Rice University Data Center UpdateAdministrators Forum

6-12-07

New Data Center FAQ

• “What’s a data center?”• “Why are we building one?”• “Where is it?”• “Why off-campus?”• “How big is it?”• “When will it be done?”• “What color is it?”• “How does it connect to Rice?”• “How are you going to move all the stuff?”

What’s a data center?

• Formerly known as “the computer room”• Now, considered a highly specialized,

critical infrastructure facility designed to support and hold computing systems– Includes emergency power-systems to

eliminate downtime–Uses specialized cooling to keep systems

performing reliably and properly– Provides secure and durable physical protection

Why are we building one?

• To ensure that Rice University has the appropriate infrastructure to support education, research, and operations

• To increase our capacity for advanced research computing systems

• To improve the reliability and security of Rice’s critical IT infrastructure

Where is it?

11620 Main Street, Houston, Texas, 77025

Why off campus?

• It’s a big building with a very large equipment yard

• Important to maximize capacity(80%+ of project cost is MEP)

• 65 ft. elevation(it’s practically on a mountain top)

• Room to grow

• Leaves valuable on-campus space for facilities that must be close by (like Willy’s Pub)

How big is it?

• Not to big, not to small, just right– “Scaleable Modularity”

• Allows for growth without re-design

• New infrastructure capacity can be added in a“plug-n-play” fashion

– 20,000 s.f. facility

– 8,000 s.f. data center space

– 6 megawatts of electrical service

– 4 megawatts of generator capacity

– N+1 redundancy throughout the infrastructure

– Shell space for heroic cooling requirements

When will it be done?

• Soon, we start move-in by mid-July• Current status

– Major construction activities are complete– Electrical services installed and on-line– Chillers and CRAC units installed and on-line– Generators on-site, connected– 12,000 gallon diesel fuel tank relocated from Naylor– Functional commissioning to start June 18th– New computing equipment racks on-site– Office space nearly complete– Landscaping taking root (even growing)

Construction as of November 28, 2006

Construction as of December 12, 2006

Construction as of February 15, 2006

Interior as of June 6, 2007

What color is it?

How does it connect to Rice?

• Via redundant,10 gigabit/second fiber-optic network between Rice and data center

• Also has backup circuit between sites via AT&T fiber

• Will have redundant Internet Service Provider connection

• Both network ends protected by emergency generators

How are you going to move all that stuff?

• Complete inventory for all systems• Plan move on paper• Schedule relocation of systems• Pre-verify services (power/data)• Move systems

– Start July 16, 2007– Complete major moves before O-week– Minimize disruption to campus operations

• Verify proper operation of systems• Return systems to production status

Migration Schedule (subject to change)

Thank you

To Rice Trustees, Rice Administration, FE&P, my fellow IT staff, and everyone that has worked to make this building a reality

Questions, comments, or corrections to

William DeigaardDirectorNetworking, Telecommunications, and Data Center Operationssoren@rice.edu713-348-5262