This document focuses on the preparation of the designated Cold Site for the recovery of primary computing and network facilities after a disaster has occurred. By agreement with the College of Engineering we have options to use space on the first floor of the Bell Engineering Building, the BELL 108 suite, currently occupied by computer labs and some graduate student offices. If the Recovery Management Team opts to use this site for recovery after the disaster, some work must be done to convert the space from its present use to be able to house the computer systems, network equipment and disaster recovery team personnel.

In an extreme disaster where the Bell Engineering Building has also been rendered unusable, an alternate site must be chosen. Those sites may require additional work to prepare for the special power and cooling requirements of the mainframe equipment. Suggested alternate sites on campus include: Business Administration Building Room 107, the ballroom in the Union, and spaces in HPER, Barnhill, and Bud Walton Arena. Before considering off-campus sites, be sure to consider the need for proper telecommunications and networking connections to the building, including fiber optic cable to the campus network.

Cold Site Spaces

The Cold Site in the BELL 108 suite is located on the first floor of the Bell Engineering Building. The area available for use as the disaster recovery center is highlighted in yellow in the picture.

The suite consists of four Engineering computer labs (108C, 108E, 108G, 108J), office space for graduate students (108B, 108D, 108F, 108K), storage areas (108A, 108J, 108JA, 108L, 108M), a wiring closet where the campus backbone network enters the building (108AB), and some open spaces (108). These areas must all be cleared in order to make room for the computer and network equipment necessary to re-establish the facilities that Computing Services operates.

All telephone connections for the building are centered in the adjoining BELL 108AA room, as are many of the existing building network connections. The Disaster Recovery Team should work closely with the Dean or Associate Dean of Engineering for access or changes needed to this room during the recovery process.

Quick Review of Site Preparation Work

• The computer equipment in the four computer labs must be relocated to another area within the Bell Engineering Building. All occupied offices in the BELL 108 suite must be cleared to make the space available for Computing Services staff and select users to do their work.

• Adequate power capacity is already available within the building, and some provisions have been made to provide power to the Bell 108 suite. These consist of breaker panels and conduit back to the main power source within the building. The breaker panels are empty, however, and no wiring is present in the conduits. Electrical contractors will have to install a power distribution unit, however, since various both 110V and 208V (single and triple phase) are needed by the equipment to be housed in the recovery facility.

• The site does not have power conditioning equipment, such as an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) or motor generator. The Plan does not call for either of these, which may put the equipment installed at risk of power interruptions, a risk we must accept due to the temporary conditions of the Cold Site.

• The facility has only standard building environmentals, so additional air conditioning equipment must be installed.

• The site does not have a raised floor such as found in major computer rooms, but the Plan makes special provision for the installation of equipment such that raised flooring is unnecessary.

• Three half-height walls in the larger 108C/108E/108G/108J room will need to be knocked down to accommodate the installation of the equipment.

• The entrance to BELL 108G will need to be widened to accommodate the larger pieces of equipment that will be installed.

• The Cold Site has electronic entry security, with doors and a man-trap turnstile controlled by a security system located within the Bell Engineering Building. It will be necessary to enter all personnel needing access to the area into the security system.

• Terminations to the fiber optic cabling for the campus backbone network is located within the Cold Site. Additional fiber optic cable will need to be installed to extend the backbone to other points within the site.

• There is access to a loading dock in the vicinity of the Cold Site where large trucks can deliver equipment and furniture. The floor in the hallway outside of the BELL 108 suite is extremely rough and could cause damage to electronic equipment being rolled over it. To avoid damage to the equipment and the floor, 3/4-inch plywood must be placed over the floor in the hallway. Additional plywood may be placed in the BELL 108 suite to prevent floor damage from heavy equipment as needed.

• Telephone terminations???

Cold Site Prepreparation Detailed Documents

DRPCS002: Cold Site Preparation: Physical Facility

DRPCS003: Cold Site Preparation: Electrical

DRPCS004: Cold Site Preparation: Air Conditioning

DRPCS006: Cold Site Preparation: Network Connections

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