Coldest XServe RAID on the planet

Server rooms are generally chilly places, with high-powered air conditioning systems running at top speed to keep the big iron from melting. The installation team from

the University of Wisconsin - Madison is not likely to have an AC problem with its latest Xserve RAID installs; the boxes are configured as part of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory being built at 90º South, otherwise known as the South Pole.

The "extreme astronomy" project -- using cubic miles of the Antarctic icecap as a handy, preconfigured pure water reservoir where possible neutrino collisions can be spotted and analyzed, with the entire mass of the Earth filtering out cosmic rays and other particles -- is going to be generating huge amounts of data when it comes completely online. One RAID will be used for scratch storage of that research data; the other will be used for backup.

Apple has made a strong push for Xserve and Xserve RAID in the research community, focusing on genomics and biochemistry among other disciplines. It's interesting to see astronomy projects purchasing Apple storage gear to add to the arsenal.

[via AlienRAID]