Migrating UAB research computing infrastructure to a new data center this year became an intricate dance to ensure a smooth transition that did not interrupt the important work of researchers on campus.
The result was a collaboration of IT employees and researchers that exemplifies the collaboration required for UAB research to thrive.
“As (the old) cluster shrinks, the new one grows,” said John-Paul Robinson, executive director for research computing cyberinfrastructure, as he showed off the equipment housed on state-of-the-art racks at DC Blox in Birmingham. “Now we can plan growth more easily. We will be able to find gaps in power utilization and make sure everything is running efficiently.”
Robinson, executive director for research computing cyberinfrastructure, was overseeing the equipment move, his colleagues in UAB IT Research Computing were working closely with researchers to ensure their work was uninterrupted.
“The science team has done analysis on each group to see who is collaborating, so they can move together,” Robinson said.
For Mohanraj Thirumalai, PhD, assistant professor of health informatics, that smooth transition was essential.
“My research focuses on telehealth, which relies heavily on robust and reliable computing infrastructure,” said Thirumalai, who is Rehab Engineering and Behavioral Promotion Technology Core Director for the Center for Engagement in Disability Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. “We use the UAB Cloud infrastructure provided by Research Computing to host several active research projects. Research Computing communicated early and clearly about the upcoming data center migration, giving us sufficient time to plan. They supported the temporary transition of our projects to an alternate hosting environment and ensured a smooth return to the UAB Cloud after the migration. The entire process was seamless, with no disruption to our work.”
The new data center location at DC Blox “provides improved performance for increasing AI workflows by co-locating compute and storage in a single facility,” said Ralph Zottola, Ph.D., associate vice president for research computing.
The migration was one of many improvements to UAB’s research computing system this year — and one of more to come. UAB IT is also moving to tiered storage for research computing, which will improve data management, expand storage capacity, and give researchers better options for their work.