These are used for both Administrative and Academic systems. These are Compaq Alpha,VAX, Proliant, and Sun. The Systems Team support these together with the operating systems of NT, OpenVMS, Unix and Windows 2000. Many of the servers in use have Raid controllers which provide greater security of data and server availability.
Raid enables servers to continue running without any loss of data even when disks fail.
Often the disks can then be replaced without any system downtime experienced. The computer server hardware is mostly stored in secure computer rooms at Stoke and Stafford, with some smaller servers at Lichfield and Shrewsbury. These rooms have air conditioning, fire protection systems, and power protection systems in an effort to provide maximum availability for users. All users have usernames to allow access to authorised servers and systems. These should only be used by the individual and not shared with colleagues or friends.