Data Center Feng Shui

The right form-factor in the right location at the right-time will maximize the benefits associated with cloud computing and virtualization.

Feng Shui, simply defined, is the art of knowing where to place things to maximize benefits. There are many styles of Feng Shui but the goal of all forms is to create the most beneficial environment in which one can live, work, play, etc… based on the individual’s goals.

Historically, feng shui was widely used to orient buildings—often spiritually significant structures such as tombs, but also dwellings and other structures—in an auspicious manner. Depending on the particular style of feng shui being used, an auspicious site could be determined by reference to local features such as bodies of water, stars, or a compass. Feng shui was suppressed in China during the cultural revolution in the 1960s, but has since seen an increase in popularity, particularly in the United States.

-- Feng Shui, Wikipedia

In the US, at least, Feng Shui has gained popularity primarily as it relates to interior design – the art of placing your furniture in the right places based on relationship to water, stars, and compass directions. Applying the art of Feng Shui to your data center architecture is not nearly as difficult as it may sound because essentially you’re doing the same thing: determining the best location (on or off-premise? virtual or physical? VNA or hardware?) for each network, application delivery network, and security component in the data center based on a set of organizational (business and operational) needs or goals. The underlying theory of Feng Shui is that location matters, and it is certainly true in the data center that location and form-factor matter to the harmony of the data center. The architectural decisions regarding a hybrid cloud computing infrastructure (a mix of virtual network appliances, hardware, and software) have an impact on many facets of operational and business goals.