New Data Center Frequently Asked Questions

If you have additional questions for this page, send them to Carlyn Chatfield, carlyn @ rice.edu.

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

Why build 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)

What color is it?

Green.

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 the 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