UCR Library considered center of technical expertise.

In August, UCR hosted the University of California Computing Services Conference (UCCSC) bringing together colleagues from all 10 UC campuses and UCOP to engage and collaborate on technical issues and innovations. The UCR Library’s Cyberinfrastructure/IT Department was invited to present on the transformative work they have done in the past year creating one of the most secure, robust, and reliable infrastructure environments on campus.

Dan Szilagyi, Head of Cyberinfrastructure, presented on the new IT team’s efforts in re-architecting the library’s infrastructure, network, software, web services, security, backup system, and customer support services. The IT team, all of whom were hired in the past year based on years of expertise, training, and innovative thinking, spoke with colleagues after the presentation and attended sessions from other UCs. Dan remarked, "It is so valuable sharing information with colleagues in the UC system. We are often working on solutions to technical issues others are experiences as well. By meeting to share our collective experiences, we increase our expertise within our respective organizations."

The Data Center

A major focus of the new IT team was the overhaul of UCR Library’s data center. Independent and redundant electrical circuits were installed. This separation from building power ensures that servers will run for hours instead of minutes in the case of an electrical outage. The hardware for servers and backups was migrated into new racks (pictured), allowing for better air flow for cooling, cable management, and more capacity. The backup system was re-engineered to restore data in minutes instead of days, and all data is copied four times in different locations.

Hardware racks before and after

This new environment better supports the library’s strategic goals and unique needs by protecting our websites, digital initiatives, digital born content, data repositories, and digital preservation program. It is just one of the many efforts being undertaken by the IT team to better serve the library and community, and we are proud of their work!