Data Center Monitoring

Hardware Monitoring

Data center engineers use specialized software solutions like Nagios, SolarWinds, Datadog, or New Relic to monitor the health and performance of hardware devices inside the data center. These tools are commonly used to monitor metrics like CPU load, memory usage, disk I/O, network speed/bandwidth, and overall hardware performance. 

Data center monitoring software solutions can be configured to send automated alerts when thresholds for certain critical metrics are breached, which often indicates a hardware failure or performance issue. Some data centers use predictive analytics to anticipate hardware failures before they happen and better target their proactive maintenance efforts to prevent service interruptions.

Environmental Monitoring

Data center engineers install connected physical sensors throughout the data center to continuously monitor environmental conditions at various locations throughout the facility. These sensors track metrics like temperature, humidity, and power flow, then feed the information to environmental monitoring software systems that provide data center engineers with a unified real-time view of conditions inside the data center.

Just like hardware monitoring tools, environmental monitoring software can be configured to alert on out-of-range conditions, giving data center technicians the opportunity to address environmental issues in the data center before they result in unplanned downtime.

Cyber Security Monitoring

Data center security experts use specialized software tools to continuously monitor network traffic, system logs, and user behavior for suspicious or anomalous activity that could indicate a cyber threat. These may include:

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) - SIEM software tools collect and aggregate security log data from across the network, then analyze it for Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) that could signal a cyber attack.
• Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems (IDS/IDP) - IDS and IDP software tools analyze network traffic to detect and block malicious actors attempting to gain unauthorized access to secure networks and systems.
• Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) - SOAR platforms help data center engineers automate some aspects of responding to a security incident, such as blocking suspicious IP addresses or isolating compromised systems from the network.
• Threat Intelligence Feeds - Threat feeds provide data center engineers with the latest information on emerging cyber threats.
• Vulnerability and Patch Management Solutions - Data center security teams use vulnerability management software tools to scan their IT infrastructure for software vulnerabilities and install patches to prevent their exploitation by digital threat actors.

Data center consolidation reduces your organization’s cyber attack surface and makes it easier to protect your data and assets with data center monitoring.

Physical Security Monitoring

Data centers deploy a variety of physical security measures to monitor, track, and control physical access to the data center. These include:

• Access Control Systems - Data centers often implement access controls with PIN, RFID keycard, or biometric authentication. These systems automate the process of logging all personnel who enter the data center.
• Visitor Management Protocols - Data centers implement visitor management protocols like mandatory identity verification, sign-in/sign-out, and security escorts to prevent any unauthorized activity by someone visiting the facility, such as an external contractor, customer, consultant, or auditor.
• Video Surveillance - Video surveillance systems are installed throughout data centers and may be monitored in real-time to detect any suspicious activity.

Alarm Systems - Data centers use door alarms, motion sensors, glass-break sensors and other physical sensors to rapidly detect and respond to physical security breaches.