Page 136 - How It Works - Book of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, 12

� AMAZIG ANSWERS TO CURIOUS QUESTIONS -------------------

Where does the internet live?

Discover the giant databanks that store and protect the world wide web

hen you visit a website, content is sent third of all the home pages in Germany and over How safe is
over the internet to your browser from half the country's email in boxes. With all this
W a web server: a computer that stores sensitive data knocking about, data centres go the data?
the website data. Although any computer can act to extreme lengths to avoid system failure.
onsidering the quantity of
as a web server, to remain operational it must be Failsafe emergency power supplies kick in so that Chighly sensitive
managed under regulated conditions. This is even if the main grid suffers a power outage, information within the walls of
costly, and while some of the world's major online service is uninterrupted. a data centre, no unauthorised
access is permitted. Before an
corporations support their own server rooms, most First to the rescue in the event of a power cut employee can even set foot
websites and companies take advantage of the are four huge battery blocks. These are each into l&l's state·of·the·art Data Centre IV in Germany,
they must pass through an airlock to ensure no
convenient web hosting hospitality of a data capable of supporting the servers for 17 minutes,
unauthorised entry. Any employee entering the centre
centre. A business may have a dedicated server, or after which a fifth reserve battery block comes must carry a valid chip card, which contains their
multiple users may share one. into action. lf power still isn't returned after that identifying information to be confirmed by passing a
series of protocols, including entering a PIN code and
These state-of-the-art facilities power tens of time, five large 16-cylinder diesel generators on
passing weight and biometric checks to determine
thousands of servers, each capable of hosting the roof of the centre kick into action and supply the identity of the employee. Once authorised, the
inner airlock door is opened and access to the facility
hundreds of sites. And because data centres hold power to the site for as long as diesel fuel is
is granted. Meanwhile, over 150 CCTV cameras
sensitive information and are relied upon by available. During a power cut, the Karlsruhe 1&1 watch and record the employee's every move
businesses, they have strict security regulations facility is the only light in the city. throughout their time at the centre.
and environmental controls to ensure the security
of the data by staying operational24 hours a day.
For an idea of just how much information passes '' Within a data centre are hundreds of
through a data centre, one of the world's largest
web hosting companies, 1&1, currently manages a rows of servers in dedicated server rooms''
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