Data Center Networking

What is data center networking?

Data center networking is the integration of physical and network-based devices to aid in the storing and processing of applications and data. It involves the arrangement of network devices such as routers, switches, and interfaces that interconnect various computing and storage devices in a data center’s resource pool. 

From physical on-premises servers to the edge-to-cloud model, data center networking has evolved significantly. Data center networking solutions are an integral part of organizations’ IT infrastructure requirements.

Types of data center networks

Depending on what data center network is being used for or the industry a company is in, one of the following three types of data center networks will be utilized.

• Three-tier data center network (DCN): Three-tier data center network architecture is an approach to logically organize the switches (networking devices). It follows a tree-based network topology in which applications are organized into three tiers—the presentation/user interface, the application tier, and the data tier. Three-tier data center networks work best when the data flows laterally, meaning the traffic moves from outside the data center inwards and vice versa. Three-tier DCN is the most common architecture used in data centers.
• Fat tree data center network: This type of data center network architecture reduces the cross-section bandwidth problem faced by three-tier DCN. The fat tree network architecture uses customized routing algorithms. These algorithms use the allocation of virtual lanes to avoid congestion.
• DCell: This is a server-centric hybrid architecture in which the servers are interconnected using mini switches. The routing schemes used in this network prevent bottlenecks at the core switches. DCell architecture is tolerant to faults because it does not have a single point of failure.

Benefits of using data center networking

• Secure storage of data: Data center networks provide more secure data storage because only trusted individuals can access the data.
• Efficiency: Data centers privatize the power to provide a consistent supply to the central hub. This eliminates the issue of constant outages, which can hamper efficiency.
• Better connectivity: Data center networking offers robust connectivity through its hardware and software ecosystem. The system performance is improved by distributing the load across cluster nodes.
• Data management: Modern methods of data center networking have made data management easier. Data storage in any organization is difficult to manage. However, cloud computing in networking the data centers has made it possible to manage loads of data.

Basic elements of a data center network

Three fundamental elements form a data center network—servers, network, and storage infrastructure. Data centers play a vital role in supporting business workloads, software applications, and data in physical, cloud, or hybrid environments.

• Storage infrastructure: This refers to the IT storage components like Network Attached Storage (NAS), Direct Attached Storage (DAS), Solid State Drive (SSD) flash arrays, and tape storage.
• Servers: Servers act like physical repositories and help provide hardware access, disk space, and printer access. They help in simplifying tasks for system administrators.
• Network: The network infrastructure comprises of hardware like routers, switches, security appliances, and firewalls. All these components are essential for connection and integration with different hardware.

Data center networking best practices

The best practices for data center networking can be split into three categories—data center design, data center security, and data center segmentation.

• Data center design: It is essential to understand the requirements before introducing best practices for data center design. If the organization is to upgrade the existing data center, it should use convenient, low voltage cable routing. It is also advisable to have flexible modular components.
• Data center security: The data center must have two access points—a front point for the customers and staff and a back point for loading. Using multi-factor authentication and surveillance monitoring helps enhance security.
• Data center segmentation: A flat and unsegmented network is challenging to protect because if an attacker gains access, the attacker can move laterally and destroy vital data. Building a segmentation strategy provides granular control over the infrastructure. It also makes compliance and compliance audits easier.