As we wrap up another year, it’s time to reflect on how data center management has evolved over the last 12 months. The data center industry is known for rapidly changing. New challenges, best practices, and technologies are always appearing that need to be noted and addressed. By staying on top of the latest trends, you can put yourself in the best position to have a successful 2023.

We are proud to share that Sunbird was recognized by CIO Insights as one of their 10 Most Innovative Data Center Companies to Watch. "We will present the leading data center companies in the world and their contribution to making the world more digital-friendly," said Richard Thomas, Editor, CIO Insights. "They are constantly innovating and disrupting the data center space with their ability to look at the future.

In a data center, the power chain is the sequence of infrastructure equipment that distributes power from its source all the way to the IT devices. Most data centers use alternating current (AC) power, though telecommunications companies typically use direct current (DC) power. There are pros and cons to each, and they require different equipment.

A single-line diagram (also known as an SLD or one-line diagram) is a simplified representation of an electrical system. Symbols and lines are used to represent the nodes and connections in the system, and electrical characteristics may be included as well. In a data center, a single-line diagram is used to visualize the power distribution system to improve planning and troubleshooting, ensure redundancy, and reduce potential outages.

It's almost Halloween, and we have a spooky and scary story for you. Don’t jump out of your seat, but did you know that most data centers are haunted and overrun by the undead? That’s right. Ghost servers (also known as zombie servers) are everywhere. In fact, up to 30% of servers in any data center may be ghost servers. Ghost servers are servers that are deployed in cabinets and powered on but are sitting idle without performing any useful function.

Modern data centers are complex environments that often contain many thousands of individual cabling and port components. When the physical connectivity infrastructure is not properly organized, tracked, and managed, you can quickly run into serious problems.

Data center capacity planning is one of the biggest challenges for today’s data center professionals. According to a recent survey by Sunbird Software, 72% of respondents said that capacity planning was one of their top objectives. Proper capacity planning results in the right-sized data centers, efficient utilization of resources, and reduced costs, but it is easier said than done.

The world depends on data centers in all aspects of daily life. To meet all-time high levels of demand that continue to grow with no end in sight, downtime is unacceptable for most organizations. The cost of downtime is rising and 40% of businesses report that just one hour of downtime can cost anywhere from $1 million to $5 million, not including the other associated fees. Large companies report that an interruption during peak business hours can cost almost $1 million per minute.

Data center tiers are the Uptime Institute’s classification system of data center performance. Created over 25 years ago, there are four data center tiers that are the established standards in categorizing the performance level of a data center.

As the costs of managing and maintaining owner-operated data centers rise, enterprises are reconsidering their infrastructure and attempting to minimize on-premises data center space. Colocation data center providers are an attractive and cost-effective solution, offering physical space as well as power, cooling, network, and security services for their customers.