events. Use these questions to find the data center that was not only built prepared, but acts prepared.

Robert D. McClary is Senior Vice President and General Manager, responsible for the overall supervision of business operations, high-profile construction and strategic technical direction at FORTRUST.

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Tagged With: Data Center Site Selection, Fortrust, risk mitigation

Newsletters

Stay informed: Get our weekly updates!

Are you a new reader? Follow Data Center Frontier on Twitter or Facebook.
voices@richmiller.biz'

About Voices of the Industry

Our Voice of the Industry feature showcases guest articles on thought leadership from sponsors of Data Center Frontier. For more information, see our Voices of the Industry description and guidelines..

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Voices of the Industry

Building an Enduring World Begins with Accountability and Defining an Approach for Long-term Success

Building an Enduring World Begins with Accountability and Defining an Approach for Long-term Success TJ Faze, Head of ESG Strategy and Engagement at Vertiv, outlines the company's learnings around its recent ESG efforts.

White Papers

edge

Empower Your Edge Computing — for the Cloud

Today, colocation providers like EdgeConneX are working with leading cloud and IT service providers to bring their solutions to the edge, deployed in close proximity to enterprises, so they can easily access secure, local connectivity to the cloud for any and all of their workloads. Download the new white paper from EdgeConnex exploring edge computing for the cloud that offers an in-depth look at what factors have driven the cloud to the mainstream, the challenges to enterprise cloud adoption, security concerns, spend, the benefits of an integrated cloud solution and more.

Get this PDF emailed to you.

We always respect your privacy and we never sell or rent our list to third parties. By downloading this White Paper you are agreeing to our terms of service. You can opt out at any time.

DCF Spotlight

Data center modules on display at the recent Edge Congress conference in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Edge Computing is Poised to Remake the Data Center Landscape

Data center leaders are investing in edge computing and edge solutions and actively looking at new ways to deploy edge capacity to support evolving business and user requirements.

An aerial view of major facilities in Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Virginia. (Image: Loudoun County)

Northern Virginia Data Center Market: The Focal Point for Cloud Growth

The Northern Virginia data center market is seeing a surge in supply and an even bigger surge in demand. Data Center Frontier explores trends, stats and future expectations for the No. 1 data center market in the country.

See More Spotlight Features

Newsletters

Get the Latest News from Data Center Frontier

Job Listings

RSS Job Openings | Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting

  • MEP Coordinator - Data Center Construction - Ashburn, VA
  • Data Center Facility Engineer - Chantilly, VA
  • Data Center Site Operations VP - Seattle, WA
  • Senior Electrical Engineer - Data Center - Denver, CO
  • Senior Estimator - Data Center Construction - Denver, CO

See More Jobs

Data Center 101

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Open Spectrum, brings our readers a series that provides an introductory guidebook to the ins and outs of the data center and colocation industry. Think power systems, cooling, solutions, data center contracts and more. The Data Center 101 Special Report series is directed to those new to the industry, or those of our readers who need to brush up on the basics.

  • Data Center Power
  • Data Center Cooling
  • Strategies for Data Center Location
  • Data Center Pricing Negotiating
  • Cloud Computing

See More Data center 101 Topics

About Us

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing. We write about what’s next for the Internet, and the innovations that will take us there. We tell the story of the digital economy through the data center facilities that power cloud computing and the people who build them. Read more ...
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Our Founder

Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data center industry’s most experienced journalist. For more than 20 years, Rich has profiled the key role played by data centers in the Internet revolution. Meet the DCF team.

TOPICS

  • 5G Wireless
  • Cloud
  • Colo
  • Connected Cars
  • Cooling
  • Cornerstone
  • Coronavirus
  • Design
  • Edge Computing
  • Energy
  • Executive Roundtable
  • Featured
  • Finance
  • Hyperscale
  • Interconnection
  • Internet of Things
  • Machine Learning
  • Network
  • Podcast
  • Servers
  • Site Selection
  • Social Business
  • Special Reports
  • Storage
  • Sustainability
  • Videos
  • Virtual Reality
  • Voices of the Industry
  • Webinar
  • White Paper

Copyright Endeavor Business Media© 2022