Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to commonly asked questions about Physical Co-Location services.
What types of hardware does the CHDC support?
You can co-locate rack-mounted, department-owned university equipment in the Cyert Hall Data Center (CHDC) that meets the following specifications:
- Power wattage max TBD
- Etc.
We recommend opting for fully redundant power supplies to avoid downtime. We can help you configure equipment for new purchases to ensure compatibility with our power infrastructure and existing rack space dimensions.
Can I host high-performance computing applications?
The Cyert Hall Data Center (CHDC) cannot currently support high-performance computing (HPC) applications. These applications require power and cooling capabilities that are currently beyond those of the CHDC.
HPC servers can:
- Exhaust the power budget allotted to each cabinet, leaving remaining cabinets unusable.
- Reduce the universal power supply (UPS) runtime during facility-wide power outages.
- Lead to insufficient cooling for all other systems within the CDHC.
Computing Services is exploring alternate locations for HPC applications as well as retrofitting the CHDC to support these systems. We will share more information as we update our services.
What power systems does the CHDC currently use?
The Cyert Hall Data Center (CHDC) provides for two separate power sources to each cabinet, allowing for continuous functionality if one power source fails or requires maintenance. Each cabinet can support a power budget of 9 kilowatts.
We also provide an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), a system that continues to provide power during facility-wide power outages.
If your application does not require power redundancy or power protection, we can work with you on a solution with a single power source.
What cooling system does the CHDC currently use?
The Cyert Hall Data Center (CHDC) uses raised floor air distribution, a cooling method that uses a pressurized space beneath the floor to distribute conditioned air.
What are my responsibilities as a customer?
We ask departments to provide a primary and secondary point of contact for equipment-related issues.
The department is responsible for the following:
- System administration
- Software management
- End-user support
- Adhering to data center regulations
- Email colocation-services@andrew.cmu.edu at least once per quarter with the details of personnel changes for data center access.
I need to update or change equipment. What do I do?
Email colocation-services@andrew.cmu.edu at least one week before new installations, refreshes, and decommissions. New installations require a review process and management approval, which can take up to 7 business days.
How long does it take to install my equipment?
We will review your request within 7 business days.
Please then allow up to 5 weeks for installation. We may require more time if you request special network connectivity and/or high-wattage power supplies.
Will I have access to server consoles?
Yes, departmental personnel can access server consoles directly using our keyboard-video-mouse infrastructure or a crash cart.
We recommend that you also install remote access software on your system.
Can departmental personnel support their own hardware?
To safeguard personnel and equipment, our technicians will perform all hardware changes, including installations, relocations, and removals.
You may schedule non-urgent repairs during business hours (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). We will arrange f access for any third-party repair providers.
Are there other services available?
We also offer a cost-effective virtual hosting service called Campus Cloud. Virtual servers appear and act the same as physical servers but cost much less.
Visit the Campus Cloud for more information.