4 August 2023

Data Centre Tiers – All there is to know

Ever heard of TIER 1, 2, 3 or 4 Data Centers? Have you stopped to think about what it means?

Data centre certifications are ways to attest that these facilities meet the minimum requirements required by the market and regulatory bodies.

The data centres are essential infrastructures in the telecommunications ecosystem and are the entry/exit point for connecting the undersea cables that connect the continents.

EllaLink is present in the main Data Centers of both Brazil and Europe, including those of our partners Equinix and Digital Realty.

They are essential to the functioning of digital services, such as data storage, cloud computing and online services.

Therefore, it is important that they follow quality and safety standards that guarantee their availability, reliability and efficiency.

Data Centres Certifications

There are different types of data centre certifications, which evaluate aspects such as the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the facilities.

Some of the best-known are:

  • TIA-942: is a standard developed by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), which defines four classification levels for data centres, according to their ability to withstand failures and interruptions. The levels are a) Tier I (basic), b) Tier II (redundant), c) Tier III (competitor), and d) Tier IV (fault tolerant).
  • Uptime Institute: is an independent organization that offers certifications for data centres based on the same levels as TIA-942 but with more rigorous and comprehensive criteria. In addition to evaluating the design and construction of the facilities, Uptime Institute also verifies the operation and maintenance of the data centres through periodic audits.
  • ISO/IEC 27001 is an international standard that establishes the requirements for an information security management system (ISMS). It aims to ensure that data centres protect the data of their customers and partners by following best practices in access control, encryption, backup, incident prevention, and emergency response.
  • LEED is an environmental certification system for buildings developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). It recognizes data centres that take sustainable design, construction, and operation measures, such as efficient use of energy, water, and materials, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving indoor air quality. These are some of the top data centre certifications that exist on the market.

They can bring several benefits to the owners and users of these facilities, such as:

  • Increased trust and credibility of customers and partners;
  • Reduction of operational and maintenance costs;
  • Improvement of performance and availability of services; Compliance with legal and regulatory standards;
  • Competitive differentiation in the market.

This article was written by Rafael Lozano, EllaLink Country Manager, Brazil.

Follow Rafael on Linkedin

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