CC-IIE Networking Infrastructure: KGEN: Next-generation networking environments for biological and agricultural data-driven research at Kansas State University

Kansas State University, Manhattan KS

Investigators

Abstract

This project enhances the internal networking capabilities at Kansas State University to support high-end applications in science and engineering, particularly bioinformatics. Current research is moving towards large datasets, where typical desktop network connectivity of one gigabit or less bottlenecks productivity. This project eliminates the gigabit bottleneck by providing an order of magnitude faster networking than currently available, which is preventing researchers at Kansas State from fully and effectively collaborating with both local and distant partners. This project also provides a testbed for research and educational outreach to K-12, community-college, and Kansas-wide academics to explore bioinformatics, genomics, high-throughput phenotyping, and high performance computing. Kansas State University is installing enterprise-grade routers with a 40GbE core and plentiful 10GbE ports to provide a foundation for upgrading KSU's bioinformatics researchers' network capacity to their major research labs, including end-to-end connectivity for KSU's campus supercomputer cluster, the Arthropod Genomics Center, and the Integrated Genomics Facility. This impacts researchers across 16 locations, hundreds of graduate students, and millions of dollars in funded research. The improved connectivity allows scientists to look deeper when modeling genomes, enabling new algorithms to be developed for phenotyping and bioinformatics. These advancements in turn help protect the nation's food supply through developing better understanding of threats to key agricultural products like the Hessian fly, which attacks wheat crops, or determining genes which improve drought resistance.