* User organizations share their thoughts on providing data center access
In our last newsletter, we discussed the plans that IT organizations have for providing high-speed access into their data centers. The basis of that newsletter was a discussion we had with AT&T and Verizon. This week, we will look at the same topic but this time, based on conversations we had with almost a dozen IT organizations.
Some of the IT organizations that we talked to distinguished between a primary or ‘Class A’ data center and secondary or ‘Class B’ data center. Virtually all of the IT organizations stated that they provided dual access into their primary or Class A data center, but none provided dual access into their secondary or Class B data centers.
Where possible, the vast majority of IT organizations prefer to have separate service providers provide access into their data centers. This is done in part in an attempt to gain true physical diversity of the access circuits. This is also done to minimize the risk of a carrier’s problems – whether they be financial or technical – having an adverse affect on the operations of the organization’s data center. Having multiple carriers also allows an IT organization to put pressure on both carriers to perform, and to allow the company an easier migration path away from a poor-performing carrier.
The general feeling expressed by the organizations that we talked to was that it is easy to pay for diverse access, but it is somewhat difficult to ensure that the access is truly diverse. One of the interviewees related the story of a major airline whose operations center was knocked out of service by a backhoe a few years ago. The painful piece is that the airline had paid for diverse routing – the airline did have their access circuits in separate conduits but the two conduits crossed each other and that is where the backhoe hit.
Our next newsletter will reflect what IT organizations have to say about a number of other topics related to providing high-speed access into their data centers.
