If a new Computing Services pilot program succeeds, data from computers in every College department may soon be stored in a single backup system -- a move that would efficiently allocate resources left for years without widespread organization.
David Bucciero, director of systems services at Dartmouth, called a newly-launched backup centralization initiative program "utility computing" because it consolidates the data backup and storage needs of multiple offices and departments throughout campus, much like power and water utilities consolidate the power and water needs of a community.
"Right now, it's a pilot with 500 computers in 17 campus offices, but if it's successful, we would like to do a bigger offering," Bucciero said. "Some departments, like admissions, see it as a relief, because they don't have to do their own backup."
The service will not be free. Departments participating in the pilot program, and any that choose to use it later on, must pay Computing Services from their own budgets to mitigate the system's operating costs. But the fee, Bucciero said, is worth it.
"The way the College sees it, these departments are already spending money to back up their systems," Bucciero said. "We came up with a cost model, showing that our service is way under their current costs."
So far, the program has proven successful. The software that runs the backup system is called Veritas, and according to Bucciero, it has not demonstrated any technical flaws.
"It's used by 99 percent of Fortune 500 companies," Bucciero said, "it's not like it's not going to work."
Under the new system, data from target computers is fed into central servers, located in Computing Services in the basement of Carson Hall, every night. That data is processed by two Dell servers, "interleaved," or broken into pieces and shuffled for security reasons, and then passed into a storage device. It is later copied onto magnetic tapes and stored in a vault. This is done to ensure that, if digital equipment is damaged, the data is saved in a hard-copy format.
But the pilot program has not proven flawless. According to Bucciero, the biggest snag has been communication with departments receiving the service. Computing service employees, using technical terminology, have experienced communications break-downs with some departments. Bucciero hopes that the recent addition of computing consultants to the project will facilitate smoother information exchange between Computing Services and other campus departments.
Upon completion of the pilot project, Bucciero's next step will be to purchase the equipment needed to expand the system. This will include larger servers, more storage devices and a new "tape robot."
While this will require a major capital investment, Bucciero believes the efficiency of the new system will save the college money in the long run.
"Getting departments to try the new system wasn't exactly like pulling teeth," Bucciero said. "So far, it's been pretty well received."
