City of Hope

Duarte, CA

THE RESULTS: Robust Data Center Provides Redundancy and Reliability

DSI managed the City of Hope Modular Data Center project, first gaining critical approval from the City of Duarte Planning and Permitting Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department, in order to keep the initiative on schedule. DSI also worked with Southern California Edison to increase the existing utility transformer feeds to meet the power requirements of the new Modular DC. Prior to placing the data center equipment online, DSI performed exhaustive testing of the system. The end result is a highly robust data center which provides redundancy, enabling critical systems to stay online should any key components require maintenance or repair. In addition, DSI installed a monitoring system that allows the IT management team and facilities groups to keep an eye on all data center functions regardless of their physical location.

DSI Prescribes Scalable Modular Data Center to Solve Major Healthcare Provider’s Current and Future Capacity Requirements

City of Hope is an independent research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Designated as one of only 45 comprehensive cancer centers, the highest recognition bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, City of Hope is also a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, with research and treatment protocols that advance care throughout the world. City of Hope is located in Duarte, California, with community clinics throughout Southern California.

THE CHALLENGE: Limited Budget and Space Availability Hamper New Site Options

With an existing on-campus data center that was no longer meeting the City of Hope’s needs, it was clear a new facility was needed to meet rapidly growing IT demands. However, with a limited budget and an existing location and infrastructure that were insufficient to support the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system and cooling system needs, City of Hope faced the challenge of finding a new location that matched the existing campus infrastructure. Additional considerations involved in the planning for a new data center would include a campus-wide fiber optic cabling infrastructure project that was already in the works, and limited feeder cables to existing utility transformers, which were in dire need of upgrades.

THE SOLUTION: Modular Data Center offers Scalable, Cost-effective Solution

City of Hope turned to Data Specialties Inc. (DSI) to address its data center needs. DSI worked closely with the cancer center’s management team to define the requirements of the proposed data center and establish growth and redundancy parameters for the new equipment. To meet stringent IT requirements and tight budgetary constraints, DSI recommended the installation of a Modular Data Center to provide a scalable, modular solution to satisfy current needs, as well as future requirements for added capacity.

The Modular Data Center solution installed by DSI housed:

  • (2) 100kW UPS systems
  • (2) remote power panels
  • (20) Cabinets
  • 300 kVA generator
  • Automatic transfer switch
  • Hot aisle containment system
  • N+1 cooling
  • FM200 fire suppression system

DSI also designed and installed landscaping around the data center walls to match the existing buildings.