Systems-Facing Track – Oct 2025

Expanding Research Computing to Multiple Data Centers

Summary: Changing the tires on a moving car? The University at Buffalo recently attempted a similar feat and in this session we share our experience of expanding the campus research computing infrastructure to multiple data centers with minimal downtime. We’ll discuss power/cooling capacity planning, network design, physical moving logistics, multi-site storage, compute node provisioning, and how we lifted full 1600lb racks.  The talk will also provide an overview of the software tools we used, the challenges we faced, and lessons learned. Buckle up for this wild in the trenches tale of how we relocated our research computing infrastructure while keeping the lights on.

Speakers:
Andrew E. Bruno, Assistant Director, University at Buffalo CCR
Josh Furlani, Systems Administrator, University at Buffalo CCR

Call Coordinates (Zoom):
If you are not a member of People Network or Track email lists (where we distribute Zoom details), please contact coordinators of the relevant track: https://carcc.org/people-network/ and please include name and affiliation.