Understanding the different types of data centers
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- Data centers have been a hot topic in St. Joseph since city officials announced a proposed annexation at 6321 SE Pickett Road would bring a campus with four data center buildings into the city.
According to OneKC, data centers are facilities equipped with computer servers and networking systems that process and store data, powering daily lives.
As technology evolved, so did data centers, which have led to the development of several types of data centers.
There are five main types of data centers. The first is a Hyperscale data center, a facility designed to support massive cloud-scale workloads. These centers power cloud platforms, large-scale digital services and artificial intelligence workloads.
The second is a Colocation (Colo) data center, a shared facility where businesses lease space, power and connectivity instead of building their own data center. These centers have become a key option for businesses that need fast access to data centers and look to balance control, flexibility, costs and speed to capacity.
The third is an Enterprise (On‑Prem) Data Center, a facility usually owned and operated by a private organization. These centers do not require direct control, and are best for regulated, sensitive or tightly integrated workloads.
The fourth is an Edge Data Center, a facility that is local, smaller and located closer to the end user or devices. These centers improve performance, reduce latency and enable real-time processing through edge computing.
The fifth is Cloud Data Centers, a facility that is a large, centralized facility designed to deliver computing resources on demand.
These centers are operated by cloud service providers, this allow organizations to access storage and networking capacity without owning or maintaining physical infrastructure and computing.
On top of a proposed data center in St. Joseph, Nodaway County could also see one, along with other counties in Mid-Missouri.
Right now, it is unknown what type of data center is set to go in at 6321 SE Pickett Road, or even in Nodaway County.
St. Joseph city leaders requested a Town Hall-style meeting regarding the proposed data center project on Pickett Road.
The meeting is set to take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, at the Missouri Theater located at 17 Edmond St.
