It took just six months and now one of the, if not 'the,' greenest data centers is up and running at Syracuse University.

And just guess who's behind the innovative technology powering the $12.4 million, 12,000-square-foot center that features 6,000 square feet of infrastructure space and 6,000 square feet of raised-floor data center space?

IBM of course. Big Blue helped develop its innovative on-site power generation system for electricity, heating and cooling, and incorporates IBM's latest energy-efficient servers, computer-cooling technology and system management software.

The Green Data Center (GDC), funded by both IBM, which kicked in $5 million in design and equipment and $2 million from New York State's Energy Research and Development Authority, runs on energy savvy IBM Blade Center, Power 575, and z10 servers. Leaders say the center will use just half the energy typically required for a comparable sized facility.

Just in case you didn't know, a data center typically uses 30 times more power than a traditional office building, and that power cost is doubling every five years. So cutting energy by half is no little achievement.

Not only will the center serve as the university's main computing center, it's a model that IBM clients and customers can use when designing their own efficient data environments. IBM said that effort, called the GDC Analysis and Design Center, will go operational in 2010 and provide research and analysis services for customers.

In a press statement IBM leaders said the center illustrates innovative technology at play.

"Together, IBM and Syracuse are tackling a significant problem--how to address the skyrocketing amount of energy used by today's data centers, which is impacting businesses and institutions of all sizes," states Vijay Lund, vice president for cross-IBM offerings in IBM's Software Group. "We looked beyond conventional wisdom and addressed the broader issues of where and how to generate the electricity, how to cool the data center and how to make the computers more effective and efficient. This unique end-to-end focus has resulted in a smarter, cost-effective, greener data center."

It sure has and at the same time set quite a high bar when it comes to going green with technology.