Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/428453
www.datacenterjournal.com 4 | THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL anytime, anywhere, anyone No matter where a data center is located, it's at risk for some kind of disaster. Even if no natural threats exist, malicious attacks can occur anywhere. Of course, no one can prepare completely for every possible contingency, so part of a data center operator's job is to evaluate potential threats and concentrate efforts on counter- ing the most likely ones. Chances are, however, that any kind of disaster-recovery preparedness will come in handy, regard- less of the circumstances of the emergency. But here are a few hazards that a company might face, depending on location, time of year and so on. Hurricanes: Hurricane Sandy reminded data center operators in New York and New Jersey, for instance, that life near the coast can be dangerous to uptime. Bob Woolley, Senior Director of Global Data Center Services for Schneider Electric's IT Business, notes that "hurricanes can cause widespread damage, which can affect the availability of utility services and critical supplies like generator fuel, which is prioritized in emergency situations to hospitals and public safety groups." So even if the wind and waves don't get you, supply shortages and utility outages might. Tornadoes: Although they tend to be more localized than hurricanes, tornadoes can cause structural damage to buildings and interrupt utility service and transportation. ey tend to be less predictable and more acutely hazardous. Wildfires: Particularly in dry regions, such as the western U.S., wildfires can pose a danger to persons and property, but they can also cause trouble far from the flames. "Smoke from wildfires can also cause problems for data centers that are reliant on outside air for cooling purposes," said Woolley. Wildfires tend to be seasonal, but they can occur virtually anytime and anywhere. Droughts: A lack of available water can put a crimp in a data center's cooling plans. In California, for instance, an historic drought raises concerns about the need to provide enough fresh water for businesses and consumers. Increasing demand in dry regions also creates a steadily growing strain on supplies. Earthquakes and other geologic events: Earthquakes can strike anywhere, although some regions are more prone than others. In addition to the utility outages and supply shortages than may follow any disaster, earthquakes can cause structural damage to buildings and affect sensitive equipment. Other geologic events like volcanoes can also be problematic, as Iceland (an emerging prime data center location) has discovered. Solar storms: Solar flares (or, more accurately, coronal mass ejections) can wreak havoc on the electrical grid if they hit the Earth. Some of the gloomier assessments suggest that a strong solar storm could bring utility power down for weeks or even months. Malicious attacks: Even if a data center is safe from all of the above, there's nowhere on Earth a motivated (and, perhaps, well funded) hacker or other malicious party can't access to earn a buck, get revenge or otherwise inflict mayhem. A small, well-placed bomb or malware could do more harm to a company than a powerful hurricane. Obviously, not every data center op- erator should try to prepare for all of these potential disasters. Furthermore, there's lit- tle point in preparing for global thermonu- clear war or the collision of a supermassive asteroid with the Earth. e key is proper risk assessment and economical prepara- tion in line with the return on investment. If a volcano in your data center's back yard is a one-in-a-million-years possibility, for example, you might be better off investing in site and network security. why PrePare? "Our society is becoming increas- ingly reliant on data centers," said Wool- ley. "Nearly everything consumers and professionals do—from shopping online to driving through a toll booth to sending a report—creates digital information stored in data centers. And nearly everything a business does—from updating the intranet to archiving a file to uploading soware— requires access to information stored in a data center." e interconnectedness of the world means there's more at stake than just your productivity, as other companies and consumers, even remote ones, may rely on your data center services. Disasters may garner sympathy and offers of help, but business goes on regardless. us, if your data center fails to recovery quickly, customers will begin looking elsewhere to meet their IT needs. Jim Benson, Vice President of Opera- tions for Emerson Network Power (Liebert Services), said, "Having a recovery plan is important for getting back to business quickly and cost effectively. As destruc- tive as floods, lightning strikes, tornados, earthquakes and other natural disasters may be for data center equipment, the trouble can be greatly compounded if the hazards associated with damage recovery are not appropriately managed." Statistics vary, but the approximate percentage of businesses that either never reopen or fail within a short time following a disaster should lead data center operators in par- ticular to carefully consider how valuable a disaster-recovery plan could be. According to Woolley, "Beyond simply being required by law, reasons for implementing a disaster preparedness and recovery plan are far reaching, from the tangible of protecting human life (employ- ees) to the broader business implications: recovering critical operations, protecting the company's competitive position, pre- serving customer confidence and protect- ing against litigation." In other words, on top of returning to business, disasters raise other (perhaps more serious) concerns that preparedness can address. For instance, employee safety is paramount: high volt- ages, unstable server racks and other haz- ards may emerge. And lawyers are standing by to take advantage of negligence. why PrePare now? Coordinating a company's response following a disaster can be difficult enough. Without a plan, however, that response can turn to chaos. One critical aspect of prepa- ration is practice: by simulating situations as realistically as possible, data center staff can gain experience that it can fall back on if such an occurrence does take place. In addition, practice enables management