Victoria U To Build Green Data Center
Victoria University is building a new, green data center with the help of IBM. The Australian university said it expects the data center to address its increasing data management needs for the next decade and save $300,000 in energy costs in the process.
For the project, IBM will implement a modular design approach that's expected to consume significantly less power than a "conventional" design. The design also includes in-row cooling targeting the heat load source and "free cooling chiller plant technology to leverage the favorable Melbourne climate," according to IBM. The data center will serve multiple locations and supply educational services to Victoria U students.
"The University has 11 campuses and sites from the CBD across Melbourne's west, providing education to more than 45,000 students. The data center is critical to supplying educational services to all our students, as well as supporting the University's administrative functions," said Stephen Weller, Victoria University pro vice chancellor-students, in a statement released today. "With the rapid growth in data, we needed to make sure that we stay ahead of the game, and so acquired a design and solution that would cater for our data center needs for the next 10 years--including increased power, cooling, space, and floor load capacity."
IBM indicated that the new data center will consume about 45 percent less power than other designs and will potentially save about 300,000 kilowatts per year.