Data Center Tier Standards A breakdown of data center tier standards based on the Uptime Institute

Four Tiers for Data Center Tier 1 A Basic Data Center Tier 2 A Redundant Data Center Tier 3 A Concurrently Maintainable Data Center Tier 4 A Fault Tolerant Data Center

Tier 1- A Basic Data Center Non-redundant capacity w/ single distribution path Vulnerable to human and operational errors Requires annual maintenance to prevent serious operation failure Maintenance requires site wide shutdown

Tier 2- A Redundant Data Center Redundant capacity component w/ single distribution path Component can be removed without impacting computer equipment Vulnerable to human and operational errors Annual maintenance requires site wide shutdown

Tier 3 – A Concurrently Maintainable Data Center Redundant capacity component w/ multiple, independent distribution path Component can be removed without impacting computer equipment Somewhat vulnerable to human and operational errors Annual maintenance can be completed while data center remains operational

Tier 4 – A Fault Tolerant Data Center Multiple, independent, physically isolated capacity components and distribution paths Physically isolated system prevent massive infrastructure failure Component can be removed without impacting computer equipment

Tier 4 – A Fault Tolerant Data Center (cont.) System Self Heals – Automatically respond to prevent further site failure Not vulnerable to human and operational errors Annual maintenance can be completed while data center remains operational

Data Center Tier and Uptime Tier 1 A tier 1 data center has 99.67% uptime Tier 2 A tier 2 data center has 99.75% uptime Tier 3 A tier 3 data center has 99.98% uptime Tier 4 A tier 4 data center has 99.99% uptime

Which Tier is Right for You If your business needs for hosting are: Short-term Cheap Fast Setup Then you should pick either a TIER 1 or TIER 2 Data Center

Which Tier is Right for You If your business needs for hosting are: Long-term Dependable Uptime Fault Tolerant Hosting Then you should pick either a TIER 3 or TIER 4 Data Center

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