To err is human, but to really mess things up requires a computer. However, the new U Data Center is making that less likely.
The new center officially opened last Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house conducted by Linda Amos, associate vice president for health sciences. The new building brings departments together in a safer environment.
All campus networks and telephone systems will be put in the same building as health science’s information technology systems.
“We will all benefit from the way these resources have come together to serve our campus,” Amos said.
Another significant benefit of the new center is the safety of the building.
Located in Research Park, the building has been renovated to be seismically sound.
Previous buildings housing the Data Center were susceptible to earthquake damage, said Steve Hess, associate academic vice-president for Information Technology.
The facility has better security than previous locations.
All important areas have swipe-card locks on the doors, Hess said.
Power sources are designed to never be disrupted or to always have a back-up source.
Randy Green, who serves as president of Research Park Associates, emphasized the energy efficiency of the building at Friday’s ceremony.
The facility provides additional ability to do cluster computing, as requested by university faculty and staff.
Cluster computing is many standard computers linked together into a larger computer to handle more data for larger research projects, Hess said.