The HPM-Fileserver is a virtual server hosted on a VMware 4.0 system with three ESX servers (Dell PowerEdge 2950, 8 CPUs each). The system is housed offsite in Pitt's Network Operations Center (NOC), a state-of-the-art server facility that hosts all of Pitt's enterprise servers.
The virtual server runs Windows Server 2008 R2 64bit, with 4 Gigs of RAM allocated. The server is inside the University's server firewall zone, with no access except through firewall rules.
Data are kept on virtual drives, with access restricted by file/folder permissions. The virtual drives themselves are created on LUNs on Pitt's enterprise SAN. Currently the server has 2 such data drives, with a total data storage capacity of about 2.5 Terabytes. As these are virtual disks, size can be increased as needed.
Pitt's NOC provides round-the-clock active monitoring of the server for any performance, intrusion, or virus issues, using Netcool and Symantec Endpoint Protection. The NOC backs up the server nightly with Symantec Backup/Veritas; past tapes are available for 2 months back. In addition, the server keeps twice-daily (7am and noon) shadow copies of all changed files for as long as storage space permits, currently about 1.5 months.