HMS IT is beginning a project in the Markley data center that will relocate existing services, consolidate servers, reduce power consumption, and decommission outdated hardware to improve efficiency, enhance resiliency, and lower costs. 

Benefits to the HMS community 

• Enhanced efficiency and increased sustainability: By optimizing and consolidating existing systems, we will improve performance, reduce energy consumption, and lessen our environmental impact. This will make operations more efficient and create room for future growth. 

• Improved infrastructure: Replacing aging infrastructure will enhance our capabilities and strengthen data center reliability for the long term. 

• Greater resiliency: With the addition of our new secondary data center at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC), we’ve increased computational resiliency. MGHPCC is a state-of-the-art facility designed to support advanced research, innovation, and collaboration. 

• Cost savings: By optimizing services, improving power efficiency, and consolidating our data center footprint, we expect to reduce operational costs by 40% over the next 10 years. 

Impact 

The main work is currently planned for November 2024 through January 2025. During this period, there will be some scheduled downtime for key services including but not limited to O2, research.files, and admin.files, with the most significant outage expected in January. We will provide detailed dates and guidance to impacted users in advance to ensure they are fully informed and prepared. In addition, users can bookmark this web page which will be updated as information becomes available. 

During this move to a new data center, standby storage will be transitioning to a new system. To accommodate this system change, the snapshot expiration period for standby storage will be reduced from eight weeks to two weeks. This adjustment is intended to accelerate standby storage transition to the new system by limiting the amount of data retained over shorter periods until the relocation is complete. Researchers are encouraged to take special care when deleting files during this time period as they will not be recoverable after two weeks. 

Just as with the Research Data Migration project, HMS IT will strive to minimize the impact to the research community by scheduling downtimes during off-peak hours as much as possible, using backup systems, thoroughly testing infrastructure, maintaining clear communication, and coordinating closely with our vendors to ensure minimal disruption. 

Consultation and support  

Please reach out if you have questions about this project or its impact. Support for researchers is available through rchelp@hms.harvard.edu. For all other questions, you contact the HMS IT Service Desk at 617-432-2000 or itservicedesk@hms.harvard.edu.