A section of the ‘pod’ with racks of servers and other equipment
used for secure data storage.
used for secure data storage.
SPOKANE – Once occupied by library books, the basement of Riverpoint’s Phase One Classroom Building now houses a new, state-of-the-art datacenter that serves as the information technology hub for the Spokane campus.
The project came together through a collaboration between WSU and Greater Spokane Incorporated, which joined forces to create a resource that supports the growth of educational and research programs on campus.
“We’ve been pushing the limits of our capacity, cooling, and power for a number of years,” said Larry Hoffman, WSU Spokane’s director of information technology for operations and enterprise services.
Completed last month, the datacenter provides a secure, appropriately powered and managed environment for the campus’s IT infrastructure. It consists of three contiguous spaces:
The ”pod” houses many racks that hold the various servers. It also will contain the WSU Applied Sciences Laboratory (ASL) high-performance computing cluster.
The power room contains the main power and battery backup for all the equipment. Plans to supplement the backup power with a failover generator are in place.
The core closet houses the core infrastructure that manages the campus network and provides connectivity into and out of the campus. This includes the Metro Ethernet connection to the Pacific Northwest Gigapop and the network connection with WSU Pullman.
The three spaces are secured with electronic key locks and video surveillance. They are directly adjacent to an office suite that houses some of the campus’s IT staff.
The three spaces are secured with electronic key locks and video surveillance. They are directly adjacent to an office suite that houses some of the campus’s IT staff.
WSU Spokane, EWU Spokane and Sirti use the datacenter, and research users include the Applied Sciences Lab, the Institute for Systems Medicine, WWAMI Spokane, the WSU College of Nursing, and the WSU College of Pharmacy, among others.
Funding for the project came from an Innovation Partnership Zone (IPZ) grant, with additional funds contributed by WSU Spokane. Secured in 2007 and submitted by a partnership of organizations led by Greater Spokane Inc., the IPZ grant was meant to bring together businesses and research institutions to develop cutting-edge technologies and boost regional economic growth.
“It’s phenomenal to have this new data center, and I think there’s a lot of benefit to the campus,” said Hoffman. “I’d like to thank Chancellor Brian Pitcher, Bruce Thompson from capital planning and development, and Robin Toth from Greater Spokane Incorporated, all of whom have been instrumental in making this a reality.”
Although the datacenter meets the needs for several years to come, Hoffman said the project only represents the first two phases of the initial design.
“We’re hoping in phases three and four, if additional funding is procured, to complete the power and cooling in the space and add a generator, so that we can add more equipment to the racks in the pod with adequate backup power available,” he said. “We’re only half-way there.”
