A data center is a facility that stores computer machines and their hardware equipment. This place is where organizations keep their IT operations and store all their websites, applications, and data. Components of data center include: 

• Servers 
• Networking Equipment
• Storage Systems 
• Power Infrastructure 
• Cooling Systems 
• Security Systems 
• Environmental Monitoring  
• Cabling Infrastructure 

What are the data center tiers? 

Data center tiers are a system used to categorize different types of data center infrastructure. They are divided into 4 tiers according to their reliability. Choosing the appropriate data center tier depends on an organization’s IT requirements, budget, and tolerance for downtime. 

Tier 1 Data Centers

A tier 1 data center is usually used by smaller businesses, or organizations that don’t rely too much on technology. It offers basic services and has the simplest infrastructure, with non-redundant capacity components. Moreover, tier 1 data centers only have a single path for power and cooling and offer an uptime of 99.67%. This means that the potential downtime each year is around 28.8 hours. This tier of data center also needs to be shut down completely during maintenance.  

Tier 2 Data Centers

Tier 2 data center is a bit more reliable than tier 1. It also has a single path for power and cooling and needs the system to shut down when there is maintenance to the power path and other infrastructure. However, tier 2 centers come with redundant capacity components. This helps lower the chance of the data center operations not working if a component fails. They also offer an uptime of 99.74%, which means their potential downtime is around 22 hours each year. This makes tier 2 data center a good fit for small businesses who need more reliability than tier 1. 

Tier 3 Data Centers

Tier 3 data centers are a big step up in reliability. They have extra systems that can keep things running even when they do maintenance. Tier 3 centers are available about 99.982% of the time, which means they might not work for about 1.6 hours each year. They’re great for businesses that need things to keep going without big disruptions. 

Tier 3 data centers have multiple paths for power and cooling, with backup redundancies and outage protection. They also can go through maintenance without disturbing their operations, making them a more reliable option compared to tier 1 and tier 2. The uptime they offer is 99.98%, which means their potential downtime per year is around 1.6 hours. 

Tier 4 Data Centers

Tier 4 data centers are the best solution for large corporations that have a high traffic and need their technology to run smoothly at all times. This is because tier 4 centers have redundancy for every component, ensuring that they can work at all times. They have many extra systems and different paths for power, cooling, and connecting to networks. Tier 4 data centers have an uptime of 99.99%, which means their potential downtime is 26.3 minutes per year. They are also designed to be able to maintain their operations even in the event of downtime. 

Why are data centers important? 

Companies use data centers because managing all their computing equipment, which can be in different branches, on their own can be challenging. Thanks to these facilities, companies can bring all their equipment to a centralized location and manage it conveniently. This is because data center facilities are designed to provide a safe environment to keep all the computers running smoothly. Moreover, data centers also need to comply with several regulations to make sure that their data is securely stored. Simply put, a data center is like the main control center for a company’s digital activities. Companies also have the option of having an on-premises data center or using a third-party data center. You can learn more about the benefits of using a data center here. 

History of Data Centers 

The Early Days (1940s) 

The world’s first data center was built in the 1940s at the University of Pennsylvania. It was to house the first computer ever created, which was the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC). The one who built this was the US Army for military purposes at that time. 

These early computers were very complex to operate, and data centers were also just very simple facilities to house these computers. Most of the centers at that time also had no windows and only one secure door.  

Development of Personal Computers (1960s-1980s) 

During the 1960s-1970s, companies like IBM and Intel began to develop advanced, yet easy-to-use computers for everyone. Because of these innovations, more users deploy computers in the 1980s.  

As the number of computer users began to grow, organizations started to realize that they need to have a facility where they can put all their company servers there in order to manage them easier. These needs made data centers a popular solution for lots of companies. 

Data Center and Internet Boom (1990s) 

In the 1990s, the internet became a thing and wireless internet technologies were also introduced. Personal Computers have also become famous among people. In this period of time, companies also started to rely on the Internet for their business processes. This eventually caused the demand for data centers to increase even more. 

IT Trends and Outsourcing (2000s) 

There was an increase in spending on IT in the 2000s as more people began using PCs and the internet. However, the financial crisis in 2008 caused companies to look for ways for cost-cutting measures. This is when ‘outsourcing’ started to become famous, as it is cheaper than trying to handle everything on their own. Many companies started to work together with third-party vendors (or other companies) to handle some of their business processes. This includes handling their data centers, as it helps them to focus on their business, and the experts can take care of their computing equipment. 

Scalability Focus (2010s) 

On the 2010s, more companies rely on the internet and technology for their business processes. E-commerce and online transactions have also grown at this period of time. Due to these increased workloads, companies realized the need for data centers that can keep up with the growing amount of work without slowing down, or in other words, a scalable data center. 

However, environmental concerns regarding these data centers are also starting to rise. A report published by Greenpeace in 2012 highlighted how these data centers are consuming lots of energy to operate. 

