2013 Reports

Columbia University Advanced Concepts Data Center Pilot: Final Report

Crosswell, Alan; Hamilton, Victoria

Columbia University Information Technology (CUIT) piloted advanced concepts data center techniques that emphasized rigorous before-and-after measurements of a series of recommended best practices and innovative equipment and infrastructure improvements in a real-world setting. The measurements were used to (a) monitor whether changes targeted to improve the energy efficiency and environmental impact of the primarily administrative systems currently in the centralized data center were, in fact, effective, and (b) to simultaneously expand the constrained computational capacity of the facility as a result of those improvements. CUIT included participation and critique from influential skeptics from commencement of the project. Two academic departments piloted a shared high performance computing cluster within the Data Center. As a result of this project, Columbia University continues to realize significant energy and environmental gains while demonstrating economic and operational feasibility in infrastructure improvements, uses of innovative computational equipment for both centralized administrative systems and research computing clusters.