"This book covers a wide spectrum of topics relevant to implementing and managing a modern data center. The chapters are comprehensive and the flow of concepts is easy to understand."
-Cisco reviewer

Gain a practical knowledge of data center concepts

To create a well-designed data center (including storage and network architecture, VoIP implementation, and server consolidation) you must understand a variety of key concepts and technologies. This book explains those factors in a way that smoothes the path to implementation and management. Whether you need an introduction to the technologies, a refresher course for IT managers and data center personnel, or an additional resource for advanced study, you'll find these guidelines and solutions provide a solid foundation for building reliable designs and secure data center policies.
* Understand the common causes and high costs of service outages
* Learn how to measure high availability and achieve maximum levels
* Design a data center using optimum physical, environmental, and technological elements
* Explore a modular design for cabling, Points of Distribution, and WAN connections from ISPs
* See what must be considered when consolidating data center resources
* Expand your knowledge of best practices and security
* Create a data center environment that is user- and manager-friendly
* Learn how high availability, clustering, and disaster recovery solutions can be deployed to protect critical information
* Find out how to use a single network infrastructure for IP data, voice, and storage

 

Table of Contents 

About the Author.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

Part One: Data Center Basics.

Chapter 1: No Time for Downtime.

Chapter 2: The High-Availability Continuum.

Part Two: Data Center Architecture.

Chapter 3: Data Center Requirements.

Chapter 4: Data Center Design.

Chapter 5: Network Infrastructure in a Data Center.

Chapter 6: Data Center Maintenance.

Chapter 7: Power Distribution in a Data Center.

Chapter 8: Data Center HVAC.

Part Three: Data Center Consolidation.

Chapter 9: Reasons for Data Center Consolidation.

Chapter 10: Data Center Consolidation Phases.

Part Four: Data Center Servers.

Chapter 11: Server Performance Metrics.

Chapter 12: Server Capacity Planning.

Chapter 13: Best Practices in IT.

Chapter 14: Server Security.

Chapter 15: Server Administration.

Chapter 16: Device Naming.

Chapter 17: Load Balancing.

Chapter 18: Fault Tolerance.

Chapter 19: RAID.

Part Five: Data Storage Technologies.

Chapter 20: Data Storage Solutions.

Chapter 21: Storage Area Networks.

Chapter 22: Configuring a SAN.

Chapter 23: Using SANs for High Availability.

Chapter 24: IP-Based Storage Communications.

Part Six: Data Center Clusters.

Chapter 25: Cluster Architecture.

Chapter 26: Cluster Requirements.

Chapter 27: Designing Cluster-Friendly Applications.

Part Seven: Network Design, Implementation, and Security.

Chapter 28: Network Devices.

Chapter 29: Network Protocols.

Chapter 30: IP Addressing.

Chapter 31: Network Technologies.

Chapter 32: Network Topologies.

Chapter 33: Network Design.

Chapter 34: Designing Fault-Tolerant Networks.

Chapter 35: Internet Access Technologies and VPNs.

Chapter 36: Firewalls.

Chapter 37: Network Security.

Part Eight: Disaster Recovery.

Chapter 38: Disaster Recovery.

Chapter 39: DR Architectures.

Part Nine: Future Considerations.

Chapter 40: Voice over IP and Converged Infrastructure.

Chapter 41: What’s Next.

Part Ten: Appendix.

Appendix A: Storage and Networking Solutions.

Glossary.

Index.