CC-NIE Network Infrastructure: Enhancements to Support Data-Driven Discovery at the University of Washington

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Washington is home to leading research programs conducted by internationally recognized faculty from diverse domains including oceanography, astronomy, physics, genomics, computer science, bioengineering, and climate modeling, among others. These efforts depend on high throughput data transfers between UW and remote sites, as well as between UW laboratory systems and centrally managed scalable research compute and storage systems residing in our campus network Science DMZ. This project enhances the connectivity options of the University of Washington campus network facility dedicated exclusively to research, using a hybrid Layer-2/Layer-3 (L2/L3) approach. These enhancements replace previous ad hoc approaches to meeting the requirements of leading researchers with sustainable and scalable approaches. The enhancements are catalyzing advances in a broad range of high-impact science projects by enabling the emerging world of data-driven discovery. The UW eScience Institute provides the "intellectual infrastructure" for data-driven discovery. The enhancements generated from this project provide a critical component of the "physical infrastructure". The two together are essential for UW to remain at the leading edge as the nature of discovery evolves. This effort directly and immediately provides a dramatic enhancement to the capabilities of a broad range of science programs involving faculty, postdoctoral fellows, research scientists, and undergraduate and graduate students. It also dramatically increases the accessibility of key UW facilities and data to scientists regionally, nationally, and internationally, and the accessibility of remote facilities and data to UW scientists.