Computer / Software
McCormick Shared Cluster Computing Room

The McCormick School of Engineering has a space specifically designed as a server room for research computing.

Room LG55 can accommodate up to 15 racks of computers and provides adequate cooling and UPS power for the racks.

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Space Management and Operation

McCormick IT oversees operation and maintenance of research cluster computers and associated services.

how to request Server Space

To use the server room, you must submit a request to mccit@northwestern.edu.

Once your request is approved, the principal investigator (PI) must ensure systems are installed within 60 days, or the space may be reallocated to a different group.

The following may occur only after an application has been approved:

  • Equipment may be installed into LG55. (No equipment may be placed in the room before approval has been granted.)
  • You will be added to the alerts and notification email systems. Once added, you may choose to opt out of the email notification systems.
  • Wildcard access will be granted. (Wildcard access will not be granted before an application has been approved.)

How to Request Access

Complete the Access Request Form to request authorization on your wildcard to the server room. Upon submission, your request will be routed to mccit@northwestern.edu. You will be notified within 1–2 business days when your request is approved.

By submitting the form, you consent to the user responsibilities and appropriate use of access agreement.

Unless otherwise specified on the form, access will expire in one year. You must re-apply for access prior to the expiration date to ensure laps in access do not occur.

Project Completion & Extensions

Space will be allocated generally on a three-year renewable term or for the term of the sponsored funding, if longer than three years.

Upon completion of a project's assigned term, any requests for an extension will be evaluated based upon the available space and other PIs' projects or clusters awaiting space.

We expect PIs to relinquish space upon project completion, when equipment becomes obsolete, or when project funding is exhausted.

Space Allocation

Space allocation will normally be renewable at the discretion of the McCormick Dean's Office.

In the event of competing demands for rack space, we will prioritize requests and make a recommended allocation to the dean's office for final adjudication.

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Tech LG55 Datacenter Standards

Who may use the room

  • McCormick faculty and up to 2 student admins per server or cluster that is housed in this datacenter.

What is provided

  • Hostname and IP allocations.
  • Regulated, battery-backed up power.
  • Regulated cooling environment.
  • Basic environmental monitoring and alerting, including temperature, humidity, and power state.
  • Choice of Linux OS support models.
  • Firewalling and networking configuration of IPMI remote management device, such as iDRAC/LOM/RAC/iLO.

Tenant responsibilities

  • Devices must meet NUIT security standards. E.g., They must run a vendor-supported OS, be patched regularly, limit access with a firewall, run NU security software agents, etc. See, Linux SysAdmin best practices for more examples. See NUIT's security standards & policies pages for details: IT Policies, Standards, and Guidelines
  • As soon as there is a change, provide an updated contacts list to MCC IT for each device, and inform MCC IT upon changes in the approved users access list for the datacenter.
  • Notify McCormick IT in advance if your server will house any HIPAA/classified data. Nota bene: this datacenter is not in compliance with FAR 52.204-21, "Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems" .
  • Tenants are responsible for network port activation and wirepull costs. (This mirrors NUIT's Tech LG87 standard.) McCormick IT will place and coordinate networking orders for the tenant.
  • Each device (server, switch, etc) must be labeled with at least a DNS hostname, department, and faculty member's name. MCC IT will print and affix labels for you.
  • Inform MCC IT when a device is to be retired/disposed. We will remove it, if able, and recycle the old hardware, including securely disposing of the media devices, such as HDDs and SSDs.
  • Notify us if any hardware is permanently removed by your team.
  • Request permission before adding any new devices to the cabinet, beyond those previously approved.

And please do not: 

  • interact with any equipment not belonging to your group. This includes not only devices in other cabinets, but also datacenter cooling and UPS power panels.
  • prop open the datacenter door.
  • bring any food or drinks into the datacenter.
  • leave guests unattended.
  • open the door for others.

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Server Room Pathways

Per an agreement between McCormick IT and Facilities Management, a clear pathway must exist from the main door to the mechanical space entryway (the double-doors located on the north wall, next to the large A/C unit).

This pathway exists to provide Facilities Management a way of moving large equipment into the mechanical space, and must be at least six feet (1.8 meters) in width.

No equipment may be stored in this pathway.

For more information, please contact mccit@northwestern.edu.  

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Notices of Power Shut-Down

There may be planned power outages due to maintenance by Facilities Management on the building-wide power and HVAC systems. The room's UPS system will not be able to provide power to the room during outages of this duration.

These shut-downs sometimes happen over Labor Day Weekend, and last for several hours.

Notice will be sent to all affected groups once McCormick receives final information about the scheduled shut-down.