In Pictures: 10 hard truths IT must learn to accept

Unsanctioned devices, compromised networks, downtime -- today's IT is all about embracing imperfections

IT concession No. 3: You'll always have downtime

In a perfect world, all data centers would be built around highly redundant, dual-bus architectures where maximum load on either side never exceeds 50 percent, says Peter Panfil, a VP at Liebert AC Power. They'd be able to handle peak loads even when critical systems fail and others are down for maintenance, with a separate recovery facility to come online in case of regional disaster.

In the real world, 100 percent uptime is possible only if you're willing to pay for it, and most companies aren't, says Panfil. That forces data center managers into a game of "IT chicken," hoping outages don't occur when systems are beyond 50 percent capacity.

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