$6.8 million gift allows University of Alaska to buttress data center
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The data center for the UA system is stored in the West Ridge administrative building, and officials say a disaster — either natural or man-made — would cripple record-keeping for payroll, student loans, personnel records and more.
“We’d be out of business,” said Fred Smits, the UA executive director of infrastructure technology services.
On Tuesday, UA announced a gift from Alaska Communications Systems that should alleviate the problem by the end of 2010.
The telecommunications company has agreed to donate use of a data center in Oregon to back up UA’s record-keeping system. The gift, which will be spread throughout the next five years, is worth an estimated $6.8 million.
“It fixes what is probably our single biggest vulnerability at the university,” said UA President Mark Hamilton.
Backup data tapes are made each day and stored off-site, but the use of the ACS facility will allow UA to continue online business operations that would otherwise be disrupted in the wake of a major disaster. Online functions will be able to resume within an hour once the new system is in place, said UA spokeswoman Kate Ripley.
Several universities in New Orleans had their record-keeping systems decimated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and Smits said an 8.0-magnitude earthquake could cause a similar disruption in Fairbanks.
“Natural disasters happen like a train wreck,” said Cynthia Henry, the chairwoman of the University of Alaska Board of Regents. “You don’t have time to say, ‘Let’s store our data now.’”
Smits said UA will need to install an estimated $1.5 million worth of hardware to make the new system work, but that the service itself, including maintenance, will come at no cost to UA.
The gift agreement lasts until 2015.
After that, Hamilton said, there isn’t a plan for keeping the service in place, but he said UA will surely find a way to continue.
“Once we have it, that would be like giving up life insurance,” he said.
Contact staff writer Jeff Richardson at 459-7518.
I don't believe this is really about the data, I believe it is about the hardware to access the data. The data (according to the article) is backed up and taken off-campus. Pretty standard in a lot of places still. The problem comes if something takes out the computers used to access that data.
RE: the 1.5 mil upgrade, this probably should have been done on their own for there infrastructure to be current anyway. Sounds like UA is just way behind in their maintenance/disaster preparedness.
BTW, I have nothing to do with the UA system. Just some IT experience.
I know I do not undrestand the new age of computers but how did we "protect" this imformation years ago? Just how much of this information is also stored some where else? Student loan information is surely stored some where other than at the UA. It just seams to me this is another way to piss away more "free money". Shortly it will all blow up in our faces and more bail outs will just not save us from total brakedown, it is going to happen, its just a matter of time.
So, does this mean in 2o15 the state will be coughing up $1 million to pay ACS for the service?
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