The University of Victoria pulled the plug on its last mainframe computer with a special ceremony March 31 in the University Centre.
The IBM mainframe, which once housed all of the university’s research and administrative applications, has been superseded by newer and faster facilities. Where there was once one computer are now over 800 computers. This bank of servers runs all the university’s administrative, teaching and learning, and research applications.
“We made several changes to information systems over the past few years, and the shutdown of the mainframe signifies the beginning of a new computing era at UVic,” says Chief Information Officer Mark Roman. “We have now implemented transformative information systems that will make our computing capacity and performance more adaptive and sustainable over the long term.”
The IBM mainframe had been the university’s computing workhorse, in continuous operation since 1969. It was the fastest mainframe ever in use at the university, and the last of a succession of mainframes that originally occupied 3,200 square feet of space.
“Many people worked very hard behind the scenes to ensure a smooth transition to the new system, and I would like to thank all university staff for their co-operation during this period of dramatic change,” says Roman.
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