Companies are adapting to the changing IT landscape by maintaining their central data centers while also expanding their operations to the enterprise edge. This re-imagined concept of the “data center” encompasses not only the physical data center but also includes cloud and other edge-computing operations. As a result, IT’s role remains fundamentally unchanged – implementing, monitoring, and maintaining data center operations, regardless of their location.
However, with IT staff unable to be present at all remote locations simultaneously, the reliance on software and hardware technologies has become crucial in facilitating end-to-end data center management. These technologies serve two key purposes: monitoring and managing IT operations, functions, and events, as well as automating IT operations.
One such technology is the system on a chip (SOC), which embeds processing, memory, security, and artificial intelligence on a single chip. Originally designed to offload processing from the central data center and reduce latency, SOC devices now come equipped with embedded security features compliant with WPA2/3 standards. Additionally, they utilize AI for threat detection and mitigation, enabling automatic shutdown and isolation of detected threats.
To effectively utilize SOC threat detection and mitigation at the edge, IT must ensure that security rulesets on edge devices align with corporate-wide data center security policies. Furthermore, an overarching network monitoring solution is required to integrate SOC-based security with central data center security and monitoring, enabling observation, analysis, and mitigation of security actions from a single pane of glass.
Zero-trust networks are another technology that plays a significant role in remote data center management. These networks operate on the principle of granting limited access to authorized users, applications, devices, and endpoints. By setting internal network boundaries, IT can control access to specific subsets of users, even in remote locations. This allows central IT to manage, monitor, and maintain the network without physically being present at each location.
Automation is a key aspect of remote data center management. IT can automate data and system backups for servers deployed at remote points, ensuring data integrity and availability. Other IT functions, such as resource provisioning and de-provisioning, optimization, and security updates, can also be automated based on predefined rulesets. Additionally, remote access software enables IT to gain control of a user’s workstation to address software issues remotely.
Edge data centers, located close to where users work, offer cost savings in communications and enable low-latency transactions. These mini-data centers contain servers, storage, and other edge equipment, allowing certain operations to be performed locally without relying on the central data center. Relevant data can be sent to the central data center in batch transactions, reducing the need for real-time data transfer.
Organizations are also opting to co-locate IT in the cloud, reducing on-site hardware and software costs. However, this may introduce latency into transaction processing and increase transaction processing costs. Regardless of whether IT operations are distributed across edge data centers or hosted in the cloud, overarching network management tools enable IT to monitor and maintain network assets, data, and applications from a central point.
While many IT departments still manage their operations using various management software packages, the need for a unified network architecture and a single, umbrella management system is becoming evident. This system would allow IT to observe, tune, monitor, and mitigate events or activities anywhere within the expanding data center, regardless of its location.
Although most IT departments have not yet achieved a fully centralized management system, the majority of CIOs recognize the importance of funding and building a roadmap towards this “uber management” network concept. The demand for network management systems with robust remote capabilities is growing as enterprises embrace remote work and grapple with managing geographically dispersed networks.