Data center management

Terms related to data centers, including definitions about network operations centers (NOCs) and words and phrases about the storage, management and the transmission of data.

abend (abnormal end) - An abend (abnormal end) is an unexpected or abnormal termination of an application or operating system that results from a problem with the software.
adiabatic cooling - Adiabatic cooling is the process of reducing heat through a change in air pressure caused by volume expansion.
ambient temperature - Ambient temperature is the air temperature of any object or environment where equipment is stored.
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) - AMD-V (AMD Virtualization) technology refers to a set of hardware extensions and on-chip features for the AMD family of x86 microprocessors.
assembler - An assembler is a computer program that takes in basic instructions and converts them into a pattern of bits that the computer's processor can use to perform basic operations.
availability zones - Availability zones (AZs) are isolated locations within data center regions from which public cloud services originate and operate.
AWS Lambda (Amazon Web Services Lambda) - AWS Lambda is an event-driven computing service that allows developers to program serverless functions on a pay-per-use basis.
AWS Management Console - The AWS Management Console is a web-based application that lets users access the broad range of services included in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform.
AWS On-Demand Instances (Amazon Web Services On-Demand Instances) - AWS On-Demand Instances (Amazon Web Services On-Demand Instances) are virtual servers that run in AWS Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) or AWS Relational Database Service (RDS) and are purchased at a fixed rate per hour.
baffle - In data center hot aisle containment, a baffle is anything that disturbs the flow of air through a room, rack or system.
break/fix - For IT services companies, break/fix is a method of providing IT support to customers.
brownfield (brownfield deployment, brownfield site) - A brownfield deployment, in information technology, is the installation and configuration of new hardware or software that must coexist with legacy IT systems.
burn-in - Burn-in is a test in which a system or component is made to run for an extended period of time to detect problems.
business metric - A business metric is a quantifiable measure businesses use to track, monitor and assess the success or failure of various business processes.
business process - A business process is an activity or set of activities that accomplish a specific organizational goal.
carbon footprint - A carbon footprint is the measure of the environmental impact of a particular individual or organization's lifestyle or operation, measured in units of carbon dioxide.
clean electricity - Clean electricity, or carbon-free electricity, is electricity without high voltage spikes and drops, meaning it is low on emitting electrical pollution.
cloud computing - Cloud computing is a general term for the delivery of hosted computing services and IT resources over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing.
cloud storage API - A cloud storage API is an application programming interface that connects a locally based application to a cloud-based storage system so that a user can send data to it and access and work with data stored in it.
cloudlet - A cloudlet is a small-scale data center or cluster of computers designed to quickly provide cloud computing services to mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets and wearable devices, within close geographical proximity.
cluster - Clusters are typically defined as collections or groups of items with similar or different characteristics.
computer room air conditioning (CRAC) unit - A computer room air conditioning (CRAC) unit is a device that monitors and maintains the temperature, air distribution and humidity in a data center, network or server room.
computer room air handler (CRAH) - A computer room air handler (CRAH) is a device used frequently in data centers to deal with the heat produced by equipment.
configuration management database (CMDB) - A configuration management database (CMDB) is a file -- usually in the form of a standardized database -- that contains all relevant information about the hardware and software components used in an organization's IT services and the relationships among those components.
consumption-based pricing model - A consumption-based pricing model is a service provision and payment scheme in which customers pay according to the resources they use.
container (disambiguation) - This page explains how the term container is used in software development, storage, data center management and mobile device management.
continuous modeling (data center continuous modeling) - Continuous modeling is an approach to data center management that supplements infrastructure management (DCIM) tools with engineering simulation tools such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
converged infrastructure - Converged infrastructure is an approach to data center management that packages compute, networking, servers, storage and virtualization tools on a prequalified turnkey appliance.
cow power (biogas) - Cow power is a term for the conversion of manure to usable energy.
critical infrastructure - Critical infrastructure is the collection of systems, networks and public works that a government considers essential to its functioning and safety of its citizens.
data catalog - A data catalog is a software application that creates an inventory of an organization's data assets to help data professionals and business users find relevant data for analytics uses.
data center - A data center -- also known as a datacenter or data centre -- is a facility composed of networked computers, storage systems and computing infrastructure that organizations use to organize, process, store and disseminate large amounts of data.
