Student-run Data Center (SDC)

Student-Run Data Center (SDC)

Hands-on infrastructure. Real systems. Student leadership.

The SDC is a student-managed enterprise environment where Hill Family Fellows and other student assistants manage virtualized servers, cloud environments, network infrastructure, and storage systems. Students gain advanced experience with technologies that are rarely accessible in a classroom setting and support faculty, clubs, and research initiatives.

The data center includes computing, networking and storage systems that are typical for use in cloud data centers. As cloud computing transforms the global tech landscape, it is also reshaping how Information Systems (IS) is taught. The SDC at Cal Poly Pomona responds to this shift by offering a hybrid-cloud learning environment that blends hands-on infrastructure with public cloud platforms.

Developed through a strategic partnership with industry leaders like Microsoft, Avanade, Chef, and Juniper, the SDC is more than a teaching tool—it’s a living lab. Students don’t just study the cloud—they build it, deploy it, and manage it.

By integrating the SDC into the curriculum, Cal Poly Pomona’s polytechnic approach bridges theory and practice, preparing students to thrive in cloud-first enterprise settings. The result is an immersive learning experience where students gain the skills, context, and confidence to lead in today’s rapidly evolving digital economy.

| Real systems. Real challenges. Real cloud experience.

What Students Do in the SDC

Through the Student-Run Data Center, students gain hands-on experience in enterprise-level IT operations while supporting campus-wide innovation. Their work includes:

Maintaining and monitoring physical and virtual servers
Provisioning and managing virtual machines (VMs) for student clubs, faculty research, and hands-on labs
Supporting infrastructure for AI, cloud, and cybersecurity projects
Applying best practices in DevOps, system administration, and network configuration
Powering the live environments monitored by the Student Security Operations Center (SOC), enabling real-time cybersecurity training and simulations

How the SDC Supports the SOC

The SDC serves as the live traffic source for the Student Security Operations Center (SOC). Student-built infrastructure provides real network activity, logs, and system data that SOC analysts monitor and defend. This integrated environment gives students a complete, end-to-end view of:

System deployment and configuration (SDC)
Threat monitoring, incident response, and red/blue team exercises (SOC)

Together, the SDC and SOC simulate the operations of a professional IT and cybersecurity team, giving students full-stack operational experience in a safe, educational setting.

The Student Data Center (SDC)

The SDC is a room that houses a data center which includes computing, networking and storage systems that are typical for use in cloud data centers. The facility was designed with student and curricular needs in mind while also representing industry best practices. This infrastructure is being used regularly to prepare students for cybersecurity competitions, and to create experiential learning in courses of multiple programs.

Cybersecurity Competitions Supported by the SDC and SOC

Cal Poly Pomona students participate in numerous cybersecurity competitions and have obtained several achievements including first and second place finishes at regional and national competitions.

2022-2023 - First Place Champions

2021-2022 – First Place Champions

Federal partners include the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)/National Initiative on Cybersecurity Education (NICE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense Office of the Chief Information Officer (DoD-CIO), and U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM).

Co-Curricular Accomplishments Driven by the SOC/SDC

Gabriel Fok and Evan Deters automated the process to deploy RvB (Red versus Blue) infrastructure with an app called KAMINO that runs from the SDC. This app is used by many students on campus,

��ɫ�� faculty, the cyberpatriot high school national teams, and other universities like Dakota State University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and University of Texas, Austin. They all use this application regularly to prepare students for cybersecurity competitions by providing the infrastructure to simulate attacks and defense procedures.

Red vs. Blue (RvB) is a SWIFT-run competition that enables its teams competing in regional and national events like the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) and Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC) to share the technical knowledge they’ve gained with other students. Modeled after CCDC, RvB places a team of 4 students into a fictitious company’s vulnerable network that they have to protect. SWIFT board and alumni act as an adversary or red team trying to compromise the network and give students a unique experience of troubleshooting and incident response in an active breach scenario.

The SOC students created the Splunk Lab. This is a virtual lab that was designed to give students practical Splunk skills. In this lab students set up their own Splunk Server in their own virtual labs hosted on the Student Data Center. They learn how to retrieve data from different endpoint devices, monitor the log data from these devices and create detection rules to better secure these devices. They also get to learn how to easily scale the deployment of Splunk and build resilient Splunk infrastructure. The SOC students have access to free Splunk training to get certified in Splunk. Students have used this training to get Splunk certified. The SOC students were also invited to Splunk’s biggest conference called .conf24 in June 2024, where they were able to network with Splunk professionals and learn about how Splunk is being used in industry.

Starting Fall 2024, weekly meetings were scheduled with Dr. Indira Guzman, Dr. Ron Pike, Dr. Dan Manson, Curtis Carpenter, Dr. Weijun Zheng, and the SWIFT presidents, Bill Luong and Sydney Duong to discuss the current and future cybersecurity competitions. One of the plans is to implement badges on CANVAS for the completion of specific extra-curriculum milestones.

Educational Instrumentation NSF award # 2434925

Project Title: Equipment: HSI:ELPSE Enhancing Cybersecurity Education through Real-World Security Operations Training

Program: NSF 24-551: Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Enriching Learning, Programs, and Student Experiences

Project Team: Olukemi Sawyerr (Principal Investigator), Mohammad Husain (Co-Principal Investigator), Indira Guzman (Co-Principal Investigator) and Weijun Zheng (Co-Principal Investigator). Collaborators: Curtis Carpenter, Tamer Omar, Abdelfattah Amamra, and Brandon Brown.

Project Description: With support from the NSF 24-551 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, Cal Poly Pomona has received an Educational Instrumentation NSF award # 2434925 to secure equipment for the Mitchell Hill Student Data Center and the Security Operations Center (SOC) under California Center for Cyber Risk to bridge theoretical knowledge and practical application and enhance hands-on student learning in cybersecurity curricular and cocurricular activities. This new infrastructure will enable students to simulate and respond to real-world cyber threats, enriching their educational experience, thus creating a robust, hands-on learning environment that prepares students for cybersecurity careers. An estimated 993 students and fifteen faculty will utilize the project-funded equipment each year. In addition to providing improved experiences in cybersecurity courses, the new equipment will also be used in student cybersecurity competitions and undergraduate research and independent projects. An estimated 993 students and fifteen faculty will utilize the project-funded equipment each year.

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