UIS are scheduling some major work on the West Cambridge Data Centre during the period 7-22 December 2026, including a 10-day complete electrical outage affecting departmental systems there. This is likely to be highly disruptive to both departmental and University IT. We are considering the impact to our departmental operations and any possible mitigations to keep basic services operational and will update this page when we have more information.
UIS's announcement follows.
What is happening?
The University is making significant upgrades at the West Cambridge Data Centre to remediate and improve the electrical and cooling works on site. The proposed dates for this work are 7-22 December.
Why is a full power isolation required?
This work is required as part of ongoing improvements to the heating and cooling systems on the site. This will both improve resilience for current services, and equip the University to host the Dawn supercomputer, putting us at the forefront of emerging AI technology.
To complete the work safely, there will need to be a 10-day full power shutdown on the site. There will be additional days in which services will be disrupted while we power down and power up the site. We expect the work be completed within the period 7-22 December 2026.
Why is it happening at this time?
This will be a complex and challenging period of work. It is extremely difficult to find a suitable time for an extended power shutdown because the University operates year-round.
How will this be managed?
A project team at UIS is coordinating this work. This includes project management, infrastructure and service specialists, technical leads, and communications. Initially, we are working to understand the needs of the services hosted at WCDC and what the impact of the shut down will be. We will seek to mitigate the risks and impact of the shut down as far as is reasonably possible and we will take action to maintain the security and integrity of the site.
