Mead Project - University Data Center at UVA
Authors: Gavin Schuetz and Richard Jiang
We are students of UVA and members of the Mead Project led by Professor Cynthia Tong. Our objective is to explore data science opportunities around Charlottesville and see how they are connected to and contribute to our local community. Last December, we were given the opportunity to tour the University Data Center. Data centers serve as a location to host computing power which is used by others for their needs, whether it is to store data or to use its operating power. Due to the amount and intensity of operations that the hosted servers may face, data centers need to be structured properly and well maintained in order to remain operational.
Our tour was led by Dr. Xu Wang, who is an HPC Systems Specialist in the Department of Research Computing, as well as Mr. Samuel Horrocks, who is the Manager of the University Data Center. We started the tour from the basement, which held a lot of the machinery needed to ensure that the servers above could function properly. As we entered the area, the first thing we noticed was how loud it was. One major concern for the servers is overheating due to their strenuous work from calculations. The noises came from fans set up to keep the servers at acceptable temperatures, along with other equipment used for supporting the ventilation system along with powering the servers themselves.
We then went through rooms filled with batteries. Placed in containers of liquid electrolytes to maximize their functionality, they served as a secondary source of power for the servers in case the local power lines went out. The services of data centers must be available at all times, meaning that even during a loss of power, the servers have to continue running. In other scenarios, the batteries can also serve as a power source for the ventilation system to cool the servers.
Even with the large amount of batteries, nearly two rooms full, we learned that they could only power the center for a few minutes. Even so, they served the purpose of keeping the center online long enough for the emergency generator outside to turn on. Because of the enormous usage of power, we learned that even the generator, as big as a small office building, needed refueling often to continue to support the data center.
Finishing the underground tour, we went upstairs next to the server room. The space was very well designed to accommodate the Data Center’s needs. The servers were organized in rows, with spaces between them for people to walk through. Each row would have a “hot” and “cold” side, the former being the side where the heat generated would be released. The servers had many wires connecting various ports, and the floor was made up of removable tiles that revealed the cooling pipes. The space was the epitome of organization, with every part of the space being fully utilized. Even the ceiling was designed to organize the wires going to the servers, with a cable management case built to run the wires to the separate server groups without tangling them.
The servers themselves were also different, as they may have been gradually installed. Some were out in the open, while others were separated by sliding glass doors and hidden by sensors that physically covered the servers. There were also servers designed to be more secure, potentially hosting more important data or projects, that are locked and require a physically present person with a key, unlike others which can be accessed online.
At the end of our tour, we learned more about the work done by the Data Center employees along with its purpose in the UVA and Charlottesville community. First are those responsible for maintenance, who work mainly on the underground facilities and ensure that everything is operational. The next group are those who use the services of the servers for their work. They can access the servers remotely, so these workers only go to the Data Center building if there is a major project that needs direct access to the servers or if there are hardware problems that need to be fixed.
The Data Center is also an important investment and asset for the UVA and Charlottesville community, as it is granted millions of dollars every year for various expenses. We observed an empty space in the server room where new servers will be installed. Its processing power supports various UVA students and professors as well as independent workers who use its services for a variety of work. Considering the capabilities of the servers, the Data Center encourages increased utilization of the service to keep enhancing its benefits to the community. Its servers can be useful for a variety of fields, and if interested, you can visit the link below for further information. (https://virginia.service-now.com/its?id=itsweb_kb_article&sys_id=b8ef378fdb3ac744f032f1f51d961986)
Additionally, they are also looking to hire undergraduate workers to assist the Data Center workers and learn to conduct basic tasks, with loose coding requirements.
With that, we conclude the first trip of the Mead Project. It was very exciting for all of us to get experience exploring all of the different aspects that go into running and maintaining a data center. In the future, we are hoping to explore different applications of data in many unique fields, all of which are built upon using the foundations of data processing that we saw displayed at the center. We hope you enjoyed reading about our experiences and are excited to share new findings with everyone in the future!