New Data Centre Strategy services
First trials of new data storage services will begin this month.
The majority of the new infrastructure is now in place and testing is underway to ensure the platforms are ready for the new service.
Part of the University’s Data Centre Strategy (DCS), the programme will deliver a modern, flexible and consumable approach for delivering IT to staff, students and researchers.
The first service available to the University community will be new research storage, with initial users expected to be utilising private cloud services this month.
A single and highly competitive five-year pricing model has been devised for storage users. Further details of the process for requesting new storage using it.leeds.ac.uk will be publicised when the full roll-out commences in January.
Additional services, including research computing, will follow shortly after.
Most of the University’s existing applications will be migrated to the new infrastructure during the next two years. This process requires a deep understanding of the application, any dependencies, application support and lifecycle.
The process of discovery has already begun with the first batch of applications. This process will be rolled out University-wide during 2019, with application owners and users contacted prior to migration.
All new applications will be assessed for their suitability for immediate hosting in the hybrid cloud, with Software as a Service (SaaS) being the preferred option.
All existing storage will be migrated to the new infrastructure, and the level of service will replicate or enhance current arrangements. A variety of storage options will be available, including single site, multi-site and MS Azure Public Cloud storage. The exact storage and backup requirements for each data set will be decided as part of the discovery phase of migration, in conjunction with the data owner.
Watch this space for further updates.