Location matters. And it matters for nearly every aspect of one's life. Chances are that your restaurant choice depends on location as much as price. Your apartment depends on location to work or vice versa. Most choices depend on your proximity to a certain location; your data center should be no different. When choosing a location to build your center there are a number a factors that influence the effectiveness of the data center. Here are some helpful hints for companies attempting to build data centers and for people wanting to house their infrastructure in said data centers.
Perhaps the most important factor to consider is natural disasters. Since the main function of a data center is to protect data and equipment from downtime, a secure center away from natural disasters is a must. Consider the natural disasters that may take place and plan accordingly. For example, in Chicago is not named the Windy City for nothing, make sure that your building can withstand high winds.
Beyond natural disasters, man-made hazards exist. Staying away from construction sites and trains reduces the vibrations while staying clear from factories reduces your chemical intake. Even being near an airport may result in being in the flight path which increases the possibility of a plane crash. Most major data centers, especially in Los Angeles, are far away from any factories and airports, allowing for a more secure facility.
Other factors to consider include the price of electricity. Data centers require a lot of energy and electricity to operate. Consider finding a location that provides mixed power sources such as solar, wind, and coal. If you are considered about being green, find a location that relies heavily on solar and wind energy. Further, when choosing 'green,' consider the weather at the particular location, colder weather is better.
When the above factors have met your standards, you must consider the law and people. Understanding the tax rates and building codes in a certain state and area is vital. Unfortunately, lawyers are expensive to hire, consider doing the research yourself. Most states have the building codes and tax rates online and available for use. Side comment, if you are trying to house your data in a different state then that of your headquarters, make sure that you are not in violation of solicitation laws which include sending emails and newsletters. Doing your research is one of the ways you can keep from being shut down.
Picking a location for a data center relies heavily on the above factors. When building a second center or second place to house your equipment, consider the location of your first data center. Making sure that your centers are close enough to each other, this will increase your transfer speeds. On another note, if the centers are too far away from each other the fail-over capabilities may not work properly.
There is a lot of planning and strategy that needs to be put into choosing the right data center location. Considering the above factors is only some of the planning that needs to be done. At the end of the day, building your own facility may be too costly. If that is the case, there are a number of already built data centers waiting for customers like you.
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