What is a Data Center Rating?

The data center rating system was designed by the Uptime Institute to classify data centers based on several criteria primarily related to uptime, fault tolerance, and availability. The rating system is designed to allow each company to independently understand how a particular data center will perform according to its needs and what can be expected from that data center.

Uptime Institute divides the core standards into one to five levels. This global standard allows organizations to compare any two data centers around the world. The final certification highlights the design, structure and operation of the data center.

What is a Tier 1 data center?

A Tier 1 data center is the most basic type of data center. Tier 1 data centers have dedicated IT service space and equipment located outside the office, uninterrupted power supply, backup power usually provided by internal generators, and computing equipment cooling equipment. Tier 1 data centers also have systems, protocols, and equipment in place to ensure they can remain up and running during normal business hours (such as nights and weekends).

What is a Tier 2 data center?

Tier 2 data centers have redundant components that provide additional capacity over Tier 1 data centers. These components include diesel generators to provide backup power, pumps or chillers for more reliable additional equipment cooling, and specialized UPS modules to provide reliable power that eliminates voltage dips and spikes.

What is a Tier 3 data center?

Tier 3 data centers have systems, protocols, and equipment in addition to Tier 2 data centers, allowing personnel to perform upgrades, repairs, and/or changes without shutting down any equipment. Since everything is available simultaneously, teams can make any changes as needed without disrupting service to customers/end users.

What is a Tier 4 data center?

Tier 4 data centers are equipped with fault tolerance mechanisms on the basis of Tier 3 data centers. The idea is that data centers can stop and prevent certain problems from happening in the first place. The goal of a Tier 4 data center is to provide continuous support and service under any circumstances, and it is the highest level that the Uptime Institute classifies a data center.

What is a Tier 5 data center?

Tier 5 certification means the data center has met the highest standards for uptime and resiliency in the market today. Level 5 certification was originally developed by colocation and cloud services provider Switch in 2017, and is technically distinct from the four core levels proposed by the Uptime Institute.

What is the highest level?

According to the Uptime Institute, no level is "better" than another. They believe that businesses should choose a data center that meets their specific needs regarding cost, availability, and more.

What is Uptime Institute?

Uptime Institute bills itself as an independent advisory body that provides third-party guidance and oversight to the data center industry. Its core mission includes supervising data centers and issuing certificates to give end users of data centers a reason to decide which data center to use. Like 451 Research, Uptime Institute is also a division of The 451 Group.