Natural disasters, accidents, or sabotage – while our digital infrastructures are secure, they are not invulnerable. Gerald Miersch of PFALZKOM explains how data centres achieve the highest levels of resilience and highlights the vital role of georedundancy.
How important is georedundancy in data centres concerning compliance with current security regulations such as the IT Security Act and NIS2? How does PFALZKOM support its customers in implementing these requirements?
In light of the increasing number of cyber risks, NIS2 has brought corporate responsibility for protecting sensitive data into sharp focus. The growing classification of businesses and datasets as critical reflects society’s escalating dependence on digital infrastructures in a connected world.
To address these challenges, critical data must be stored across multiple locations, enabling seamless high availability and disaster recovery through “availability zones.” This approach mitigates localised incidents at a single site and improves resilience against targeted ransomware attacks, for instance, through methods like “air gapping.”
PFALZKOM offers its clients multiple certified fire zones within its data centres. These can be extended to partner facilities, located from a few to several hundred kilometres away, based on customer requirements. Thanks to established partnerships and network connectivity – such as the DE-CIX Premium Enabled Site – data highways are already in place, allowing customers to access services quickly and easily.
As an established IT service provider, PFALZKOM draws on its own experience in the critical infrastructure (KRITIS) sector and has fully embedded NIS2 themes and processes within its operations. This expertise enables it to support customers effectively in fulfilling these requirements.
Cyber risks and natural disasters are growing threats for businesses. How does georedundancy help protect data and IT infrastructure against these risks?
The vectors of cyberattacks are increasingly sophisticated, while climate change is causing unprecedented damage scenarios even in regions previously considered low-risk.
Our extensive customer experience has shown that a specialised service provider can deliver services more professionally and robustly than, for example, a medium-sized business from a different sector. Additional benefits include continuous certification, cost efficiency, and optimised sustainability.
Nevertheless, even professional infrastructures carry inherent risks from external manipulation, negligence, or unforeseen events such as floods or regional power outages. Unlike physical goods, data can be replicated without loss of quality, making data duplication the preferred method for preventing the loss of critical business datasets. A prime example of this is the 3-2-1 backup strategy. However, data backups lose their value if stored in close proximity to one another.
Spatial separation ensures effective protection against regional damage scenarios. When properly designed, it can also prevent logical errors, such as those caused by ransomware attacks, from being replicated. Critical to this process is designing logical connections and data structures to account for such scenarios, which is best achieved with a service provider experienced in network security, including DDoS mitigation and firewalls. PFALZKOM integrates this broad expertise into its client consultations for maximum benefit.
The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) recommends maintaining a minimum distance of 100 to 200 km between georedundant data centres. What are the advantages of this recommendation, and how challenging is it to consider such distances when selecting data centre locations?
This is a frequently discussed topic with no one-size-fits-all answer. The ideal distance depends on the organisation’s structure, data processing requirements, and operational needs.
In an “active–active” operation scenario involving multiple data centre sites, latency – caused by physical signal transmission times – often limits the distance, depending on the application’s tolerance and business processes’ requirements. On the other hand, the BSI recommendation considers broader regional risks, such as earthquakes or large-scale power outages. Ultimately, the optimal balance between distance and functionality must be determined case by case.
At PFALZKOM, we offer redundancy options ranging from short distances of a few kilometres to inter-metropolitan areas and distances exceeding several hundred kilometres. Long-standing partnerships with renowned data centres in Frankfurt and Munich provide a variety of tailored, ready-to-use solutions for our customers. Collaboration within respected associations like the eco Association also fosters technical innovation and collaboration among leading companies.
Systemic redundancy provided by multiple market players offers robust protection against individual failures, while clearly defined standards ensure seamless compatibility for end users.
How do standards like DIN EN 50600 contribute to the resilience and availability of customer data, particularly in disaster recovery scenarios?
The DIN EN 50600 series has become the go-to standard for planning, constructing, and operating data centres. Many customers increasingly base their requests and project tenders on this standard. Certification according to these standards enables efficient quality assessment and is a hallmark of high availability without major vulnerabilities.
The standard systematically identifies potential security risks, reducing the likelihood of availability restrictions or failures. It provides reliable guidance for selecting suitable dual-site and disaster recovery locations for demanding customers. For instance, our DATACENTER RHEIN-NECKAR II is certified to DIN EN 50600 up to Class VK4.
The partnership between PFALZKOM and DE-CIX is described as a cornerstone of georedundancy in Germany. Can you elaborate on this collaboration and the benefits it offers users?
PFALZKOM has collaborated with DE-CIX, the leading Internet Exchange operator, for over 25 years. This partnership has evolved to meet the exponential growth in data volumes and demands, opening new dimensions of secure cloud access and regional data processing.
As a DE-CIX Premium Enabled Site, PFALZKOM hosts active DE-CIX infrastructure directly within its data centres, providing customers with immediate access to its services via cross-connects. This setup aligns with the growing demand for regionalised data creation and processing at the edge while ensuring seamless integration with larger, secure data locations.
With 100 Gbps connections, our data centres’ DE-CIX integration connects dozens of data centres in Germany and countless international destinations. These resources offer clients flexible, distributed IT infrastructures tailored to their specific needs.
How does VirtualPNI enhance georedundancy in crisis situations, and what specific benefits does it provide for businesses?
VirtualPNI enables the rapid and efficient creation of virtual private connections using DE-CIX technology. These connections can be established quickly between two points within the same metropolitan area or across different regions. With bandwidths of up to 100 Gbps, VirtualPNI ensures sufficient data throughput even during crises.
This solution allows businesses to optimise georedundancy flexibly, catering to individual requirements while ensuring robust disaster resilience and operational continuity.
