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Hosting services

Information Services (IS) provides a wide range of core services to the University. These will be sufficient for most of the business needs of the University, however all the highly specialised needs of a research focussed University of this size cannot be catered for by a single department.  In recognition of this IS can host services funded and/or managed by other schools or departments within the University.

Benefits

Improved business continuity

IS can contribute to the business continuity of schools by providing resilience through hosting of  services and servers in high quality datacentres managed by a dedicated team of datacentre  professionals. This will reduce the risk of data loss and service interruption that could be experienced if services are hosted locally e.g. power interruption, fire, flooding.

Promoting energy efficiency

By hosting school servers in the IS datacentres rather than a larger number of small server rooms each with their own air conditioning units a considerable energy saving can be made. It is estimated that this could be in the region of 40%.

Reducing costs to the University

• Using the right service - By using an existing service or by providing a server of the right size to meet the schools requirements, overspending on excess capacity can be reduced and existing resources can be used more cost effectively
• Energy efficiency – The energy efficiency gains outlined above generate corresponding cost savings
• Freeing up space – By having servers hosted centrally space will be freed up in schools for other productive uses. There are approximately 20 rooms in the University being utilised as server rooms
• Less maintenance of air conditioning units – There will be a reduced requirement for air conditioning units under maintenance contracts lowering costs to the University

Reducing risk to University’s reputation

The risk for loss of service can be reduced by hosting services centrally and therefore protect the data and reputation of high profile projects for research and external organisations.

Service Offering

Virtual server hosting

IS provide the capability for hosting virtual servers within its virtual hosting infrastructure. Virtualised servers are more energy efficient, and increase resilience through more immediate restoration of service due to it being within a clustered environment. In many instances users would be unaware of hardware problems. This is normally the most cost effective way of obtaining a dedicated server for small to medium sized requirements and as such should be considered the preferred option. 

Physical server hosting

IS are now in the position to host school servers in the University’s primary datacentres. Hosting is free for both IS managed and school managed hosting. There will be costs for the server hardware and software.

• IS managed hosting - This type of hosting is suitable for all schools and departments, but especially for those who do not have the technical expertise to manage a server. IS manage the server.  
• School managed hosting - This type of hosting is only suitable for schools and departments that have local IT staff with the technical expertise to manage a server.

MySQL hosting

MySQL database hosting is a service for staff and postgraduates which holds databases centrally. It is used to support over 100 Research, Learning Teaching and Administration databases within the University.