data center administrator (DCA) - A data center administrator monitors systems, installs equipment and cabling, and participates in change processes and everyday procedures that support information technology.
data center as a service (DCaaS) - Data center as a service (DCaaS) is the provision of off-site physical data center facilities and infrastructure to clients.
data center capacity planning - Data center capacity planning ensures that an IT organization has enough facility space, power and computing resources to support average and peak workloads.
data center chiller - A data center chiller is a cooling system used in a data center to remove heat from one element and deposit it into another element.
data center infrastructure efficiency (DCiE) - Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency (DCiE) is a metric used to determine the energy efficiency of a data center.
data center infrastructure management (DCIM) - Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) is the convergence of IT and building facilities functions within an organization.
data center interconnect (DCI) - Data center interconnect (DCI) technology links two or more data centers together to share resources.
data center management - Data center management refers to the set of tasks and activities handled by an organization for the day-to-day requirements of operating a data center.
data center resiliency - Resiliency is the ability of a server, network, storage system or an entire data center to recover quickly and continue operating even when there has been an equipment failure, power outage or other disruption.
data dictionary - A data dictionary is a collection of descriptions of the data objects or items in a data model to which programmers and others can refer.
data fabric - A data fabric is an architecture and software offering a unified collection of data assets, databases and database architectures within an enterprise.
data historian - A data historian is a software program that records the data created by processes running in a computer system.
data in motion - Data in motion, also referred to as data in transit or data in flight, is a process in which digital information is transported between locations either within or between computer systems.
data in use - Data in use is data that is currently being updated, processed, accessed and read by a system.
data lake - A data lake is a storage repository that holds a vast amount of raw data in its native format until it is needed for analytics applications.
data management as a service (DMaaS) - Data management as a service (DMaaS) is a type of cloud service that provides enterprises with centralized storage for disparate data sources.
data migration - Data migration is the process of transferring data between data storage systems, data formats or computer systems.
data pipeline - A data pipeline is a set of network connections and processing steps that moves data from a source system to a target location and transforms it for planned business uses.
data protection management (DPM) - Data protection management (DPM) is the administration, monitoring and management of backup processes to ensure backup tasks run on schedule and data is securely backed up and recoverable.
data transformation - Data transformation is the process of converting data from one format, such as a database file, XML document or Excel spreadsheet, into another.
data warehouse as a service (DWaaS) - Data warehouse as a service (DWaaS) is an outsourcing model in which a cloud service provider configures and manages the hardware and software resources a data warehouse requires, and the customer provides the data and pays for the managed service.
database administrator (DBA) - A database administrator (DBA) is the information technician responsible for directing or performing all activities related to maintaining a successful database environment.
database management system (DBMS) - A database management system (DBMS) is system software for creating and managing databases, allowing end users to create, protect, read, update and delete data in a database.
demand signal repository (DSR) - A demand signal repository (DSR) is a database that aggregates sales and demand data at the merchant's point of sale (POS).
desktop management interface (DMI) - The desktop management interface (DMI) is a standard industry framework that manages and tracks components on one or more personal computers, usually from a centralized console.
disaster recovery (DR) - Disaster recovery (DR) is an organization's ability to respond to and recover from an event that negatively affects business operations.
distributed computing - Distributed computing is a model in which components of a software system are shared among multiple computers or nodes.
distributed control system (DCS) - A distributed control system (DCS) is a digital automated industrial control system (ICS) that uses geographically distributed control loops throughout a factory, machine or control area.
ducting (data center cooling) - Ducting is an approach to air management that uses a series of metal or plastic pipes to carry heated or cooled air from one place to another.
dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) - Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) is the adjustment of power and speed settings on a computing device's various processors, controller chips and peripheral devices to optimize resource allotment for tasks and maximize power saving when those resources are not needed.
economizer - An economizer is a mechanical device that reduces the amount of energy used to cool a data center or other buildings.
emergency notification system - An emergency notification system is an automated method of contacting a group of people within an organization and distributing important information during a crisis.
Emergency Power Off (EPO) button - The Emergency Power Off (EPO) button -- sometimes called an EPO switch -- is a large red device in data centers that kills power to a particular piece of equipment, or to an entire facility, in the event of an emergency.
