Buried deep in the basement of Founders Hall is a room full of giant servers and computers. Hundreds of cables run throughout the room connecting Ashland University to the outside world, via telephone and Internet.

This is the AU Data Center, the home of the most important electronics on campus.

In the event of a power outage, the servers are designed to switch over to a battery backup for around 15 minutes so that Information Technology can properly shut down the servers to avoid data corruption.

The generator costs approximately $55,000, according to Rick Ewing, vice president of Facilities Management and Planning.

During the renovation of Founders, students may have noticed a shiny metallic box sitting outside of Founders; this is AU’s new back-up generator.

“We had been replacing aging electrical equipment in Founders and took this opportunity with the elevator installation to upgrade the server and install a new generator,” Ewing said. “Before the generator, if we lost power in Founders we lost everything across campus, but now the generator will kick in and support the Data Center.”

Ewing explained that the generator is meant to serve two purposes: maintaining data functions during power interruptions and to protect the equipment from constant restarts.

“Getting a generator for the Data Center has been a priority for four or five years now,” Vice President of Information Technology Curtis White said. “The Data Center houses all the servers, phone lines, the Internet, K-drives, Web Advisor and Angel.”

The new generator is run by natural gas and can activate in under a minute.

“The generator features an automatic transfer switch, which means we don’t even need to be on campus to switch the Data Center power to the generator,” Ewing said.

Ewing said that Facilities Management had to pour a concrete base for the generator as well as link it to a gas line.

White said that the generator has been hooked up and is currently waiting to be tested. He explained that getting fire suppression in the Data Center is the next step down the road.

“The generator will run the Data Center and air conditioning in the Data Center,” White said. White explained that having all the equipment in the same space without air conditioning is hazardous to the equipment.

“This goes a long way towards protecting our equipment,” White said. “But for now we are going to celebrate.”