FleSSR public cloud infrastructure update

I wrote a brief update for the FleSSR project blog yesterday, covering some work we did last week at our (relatively new) Swindon Data Centre to build the initial infrastructure for the project’s public cloud. I won’t repeat any of that here but would just like to note that the FAS 3140 SAN cluster (Storage Area Network) that we are being loaned by NetApp via Q Associates for the duration of the project, of which we’ll use about 10 Tbytes for FleSRR, will be up and running over the next couple of days meaning that this infrastructure will be substantial enough for some real testing.

As an aside, when Eduserv’s new Swindon Data Centre originally opened all staff we’re encouraged to go over from Bath to have a look round. I didn’t bother because “what’s the point of looking round a shed?” — it wasn’t one of my more popular in-house comments :-)

As it happens, I was quite wrong… the Data Centre is actually quite impressive, not just because of the available space (which is much bigger than I was expecting) but also the quality of the one ‘vault’ that has been built so far and the associated infrastructure. It looks (to my eyes) like a great resource… now we’ve just got to get it used by our primary communities — education, government and health. I’m hopeful that FleSSR represents a small step towards what will eventually become a well-valued community resource.

Originally published at efoundations.typepad.com on November 2, 2010.