Lawrence Livermore National Labs (LLNL) is world-renowned in its role as a premier applied science laboratory. Since 1952, this Northern California facility has operated as part of the U.S. National Nuclear Security Agency and has been the home of a nearly inexhaustible list of discoveries and innovations.

But behind LLNL’s cutting-edge research activities is the “business” end of things-administrative offices, staff, and an IT infrastructure not unlike any major, information-centric business enterprise. Recently, LLNL designed and built a new data center to support these IT needs. Not only was the facility designed to service LLNL’s own administrative IT needs but also to serve as a co-location for enterprises wishing to move their own data center operations to this secure, high-tech facility.
 

“It was an interesting challenge,” explained Jim Herbert, LLNL’s data center cabling manager. “We had to design an entire data center based on the anticipated needs of unspecified future clients. High-availability business processing and data capabilities were the central criteria, but we knew we had to build in a great deal of scalability and managed adaptability.”

Mindful of these primary requirements, LLNL commissioned the California Data Center Design Group (CDCDG) to design the facility, implementing cutting-edge “modular” design practices in anticipation of the internal growth potential for the facility. “The modular design incorporates an infrastructure backbone that can be expanded rather than rebuilt once existing load or growth potential is realized” stated Hughes. “Flexibility and growth were at the forefront of the mechanical, electrical, and telecommunication design concepts.”