As the foundation of a new data center designed to support students, faculty and academic research, including PowerEdge M600 blade servers and Dell EqualLogic PS5000X storage arrays, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is using Dell technology.

The enhanced capabilities of the new data center will provide the Wharton School researchers the ability to operate a Linux grid cluster powered by Dell blade servers, and expanded mailbox storage for students and faculty. For all staff, the Wharton School is raising its mailbox quota from 300 megabytes to 1 gigabyte and tripling the storage capacity available to students and faculty.

Senior IT director of Wharton Computing, Dan Alig, stated: “The demands on the Wharton School’s network are increasing and with our continued growth, we are committed to developing an infrastructure that is flexible and efficient.” He continued: “Dell blade servers and Dell EqualLogic storage will allow us to do more with less and manage our budget as effectively as we manage our technology resources.”

Wharton Computing IT professionals, in the process of consolidating existing IBM BladeCenter infrastructure onto Dell technology, were able to unload and set up one of the Dell M1000e blade enclosures in four hours, compared with a 24-hour process using the previous hardware. Replacing technology that previously arrived in about 60 boxes, a reduction of approximately 45 cubic feet of packaging material, the Dell enclosure was delivered in one box.

Intended to deliver stronger performance than the previous generation of servers, with the goal of quintupling the computing power per node in Wharton’s Microsoft® Exchange 2007 environment, the Wharton School also has implemented PowerEdge R900 servers that are providing a small hardware footprint. And Wharton has chosen Dell ProSupport for IT.

Dell vice president of higher education, John Mullen, declared: “The Wharton School has been focused on maximizing its technology investment to free up financial and human resources.” He adds: “Dell’s approach to simplifying IT enables customers to reclaim the time, money, and personnel needed to drive true innovation into daily business processes.”