Research Data Center

Computing Services maintains a data center to support the department's computing infrastructure, with two access levels. The research data center is kept separate from the main data center, and may be accessed by researchers and/or their student administrators who wish to maintain and support their own equipment. The main data center is restricted to Computing Services personnel. Researchers who do not require physical access to their equipment and prefer Computing Services administer it may house their equipment in the main data center.

Both rooms provide security, rack space, environmental monitoring, HVAC and power.

Secure access to the rooms is maintained by a card reader system using BuckID. The system is owned and maintained by Computing Services, allowing the timely (usually same day) application of changes, as requests are received and approved. Only research faculty with equipment in the research data center may access it and request access for their student administrators.

Cooling is provied by four 20-ton Liebert air conditioning units. Two of these units provide cooling to the research data center. Each unit provides sufficient cooling in case the other unit is off-line for any reason.

Two separate power feeds service the data center. Most of the circuits run through a 150KVA UPS which is backed up by a 475KW diesel generator. In the case of a power outage, the UPS and generator provide enought power to allow Computing Services to bring down the environment gracefully. The second feed is commercial power, and is not supported by a UPS or generator. If it becomes necessary to use this power, it is recommended that the researcher purchase a rack mountable UPS to protect their equipment from power fluctuations and outages.

Computing Staff monitors the power, room and under-floor environment in the data center. Should conditions indicated a failure, Computing Staff is notified immediately to initiate emergency procedures.

If a researcher is planning on purchasing equipment that needs to be housed in the data center, they should contact Computing Services prior to the purchase. Issues such as type and number of circuits required, amount of rack space required, type and number of network connections, and amount of access needed should all be addressed before equipment is purchased. In the even that special power circuits or unique housing conditions are required, we may need to contact contractors to arrange modifications, which may take several weeks to several months to accomplish. Involving Computing Services at an early stage will help ensure smooth install an integration when your equipment arrives.

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