Era of Efficiency (2020s) 

These days, people are continuing to improve the quality of data centers. Data center providers are implementing ways to make their data centers sustainable and environmentally friendly. This is done by using more renewable energy sources (like solar energy or wind energy) as it can reduce the carbon footprint of data centers.  

Moreover, data center providers also have started to virtualize data centers. This is done to create a more scalable, secure, and reliable data center for companies. Virtualization reduces he number of servers needed, which eventually reduces energy consumption and resource usage. Virtualized data centers also allow the automation of backup processes for a company’s virtual resources. This helps companies minimize downtime and ensures business continuity. 

Future Trends and Conclusion 

We can expect that data centers will become even more advanced in the future. As more companies digitalize their business processes, data centers will continue to play an important role in helping lots of companies to run their business efficiently and smoothly.  

Data centers started simply as rooms that are filled with lots of computers, and now they have grown to become a facility that makes digital business processes possible, with more and more companies depending on them. We can also expect them to continue growing more in the future. 

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The good news is, you don’t have to find a new hobby even if your PC doesn’t have that amount of storage or that specs of GPU. You can still play games on your same PC without risking it getting overheated with cloud gaming.

What is Cloud Gaming?

Before we dive deeper into what cloud gaming is, let’s review a bit about cloud computing in general. The idea of cloud computing is to make computing resources, such as servers, storage, networks, software, and databases available online on a pay-as-you-go basis. With cloud computing, users can access software (SaaS), platforms (PaaS), and infrastructures (IaaS) at any device as long as the device is connected to the internet and the user subscribes to the services.

Simply put, cloud gaming or game as a service is similar to that, except that it is more focused specifically on accessing game services. Thus, gaming as a service allows its users to play video games on a remote server in a data center. This allows users to stream or play video games without having to install each game individually on their PCs or mobile devices as long as they have subscribed to the services and are connected to the internet. The user only needs to either open the website provided or download the app provided by the cloud gaming provider to enjoy the video games because the game is already rendered on the remote server.

What are the Benefits of Cloud Gaming?

There are some of the main benefits of using cloud gaming, which are:

Accessibility

Not everyone has the hardware to run the latest and super demanding video games, but with cloud gaming, users can enjoy high GPU-demanding and storage-demanding games without actually having to upgrade their PC or console. This also saves a lot of money for the users as they can just use their existing hardware without having to buy expensive gaming hardware.

Wider variety of games to play

Also, another benefit of cloud gaming technology is that similar to Netflix or other movie streaming services, users now have a wide range of games to choose from. This is a huge benefit for gamers as they can try out lots of games without going through the hassle of installing or purchasing them one by one.

Flexibility

In the past, we may have experienced playing games that can only run on Windows and can’t be played on Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, etc. Cloud gaming has solved that problem. Similar to how you can always resume that Netflix series that you haven’t finished watching on any of your devices, cloud gaming also allows users to cross-play across their desktop and mobile devices, which can’t be accomplished using traditional computer or hardware-based games.

Easier Developer Experience

With cloud gaming, game developers now only have to build a video game once and it can directly be distributed across multiple devices without having to create multiple binaries. This means they no longer have to go through the hassle of optimizing the video games for multiple hardware platforms (mobile and desktop).

How Does Cloud Gaming Work?

Just like a movie or video streaming service, cloud gaming usually requires its users to pay on a monthly or yearly basis to access the games, and some require their users to buy the games on top of that fee.

The remote server will do all the heavy work. The server renders the game and streams the video game to your device.  Meanwhile, your device (PC, tablet, phone) will receive the streaming video and audio and your device will also send input commands. Your keyboard and mouse input actions will be sent over the network to the server. In short, the inputs from your device will be sent to the game server, and the server sends back a response, in the form of a video stream, in real time.

Future Trends in Cloud Gaming

In the future, cloud gaming can be as famous and as widely adopted as video streaming services like Netflix or Disney+, as the trend in subscription-based services is on the rise. People prefer subscription over ownership because it is more affordable and flexible without the required maintenance. Furthermore, the global e-commerce subscription market size is expected to reach $904.28 billion in 2026. Additionally, Newzoo, a provider of games and e-sports analytics, also predicts that cloud gaming will generate $6.3 million in revenue by 2024.

The global adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on the rise. According to a 2021 survey by McKinsey , AI adoption is continuing its steady rise as 56% of the respondents adopt AI in at least one function of their organization, compared to 50% in their 2020 survey.  With the rise of global AI adoption, the future of cloud gaming providers will also be likely to utilize AI to provide a better gaming experience for their users. Aside from better graphics, Myelin Foundry , a deep tech product start-up, mentions that AI and deep learning can help users to have a lag-free and ultra-HD cloud gaming experience.

Ultimately, the future of cloud gaming is set for immense growth in-the-near future. With more and more gamers signing on and using this service, it appears that this has the potential to become the norm.

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