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What impact will a £4m datacentre project have on the University of Southampton?
- Duncan MacRae
International IT solutions provider, Logicalis, kicks off multimillion project with the university to facilitate learning.
Logicalis, has commenced a £4m, two year datacentre and core network infrastructure project for the University of Southampton.
The contract, which includes wireless access across the Russell Group University's six campuses and halls of residence, will underpin the delivery of IT services to staff and students, support High Performance Computing initiatives, and help build on the University's global status as a research leader.
Pete Hancock, director of iSolutions at the University of Southampton, said: "We see our network as the key building block to helping us grow and operate as a major University and further support our work in the international research arena. The new infrastructure will not only support our staff and students, but also initiatives involving High Performance Computing. We wanted a network that could handle both the current and future capacity needs of our programmes, and facilitate opportunities for more collaboration projects around the globe."
To date, Logicalis has designed and implemented a core Cisco network across the University's campuses and integrated into its new Data Centre in time for the 2013/14 academic year.
Dave Key, IIP programme manager and project manager, was heavily involved in the project. He said: "The design work was critical. In a two-week period over the summer, Logicalis implemented Cisco Nexus switches, migrating the core network, as well as moving the DHCP services for the whole University onto an Infoblox platform. In addition, we were able to successfully conduct a failover test between the two core switches, giving us immediate confidence in network resilience – and an instant RoI."
Infoblox was implemented to provide increased visibility and control of network activity, significantly improving the efficiency and effectiveness of network management by the IT team.
Planning work, designs and site-surveys for the network equipment at the edge and wireless installation have now been completed. Logicalis, and the University have now begun a phased rollout across all campuses and halls of residence.
Hancock added: "The combination of Logicalis' consultancy and integration skills, and the network technologies provided by Cisco, will enable us to rapidly advance in our research, learning and teaching strategies. The partnership with Logicalis and investment in next generation infrastructure is securing our future."
In its role as a strategic partner, Logicalis is also working closely with the University of Southampton on other projects that integrate with the central design, such as a planned move to a 10G fibre network in 2014 and further expansion of the network into new student residences.
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