QandAs: Tech

What is a Data Center?

Answer:
A data center is an area utilized

to house computer systems and the various components for computers. The center houses such equipment as routers and switches which allow traffic to be transported between the servers and outside computer equipment.

In order to minimize the possible disruption of computer services, data centers provide backup power for these computer systems. Data centers are usually located in secured, climate-controlled environments. The computer systems housed in a data center are often in the form of 1U servers, or “pizza boxes” which are in 19 inch rack cabinets. The way these are systems are racked allows easy access to both the front and rear of each cabinet.

The function of a data center is to gather and protect computer data of specific individuals or companies. In order to maintain the integrity and functionality of the data center computer systems, accessibility to the centers is often limited to specific computer engineers or staff members.