In preparation for our data center migration to WBOB we anticipate consolidating services, systems, and storage. (WBOB is an on-campus co-location facility.) The purpose of this plan is to reduce complexity of our environment for both our users and support team.

This move requires condensing 1300 square feet of racks and systems into 80 square feet.

Server consolidation is perhaps the single most effective move we can make to decrease the complexity of our environment. This consolidation will demand fewer albeit more capable systems able to provide virtualized systems for research and services. Consolidation allows us to de-commission as many as twelve of our legacy systems, many as old as eight years of age. Savings include fewer physical systems, lower power and cooling requirements, and better overall system utilization for better return on investment (ROI).

The current piecemeal approach to storage architecture is no-longer sustainable. Purchase of a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device partitions our systems from data. This allows systems to become interchangeable and considerably easier to maintain. Currently we require at least 8TB of space to service existing systems. A new storage architecture will need to begin by accommodating current requirements and allow us to expand in a predictable method as our needs grow.

A NAS device installed in the the WBOB center, prior to our move, would allow us to migrate our data before we migrate hardware systems. This protects data from storage hardware failure during the move and limits the time our customers are without their data and our services. Combined with consolidation of service systems this should allow us to de-commission many old systems in-place.

To recap, here are the main points:

Consolidation of services
+ fewer physical systems
+ reduced support costs for old machines
+ de-commissioning old systems in-place
+ lower power and cooling requirements
+ better overall system utilization for better return on investment(ROI)


Improved storage architecture
+ consolidates current storage scheme
+ partition systems from data
+ systems become interchangeable and easier to maintain
+ protected data migration to WBOB
+ predictable expansion