The UK's Pirbright Institute, a global leader in the study and surveillance of viruses, has installed a new containerized data center.
Schneider Electric and Advanced Power Technology (APT) have delivered the data center at the Institute’s headquarters in Woking, Surrey. It will allow the organization’s team to fast-track its scientific and viral research programs.
The containerized data center will offer “scalable, resilient, flexible, and energy-efficient infrastructure” for the Pirbright Institute, Schneider and APT said.
Operating at the forefront of global viral research, the Pirbright Institute is a center of excellence for research into the control and surveillance of virus diseases of farm animals, and viruses that spread from animals to humans such as bird flu.
In recent years the Institute has undergone significant digital transformation, and as part of that process decided to build the data center to enable greater collaboration and ready itself for a future where it may wish to run more experiments and analysis utilizing AI and high-performance computing.
The new data center, which took 12 weeks to build and install, has an initial capacity of 80kW and uses components provided by Schneider Electric and APT, including Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure IT Expert data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software, which monitors 60 different environmental parameters within the data center. Heavy-duty enclosures are also utilized outside the facility to prevent physical intrusion, and the design has enabled Pirbright to extend the life cycle of the data center, delivering a 50-year life span.
“Cyber and physical security is at the heart of the Institute’s work, and it is essential that we have continuous and proactive protection against phishing, malware, ransomware, and more. In fact, security is one of the biggest drivers we have, after the science,” said Tim Haywood, IT infrastructure manager at The Pirbright Institute. “The investments we’ve made in EcoStruxure DCIM and data center physical security have paid dividends - allowing us to leverage automation and remote monitoring to help protect against a host of threats.”
The data center had to be built and preconfigured offsite for security reasons, with existing workloads migrated onto the servers. It was delivered in July.
“The unique set of challenges we encountered at the Pirbright Institute required a tailor-made data center solution, meeting its requirements for fast deployment, increased security, availability, and efficiency,” said John Thompson, managing director of APT. “The new containerized data center will provide a long-term, flexible, collaborative, and scalable solution, which enables its end-users to deliver the highest standards of research, while meeting future demands for security and sustainability.”
APT and Schneider said the facility is scalable, so it can be upgraded to cope with more demanding workloads. The Pirbright Institute has plans for several new laboratories in Woking, and the data center will help support this expansion.
“The new data center at Pirbright exemplifies the fundamental role these advanced computing systems play in life science research, and truly demonstrates why data centers have been designated critical national infrastructure,” said Mark Yeeles, vice president of the secure power division at Schneider Electric UK and Ireland. “It also reinforces the role of digital infrastructure as a critical fourth utility, and through these new, world-class IT facilities, the Institute has developed a secure, scalable, and dedicated platform to support the vital work of its researchers now, and in the future.”
