Synchrotron fires up greenfield IT

03.05.2006
When complete next year, Australia's first synchrotron will be a marvel of world-leading technology and will have a fresh slate of IT systems unencumbered with legacy integration challenges.

The Australian Synchrotron Project is housed within a purpose-built facility in the grounds of Melbourne's Monash University. The synchrotron will allow scientists from numerous disciplines to explore the nature of matter by firing beams of energy into various particles.

Matthew Tuffin, IT manager for the synchrotron facility's construction phase, told Computerworld a greenfield site may sound like a dream, but it's "not as easy as you think".

"I come from mining background and dealing with old infrastructure, you know have to deal with it or replace it. In a greenfield site you have to design everything from scratch and one or more people may not have the skills required," Tuffin said, adding that if you discover at the last minute a cable's needed , there's no accumulated stock to fall back on.

"When you first get into a facility you can choose the technology you want at the time and nine times out of 10 you make the right decisions," Tuffin said. When that stage is completed and it's a matter of keeping things going, then you can decide to replace or keep old things running, he said.

While agreeing that IT systems will degrade over time and become harder to manage, Tuffin said managers are far less likely in the future to have legacy integration issues using today's technology to set up a greenfield site.