Data Center Makeover: Getting the Facility You Need Hobart and William Smith Colleges Fred Damiano, CIO Christopher Button, Sr. Project Manager Derek Lustig, Network and Systems Infrastructure Manager Copyright Hobart and William Smith Colleges 2007. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.
Agenda Building the Business Case High Level Project Timeline Managing the Project Facility Design, Construction, & Activation Lessons Learned
Hobart and William Smith Geneva, NY 1,900 Students Liberal arts 11:1 Student Faculty Ratio 170 acre campus 100+ buildings
Defining The Problem
Building The Business Case Off-Site and On-site Options Evaluated Calculated Payback Period Value of Electronic Intellectual Property Underpinning of Future Initiatives Competitive Advantage
High Level Timeline 2004 Apr Problem identified as critical risk May Dec On/off-site options evaluated 2005 Jan Feb Board Approves on-site facility Mar Jun Project Team Assembled May Aug Facility Design Sep Dec Facility Construction 2006 Jan Facility Activation & Go Live
Managing the Project Christopher Button Sr. Project Manager
Project Management IT Server Facilities are atypical Understand it s not a cost/benefit analysis How to Sell it: Be educated How to Design it: Be educated Leverage all available resources
Project Phases Planning and site visits Design Construction Commissioning Transfer to Operations
The Project Team SWBR Architects M/E Engineering Bruns-Pak R.L. Kistler T. Bell Construction Binder Electric Kircher Construction Postler Davis Ulmer Day Automation HWS Facilities HWS IT Services HWS Library IBM Structured Technologies All-Mode Communications Anacomp Time Warner Telecom Verizon
How much is enough? Size Expandability Load Redundancy Points of failure
Facility Design, Construction, & Activation Derek Lustig Network and Systems Infrastructure Manager
Data Center Reliability Ranking* HWS Before HWS Now 1-Unreliable 2-Partially Unreliable 3-Isolated Unreliable 4-Isolated Conditioned 5-Isolated Improved 6-Mostly Reliable 7-Reliable 8-Reliable Redundant 9-Ultra-Reliable 10-State of the Art * Source: Bruns-Pak
Factors to Consider Redundancy: ability to maintain operation during failure Fault-Tolerance: eliminating single points of failure dependent on device, route, & site Maintainability: availability of center during maintenance Growth Strategy: support expanding functions
Before the Makeover
Construction
The Move: Challenges Ensure that it all parts, pieces, and process came together during winter intermission Move campus core switch & fiber path Change Internet Service Providers Relocate more than 100 devices all while keeping critical systems running
Moving: The Script Everyone knew the game plan
Move Process and Teams Stage Unrack Rack
Move Packages Servers delivered with components tagged and packaged
Features of New Facility
Electrical System Current load (20 KVA) + growth 130 KVA UPS 10 Minute full-load run time Single PDU Dual Circuits to each rack
Power Generation 600 KW Diesel Generator 1-day run-time under full load
Cooling System
Integrated Fire Suppression System
Security Two Factor Access Unauthorized Entry Alarm & Alerts Surveillance Cameras Activity Recorded and Remotely Accessible
Surveillance
Remote Administration Remote access and control of power outlets and KVM
Operations & Control Systems Generous workspace for maintenance & systems controls
Finished Product
Finished Product
Lessons Learned Frame data center as an institutional & operational need Explore alternatives and make solid business decisions Partner with other departments Rely on trusted vendors and engage them early Balance current & future needs with budget Be obsessive project managers Establish organizational guidelines for use
Service for Years to Come
New Feature Recently Added! Self-cleaning server facility
Thank You! Fred Damiano, damiano@hws.edu Christopher Button, button@hws.edu Derek Lustig, lustig@hws.edu