4 Tier Data Center, Here’s the Explanation

Tier Data Center – A data center is a facility that contains computer networks, storage systems, and computing structures used by institutions to collect, manage, store, and distribute large volumes of data. Businesses tend to rely heavily on the applications, services, and data stored in data centers, making them vital assets for daily operations.

Data centers for companies increasingly include features to ensure and protect cloud computing resources and internal resources in the field. As businesses transition to cloud computing, the boundaries between cloud service provider data centers and corporate data centers become less clear.

Data Center Tier Classification

Data center tiers are a consistent way to describe the types of data center infrastructure. Tier 1 is the simplest infrastructure, while Tier 4 is the most complex and has the most components. Each tier includes the components of the tier below it, as reported by hpe.com.

As reported by nexdatacenter.com, as shown in the image above, data centers have four tiers. Here is a more detailed explanation.

List of 4 Data Center Tiers

1. Tier 1 (Basic Site Infrastructure)

A Tier 1 data center consists of a single power and cooling source, with little to no redundant or backup components. This data center is designed to achieve 99.671% uptime (28.8 hours of downtime per year).

2. Tier 2 (Redundant Site Infrastructure Capacity Components)

A Tier 2 data center is equipped with a single power and cooling channel and some redundant and backup components. This data center is expected to operate at 99.741% uptime (22 hours of downtime per year).

3. Tier 3 (Concurrently Maintainable Site Infrastructure)

Tier 3 data centers include multiple paths for power and cooling supply, as well as systems that are ready to be updated and maintained without having to take them offline. These data centers are expected to achieve 99.982% (1.6 hours of downtime per year).

4. Tier 4 (Fault Tolerant Site Infrastructure)

Tier 4 data centers are designed to be completely resistant to damage and have redundancy for every component. These data centers have an uptime of 99.995% (26.3 minutes of downtime per year).

Of course, the higher the level of the data center, the better the performance, including the environment where the servers operate. Learn more about servers by reading our article: Server Computing in Network Systems.