Senior Vice President of Facilities Planning and Management Dan Deter said that the data center will be located under the new club sports facility that is attached to the parking garage. It will be mostly underground, which is ideal for a data center because it provides cooler temperatures, protection from natural disasters and other weather-related events.
The data center was not originally planned for the parking garage, but planners identified that a lower level could be easily added to the club sports facility. This unused space was a prime location for a data center that would grow Liberty’s capacity to fill its information technology needs.
The facility will function as a backup to Liberty’s existing data infrastructure. The university currently maintains two data centers. The primary location is in DeMoss Hall, and a secondary location is in Green Hall.
This location is also ideal as a backup because it is across campus from the primary facility. Since the distance isolates the centers from each other, an emergency in one of the locations would not affect the other as it would if they were in the same building.
According to Deter, maintaining a backup facility is essential for data management, as this will ensure constant access to Liberty’s online footprint by students and faculty. The new facility will also feature backup generators and batteries to ensure constant functionality. In the event of an outage at either of the other facilities, Liberty’s network will remain online.
Many processes across campus rely on the university’s network, and the new data center will help the network remain constantly accessible. Access to online classwork, door scanners in academic buildings and residence halls, emergency alerts, student meal plan usage and other vital processes all depend upon Liberty’s network.
Deter said another benefit of the new facility is that it will allow all of Liberty’s data to be stored on-site. Currently, the university stores considerable backup information at a third-party data center in Richmond. This will enhance data security, helping to keep sensitive information of students and staff safe.
Deter floated a potential outreach opportunity provided by the new project. He suggested that the facility could be used to provide data backup for churches with limited resources. The university is considering this as a way to support churches with shared values and further the mission of the Gospel.
“It’s like a community outreach program that we could offer to some other groups that, I think, would benefit them,” Deter said.
Deter said that the new data center would also enable the university to better serve both online and residential students. Along with enhancing data security and accessibility, it will also give Liberty the capacity to grow and adapt as technology evolves.
An official date for completion of the project has not been announced yet. Interior construction of the facility is expected to be completed by the end of the year, and it will take approximately six to eight months after that for IT to make the facility fully operational.
Zampella is a news reporter.