Colocation Collaboration:Building a Datacenter Together

Debbie Pepper, Colleges of the FenwayCarlos Varum, Emmanuel CollegeMatthew Burfeind, Massachusetts College of Art and Design

NERCOMP Annual ConferenceMarch 13, 2013 3:50-4:40 p.m.Room 553

Overview of Session

● Introductions● High level project overview● Project Details● Issues● Lessons Learned

Emmanuel College (est. 1919)Coeducational, liberal arts, Catholic college, 1,750 students

Massachusetts College of Art & Design (est. 1873)Only public college of art in U.S., coeducational, 1,802 graduate and undergraduate students

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (est. 1823)Coeducational, three campuses, two in Massachusetts, one in New Hampshire3,909 graduate and undergraduate students

Simmons College (est. 1899)Undergraduate college for women, coeducationalgraduate programs 4,700 graduate and undergraduate students

Wentworth Institute of Technology (est. 1904)Coeducational undergraduate college, focus on engineering and architecture, 3,636 undergraduate students

Wheelock College (est. 1888)Coeducational liberals arts college focus on youth and family, 1,046 graduate and undergraduate students

Colleges of the Fenway

Colleges of the Fenway

Total enrollment: approximately 12,000 undergraduates.

Location: a close geographic area on the Fenway, adjacent to medical and cultural facilities,public transportation, in the heart of Boston

March 29, 1996 - The COF Principles of Collaboration signed marking the beginning of significantCollaboration. 16 years

Goal: To add value to student’s academic and co-curricular opportunities while seeking innovative methods of investing in services and containing the costs of higher education.

Services : Consortium includes – The Global Education Opportunities Center, Intramurals Program,Performing Arts Program, Training and Development Programs, Center for Sustainability, Colleges of the Fenway Area Network and numerous joint contracts and collaborative purchases, cross registration andGrant Funded Programs such as Emergency Management and The Teaching and Learning Collaborative

Project Overview

● What we did● Initiation

● Wentworth● Buy-in from COF CIOs● RFP/decision on colocation site

● Project Management (external consultant)● Connectivity● Network Design/Integration● Preparation● Moves and Go Live

Why Colocate?

● Facilities issues● A/C maintenance and costs● Space planning & construction

● Getting our ducks in a row● Inventory management● Network cleanup● Physical cleanup

Before and After

Why Collaborate?

● Reduce costs● Shared infrastructure● Shared project management

● Move project along faster● Shared responsibility● Pushed each other to succeed● Shared technical resources to fill in gaps

● Expand our existing relationship● New opportunities for collaboration

Project Plan

Colocation and P2P Providers

● Cost was major factor● Evaluated separate cages and shared cages● Plus cost of connectivity

● Also access to additional services● Remote hands● Cloud services● Managed services

Network Design/Implementation

● Bidding process for network integrator● Range of proposals● Evaluated by team from both colleges● Chosen before design was finalized

● Architecture● Separate but shared circuits from each college to

Colo● Use of COFAN fiber to connect colleges● Load balancing

Network Design

Preparation

● Inventory● What goes and what stays

● Network/server preparation● VLANS● IP addresses● Software Patching & Server Hardware repair

● Backups● Dealing w/ IT Staff "Separation Anxiety"

Schedule

● Schedule dictated by Emmanuel● Aggressive schedule

● Vendors had difficulty meeting

● MassArt unable to meet deadline● Unforeseen technical issues● Decided to push back move three weeks● Blessing in disguise● Cost more for separate movers, but reduced

complexity, downtime, and physical space issues

Issues - Technical

● Circuits● Weren't load balancing properly● Should have been tested more● Resulted in downtime for entire move weekend

● Hardware● Issues with broken hardware on move day

Issues - Vendors

● Huge price range for network integration bids● Hard to manage multiple vendors

● But having a PM helped● Not everyone was onsite who needed to be● Big vendors vs small

● Flexibility● Resources● Bureaucracy● Lost time due to holiday week

Lessons Learned

● Test early and often● Communicate early and often● Know what you have● Buy a label maker!

Other Observations

● Hurricane Sandy● Failover worked flawlessly

● Ongoing issues● Need to add internet at colocation site● Will likely collaborate on that too

More Observations

● Thankless project● Lots of effort● At end of the day, it’s all the same for the end

users● If this goes well, nobody notices● Let internal team know that effort is appreciated● Celebrate

Most Important...

● Colocation○ Save money, space, power ○ Improve environment, efficiency, redundancy

● Collaboration○ You don’t need to be part of a consortium to

collaborate○ It's not easy, but you get through it○ Save money○ Timing and trust are critical

● Using staff more effectively

For More Information

● Debbie Pepper, Colleges of the Fenway○ Director, Operations and Collaborative Services○ dpepper@colleges-fenway.org

● Carlos Varum, Emmanuel College○ Director of IT○ varumc@emmanuel.edu

● Matthew Burfeind, MassArt○ Deputy CIO○ burfeind@massart.edu