Academic Data Center
Summary: OIT's Academic Data Center (ADC) provides a suitable environment for housing modern computing equipment. It houses OIT's campus wide computing services as well as 'co-located' systems owned by campus units and research groups. Its unique capabilities make it a resource for the entire-campus. These capabilities and the manner in which campus groups make use of the facility are outlined herein.
OIT maintains and operates the Academic Data Center for OIT's computing services and those of 'co-located' campus partners. The facility located on the 1st Floor of the Engineering Gateway (EG) Building (East Side) contains essential power, air conditioning, flooring, and networking capabilities appropriate for large-scale 'service' computing systems. The facility is operated '24x7' every day of the year. Access is available from the interior of the building as well as through large (accessible by up to 84-inch tall computer racks) double doors to the EG loading dock.
Among the Special Capabilities of the ADC are:
- A 12-inch raised false-floor throughout the facility allowing easy access for power cabling, networking, and airflow.
- Four 20-Ton chilled-water air conditioning units capable of providing cooling for upwards of of 250KW of heat generated by computing equipment within the facility.
- Electrical power available in multiple 'types' based on system need. Includes two Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems (one with 52KW and the other with upwards of 120KW capacities) which filter and maintain power during short power outages and 'brownouts'. Access to emergency power via a building generator for extended power outages for most critical campus systems.
- At present we offer three power 'Types' based on power during outages,
each one appropriate for differing needs:
- Type I - Generator backed electrical circuits plus UPS for campus critical systems which must remain operating even through an extended power failure
- Type II - Commercial power plus UPS for protection of power transients, brownouts, and other short term ( less than 10 minute) power failures
- Type III - Commercial power only. Useful for secondary power supplies for dual-powered, high criticality systems.
- Images of ADC critical components:
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Raised False Floor |
Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) |
HVAC Cooling Units |
EG Diesel Generator |
Co-Location Services:
Currently, OIT's provides space within the ADC for non-OIT's systems that could make use of the capabilities within the room which are lacking (power, AC) in other campus environments. The type of 'co-location' service that best fits a user's needs is usually determined by the system in question, the long-term support costs for the system and its placement in the ADC, and system administration support available to the system owner. At present, OIT's provides three service types with differing costs:
- Co-locations Service Only
- Provides ADC environment to the system. System can consist of an entire 'rack' of rack-mountable systems, a smaller set of rack mounted systems, or even non-rack mounted systems within a provided enclosure. We encourage rack mounted systems to minimize user costs. No system administration service is provided to the system. Access is provided to the ADC for outside system administrators. Current pricing for this services can be found below.
- Co-location with A System Administration Contract
- Same as #1 but also includes system administration services through OIT's Distributed Computing Services. See Distributed Computing Support for a complete listing of prices. Co-location costs are separate.
- Join the MPC Consortium
- For system owners about to purchase rack-mounted systems to create 'Beowulf-type' computational clusters. For more details on this option please review the MPC website.
Contacts
For more information on the ADC or how you can make use of Co-Location services please contact Allen Schiano (x42829 or schiano@uci.edu) of OIT. For environmental issues about the ADC, please contact Alex Odyniec (x46133 aodyniec@uci.edu).
Current Schedule
- Summer 2009: expansion of room capacity by 8+3 racks through renovation of 'operator's suite' and installation of rack enclosure system. Completion early Fall 2009.
Planned Future Upgrades
- Expansion of facility into adjacent 'Lab B' area to accommodate up to 30 racks of systems using over 200KW of power.
