The Pros and Cons of a Lights-Out Data Center

This article on ServerWatch by Kenneth Hess poses the question, “Is It Lights-Out for Your Data Center?”

Hess explains this new data center trend in the following terms:

“The question is how many IT, facilities and security people does it really take to operate a data center? Should you always go with the bare minimum? Many newer data centers operate with the following premise: Security staff is a primary requirement, and IT staff is dispensable.

Does this surprise you? It shouldn't. The trend is to do everything remotely that you can do remotely. Cabling, racking and provisioning are still hands-on tasks, but the staff members who perform those functions are often contracted on an as-needed basis. The few remaining hands-on activities occur less frequently these days through the magic of virtualization and the ability to perform remote power-off and -on tasks.”

Hess goes on to explore the upside (financial savings) and downside (no hands-on staff) of a lights-out data center. On the whole, he comes down on the side of a lights-out data center as an option worth exploring.

Minicom’s remote access solutions can be a valuable component of lights-out data center, as administrators can access, control and monitor their IT infrastructure from any location.