Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity
Massive new FBI data center part of major consolidation: 100 data centers will be replaced by just three. i2 designs the cable and cabinet infrastructure.
Over the last few years, the federal government has been consolidating its data centers, with the goal of leveraging advances in technology to tighten security, save money, save energy, and better serve the public.
Included in that effort was the construction of the Grey Wolf Data Center, a 100,000 square-foot FBI facility in Pocatello, Idaho, which includes a 25,000 square-foot data hall.
According to an FBI news release, “It is a milestone in the efforts to consolidate and optimize data center infrastructure, information, and services as part of a broad multi-year IT transformation.” The FBI also announced that new facility would be built to Tier III standards, with JE Dunn Construction serving as the general contractor.
i2 provided the infrastructure analysis used in the bridging documents phase of the design, plus the design of the cabling system, data center cabinet layout, and the overhead cable tray design.
According to other publically released information, the cabling system is notable in that it includes a mesh fiber optic design that supports 100 Gbps and 400 Gbps data transfer.
Ground broke for the facility in October, 2017, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 18, 2019.
An FBI spokesman, Richard Haley, told TV News 8 of Idaho Falls that the new facility is part of a plan to consolidate more than 100 FBI and Department of Justice data centers down to just three.
Together, these three data centers are expected to improve collaboration and information sharing and increase the Bureau’s ability to execute advanced analytics, while decreasing operational costs.
Paul Abbate, FBI Associate Deputy Director, told Data Center Planet that “We believe this project is one of the foremost and finest examples of how the Department of Justice and the FBI are taking the resources that are appropriated to us — time, money, people, land — and figuring out how to use them most effectively and most efficiently for the taxpayer.”
Read more in Cabling Installation & Maintenance Magazine
Photos: FBI.gov
