Data Centre Glossary | Global Switch (2024)

FAQs

What is a switch in a data center? ›

The main role of a data center switch is to connect servers, storage devices and other network devices so that they can communicate and share data with each other.

Global Switch's portfolio comprises 13 world-class data centres owned by consolidated entities that house a myriad of organisations seeking high specification technical space for their mission critical equipment.

Shagang in 2019 became the largest shareholder of Global Switch after buying another 24% stake in a £1.8 billion ($2.2 billion) deal from British billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben, who had begun to whittle down their ownership in 2016. Buyout firms EQT AB, KKR & Co.

Capacity on demand (COD) is a purchasing option that allows companies to receive equipment with more computer processing, storage or other capacity than the company needs at the time of purchase, and have that extra capacity remain unused and unpaid for until the company actually requires it.

KVM switches can control PCs and servers, while console servers can control other serial and network-connected devices. KVM switches can only switch between the connected network devices, but console servers can access the system consoles of network devices to monitor and control their functionality.

Put simply, a data switch routes and controls data traffic on a network. Like an air traffic controller managing flights, it makes real-time decisions on where to send incoming data packets for smooth transfer between devices.

Functional Disparities: Data center switches possess complex and powerful functionalities, including large buffers, virtualization, FCOE, and TRILL technologies. Enterprise switches adopt technologies like PoE, MPLS, QoS, and VPN, offering high-security management capabilities.

DigitalBridge & IFM Investors have completed the $11 billion acquisition of data center firm Switch Inc. The deal was first announced in May 2022. With the closing of the deal, Switch has been taken private and is no longer listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Data Center Switch Market Size was valued at USD 15.2 Billion in 2022. The Data center switch market is projected to grow from USD 16.08 Billion in 2023 to USD 25.2 Billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.80% during the forecast period (2024 - 2032).

NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The owners of Switch are exploring an initial public offering (IPO) of the data center operator that could value it at about $40 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

What does Global Switch do? ›

Global Switch is a leading owner, operator and developer of large scale network dense, carrier and cloud neutral multi-customer data centres in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Our data centres provide rich ecosystems and offer reliability, security and flexibility that our customers require to house their IT infrastructure.

Norwalk, CT – October 6, 2020 – 365 Data Centers (“365” or the “Company”), a leading provider of hybrid data center solutions, today announced that Stonecourt Capital LP (“Stonecourt”) has acquired the Company and original investors Lumerity Capital and Longboat Advisors have reinvested into the new partnership.

Sounds like: "main dis-tri-bu-tion frame" A main distribution frame (MDF) is the primary hub or demarcation point that interconnects private or public IT and telecommunication lines coming into a building to an internal network via any number of intermediate distribution frames (IDFs).

CFM is the air flow (cubic feet per minute). Computer equipment moves air through the use of internal fans to remove heat from the processors and internal circuitry. An air-handling unit (AHU) moves air with its own fan to remove the congregate heat load generated by the computer equipment (the IT load).

An intermediate distribution frame (IDF) is a free-standing or wall-mounted rack for managing and interconnecting a telecommunications cable between end-user devices and the main distribution frame (MDF).

Switches are key building blocks for any network. They connect multiple devices, such as computers, wireless access points, printers, and servers; on the same network within a building or campus.

A network switch connects devices in a network to each other, enabling them to talk by exchanging data packets. Switches can be hardware devices that manage physical networks or software-based virtual devices. A network switch operates on the data-link layer, or Layer 2, of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.

Data center switchgear plays a vital role in ensuring uninterrupted power supply, load balancing, fault protection, and overall operational stability of the data center environment. By managing the power distribution, switchgear helps maintain uptime.

A SAN switch (storage area network switch) is a device that connects servers and shared pools of storage devices and is dedicated to moving storage traffic. SAN switches let administrators build vast high-speed storage networks that interconnect thousands of servers accessing petabyte-scale data.