Data centre

In short: A data centre is a building or room in which many servers, storage and network equipment are operated.

In more detail: This is where websites, apps, cloud services and databases run. Operation must be reliable, secure and cool around the clock.

In Depth

Servers in racks: stacked in cabinets, see server rack.
Network: switches and routers, often as a leaf-spine network, plus connection to the internet.
Power: feeds from two grids, UPS (batteries) and emergency generators.
Cooling: servers produce a lot of heat. Cold/hot aisles, air conditioning, sometimes liquid cooling.
Security: access control, cameras, fire protection, protection against water and burglary.

Important parts are doubled (redundancy). The tier levels (I to IV) describe availability, around 99.982 % per year for Tier III.

The location determines privacy and laws (GDPR). Data centres consume a lot of energy, so waste-heat use and green power matter.

See also: hosting, virtualisation, scaling