Modular Data Center Installed at University of Montana

The University of Montana recently completed the deployment of a modular data center to help consolidate its IT infrastructure. Before the Montana data center was established in Missoula, the university's IT systems were spread throughout the campus. Now, the IT team can manage and maintain the institution's legacy servers and storage solutions from the on-campus modular data center structure.

The university elected to utilize CommScope's Data Center on Demand solution for its modular facility project. The initiative was launched in 2014, and took only nine months to complete thanks to the pre-fabricated, modular solution.

In addition to taking a shorter time to deploy, the modular data center will also help the university achieve its future virtualization and migration goals, as the facility includes a number of available racks to be used for integration in the near future.

Consolidating a complex infrastructure
With the modular data center in place, the university is now able to consolidate the 23 data center facilities on campus into this single structure. Tony Jablonski, University of Montana assistant CIO, said the school has already begun the consolidation process with considerable success.

"This new data center further strengthens our network and IT infrastructure with the best technology available," Jablonski said. "We have a significant responsibility to provide our faculty and students with a secure, efficient and dependable service when managing their information. Now that most of our data center technology is operating within the Data Center on Demand modular solution, I can sleep better at night."

The modular data center allows the university to take advantage of Montana's temperate climate with its SmartAir Intelligent Cooling System. The facility also includes 16 server racks that run 20 kW each, battery and diesel generators for backup and redundant power supply units.

"Many organizations face the same challenges as the University of Montana when trying to consolidate their IT infrastructure with very little budget or real estate," noted Kevin St. Cyr, CommScope senior vice president of enterprise solutions. "The Data Center on Demand solution was the perfect fit to quickly bring all of their legacy systems into one efficient modular unit that still has room to grow."

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