[Data Center Housekeeping, Security, Reliability]
Barrons this week is bashing yet another ASP. One area they are focusing
on is data center security. I cannot speak to this particular company's
security measures, and as such, this post doesn't single out any individual
organization. Instead, it speaks to the broader implications of fast track
market penetration, and some of the inevitable breakage which occurs
when ill-prepared neophytes decide to join the rush into Internet
infrastructure, at the potential peril of their unknowing users.
We're in a gold rush- kind of frenzied pace right now in this industry, and
things are taking place that would only show up as a cartoon, as a pointed
joke, intended to exaggerate some obvious malady - as things NOT to
do, in common carrier training manuals, only a short time ago.
I've seen some situations in the bowels of some colos and "carrier hotels"
that could not even be explained by their own proprietors. Much worse,
some of them didn't even understand the reasons for my asking them the
questions. Such as those concerning firewalls (here, I'm referring to base
building fire protection considerations, as well as the Internet types),
physical breach protection, riser redundancy, door locks, and so on.
"Why would I want to go to the expense of dual power grid access
from Con Ed?", one owner asked me, "...when we have an
8-hour battery backup supply already in place."
What this amounted to was a rack of car batteries, and no, there was no
generator. "The landlord wanted too much money for that."
This extends across many (certainly not all, there are professionals out
there too) of the recent startups who purport to be able to support web
server hosting, application server provisions (ASPs), bandwidth
switching, next gen traffic aggregation and switching, etc.
Many of these neophytes are operating at the pace dictated by Internet
Time.. and who possess neither the expertise nor the time to do it up right.
This new milieau of talent, the ones who criticize the incumbents for not
having "clue" (okay, that is in a different dimension), often find themselves
clueless too, when it comes to things more concrete.
Here, I am referring to long standing architectural constructs which have
dictated the parameters which govern security, fail-safeness, and even
general housekeeping, for decades. Mostly common sense, due diligence,
and adherence to industry norms which have proven themselves since the
beginning of time. And as much as this pains them, they also need to have
sufficient knowledge of legacy networking, since most of them are hanging
on T1s and T3s, using ANSI/EIA/TIA sanctioned physical layer
standards, beneath those supported by IETF RFCs. There is nothing
really sexy here, but these are the underpinnings which they must continue
to use, nonetheless.
I haven't any issues with basketball hoops in the data center, if they are off
to an unused corner. Nor do I have any problems with sandals,
torn-at-the-knees jeans, roller blades, shorts in the summer, skate boards,
bringing pets to the job, and oversized earrings which are worn outside of
the wireless areas. These are merely ornaments of personal self-expression,
and they have nothing to do with the established guidelines for data center
adminstration, and general housekeeping. Right?
OTOH, I sometimes use these as indicators concerning where I would have
my clients' interests placed, in combination with a weighted checklist
which hasn't failed me, yet. Save for one standpipe that once burst some
years ago, which only validates the need for scrutiny. Comments welcome.
Regards, Frank Colucco |
