Co-Location Facility Aids Researchers with Data Center Space Needs

By Chris Arkell

The need for computing hardware at the University of Maryland continues to accelerate rapidly. The outstanding research being done by the university’s faculty precipitates the need for increasingly more equipment and with this need comes a parallel demand for space to house the equipment. At the same time, today’s equipment is more sophisticated and “denser” in nature so it draws more electrical power and needs more cooling. Typically, offices do not have adequate space for the equipment, and when a room can be identified, it is not designed for computing equipment. The result is that this hardware is often relegated to places where environmental conditions disrupt the computing and research, damage the equipment, or both.

As part of the university’s Master Plan, OIT had identified the need for quality research computing space at the university. In 2005, with support from the College of Computer, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences (CMPS), OIT presented the university’s Facilities Council with a plan to renovate OIT-occupied space to create the Research Data Center (RDC). The Facilities Council approved the project, and the university identified funding, augmented with OIT and CMPS funds, for two phases of construction of the RDC. Renovations began in spring 2006 with the first computers being installed late last year.

The RDC is a co-location facility dedicated to research computing for non-OIT administered systems. The facility offers an improved infrastructure for systems that would typically have to reside in offices or building spaces not designed for that purpose. Significant economies of scale are achieved through co-location because it eliminates the need to renovate many rooms across campus to house equipment and allows for centralized management, oversight, and support of a single space. The RDC is managed by OIT and supported by the university’s Facilities Management department. An advisory board consisting of OIT and non-OIT staff helps to oversee use of the room and to advise researchers interested in co-locating there. There is no charge for use of the space; however, the costs associated with equipment installation and networking are the responsibility of the equipment owner.

The 2400 square foot facility is expected to hold as many as 80 standard computer racks. This is significant capacity because standard racks can hold as many as 40 servers each, and each server may consist of multiple central processing units (CPUs). While this provides a great deal of capacity for research computing, greater demand is expected in the future; therefore, phase III, which will add more square footage, power, and cooling, has been initiated. Initial plans for phase III have been completed, but funds have not been identified and a construction timeline has not been defined.

Visit www.oit.umd.edu/units/ops/rdc for more information.