Energy Star - Energy Star is a government-backed labeling program that helps people and organizations save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by identifying factories, office equipment, home appliances and electronics that have superior energy efficiency.
enterprise server - An enterprise server is a computer containing programs that collectively serve the needs of an enterprise rather than a single user, department, or specialized application.
enterprise storage - Enterprise storage is a centralized repository for business information that provides common data management, protection and data sharing functions through connections to computer systems.
ESG score - An ESG score is a way to assign a quantitative metric, such as a numerical score or letter rating, to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts undertaken by a specific organization.
Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) - An Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) is a category ranking assigned to an IT product or system after a Common Criteria security evaluation.
fault tolerance - Fault tolerance is the capability of a system to deliver uninterrupted service despite one or more of its components failing.
flash storage - Flash storage is any type of drive, repository or system that uses flash memory to write and store data for an extended period.
flow control - Flow control is a technique used to regulate data transfer between computers or other nodes in a network.
free cooling - Free cooling is an approach to lowering the air temperature in a building or data center by using naturally cool air or water instead of mechanical refrigeration.
geothermal cooling - Geothermal cooling is a type of renewable energy system that moves heat from a building to below the earth’s surface, using the ground like a heatsink.
ghost imaging (disk imaging) - In computing, ghost imaging, also called disk imaging, is a data backup process that creates an image of a computer's hard disk drive (HDD), solid-state drive (SSD) or one of the drive's partitions.
green cloud - Green cloud refers to the potential environmental benefits that green IT services delivered over the internet can offer to individual companies and society as a whole.
green computing - Green computing, also known as green technology, is the use of computers and other computing devices and equipment in energy-efficient and eco-friendly ways.
green data center - A green data center is a repository for the storage, management and dissemination of data in which the mechanical, lighting, electrical and computer systems are designed to maximize energy efficiency and minimize environmental impact.
green networking - Green networking is the practice of selecting energy-efficient networking technologies and products and minimizing resource use whenever possible.
greenfield deployment - A greenfield deployment is the design, installation and configuration of computer infrastructure where none existed before, for example, in a new office.
greenhouse gas - A greenhouse gas lets the sun's rays warm the Earth's surface but restricts the heat from escaping into space.
headless server - A headless server is a computing device without a local interface that is dedicated to providing services to other computers and their users.
headless system - A headless system is a computer that operates without a monitor, graphical user interface (GUI) or the typical peripherals used to control it, such as a keyboard and mouse.
heartbeat (computing) - In computing, a heartbeat is a program that runs specialized scripts automatically whenever a system is initialized or rebooted.
heat - Heat is the transfer of thermal energy from one physical system to another system or from one region in a physical system to another region.
high availability (HA) - High availability (HA) is the ability of a system to operate continuously without failing for a designated period of time.
hot spot/cold spot - A hot spot/cold spot is an undesirable, tightly focused local temperature variation, which often occurs when data center equipment is improperly cooled.
HPE OneView (formerly HP OneView) - HPE OneView, formerly known as HP OneView, is a converged infrastructure management platform that provides a unified interface for the administration of software-defined systems in a data center.
HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) - HVAC stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
hyperconverged appliance (HCI appliance) - A hyperconverged appliance (HCI appliance) is a hardware device that provides multiple data center management technologies within a single box.
hyperscale computing - Hyperscale computing is a distributed computing environment in which the volume of data and the demand for certain types of workloads can increase exponentially yet still be accommodated in a cost-effective manner.
IBM Roadrunner - Roadrunner was a supercomputer developed by IBM at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
immutable infrastructure - Immutable infrastructure is an approach to managing services and software deployments on IT resources wherein components are replaced rather than changed.
industrial control system (ICS) - An industrial control system (ICS) is integrated hardware and software designed to monitor and control the operation of machinery and associated devices in manufacturing environments.
intelligent power management (IPM) - Intelligent Power Management (IPM) is a combination of hardware and software that optimizes the distribution and use of electrical power in computer systems and data centers.
ISO 50001 (International Organization for Standardization 50001) - ISO 50001 (International Organization for Standardization 50001) is a voluntary standard for designing, implementing and maintaining an energy management system.
IT automation - IT automation is the use of instructions to create a repeated process that replaces an IT professional's manual work in data centers and cloud deployments.
IT incident management - IT incident management is an area of IT service management (ITSM) wherein IT teams return a service to normal as quickly as possible after a disruption with as little negative impact on the business as possible.
IT operations management (ITOM) - IT operations management (ITOM) is a strategic approach to managing an organization's information technology needs.