CC-NIE Network Infrastructure: Enabling Data-Intensive Research at the University of Connecticut Through Science DMZ

Award #: NSF ACI1341003

The goal of this project is to improve the network infrastructure at the University of Connecticut (UConn), in both the main campus at Storrs and the Health Center at Farmington, to enable data-intensive research. Specifically, the project (1) constructs a Science DMZ at the Storrs campus that provides an aggregate access bandwidth of 100Gbps to its regional network provider, (2) re-architects the current Science DMZ at the Farmington campus and increases its access bandwidth from 2Gbps to 100Gbps, and (3) establishes a 40Gbps layer-2 connection between the Storrs and Farmington campuses dedicated to scientific traffic between these two campuses.

Intellectual Merit: The project is expected to significantly increase data transfer rate to specific projects in physics, geography, statistics, biology, bioinformatics, quantitative cell biology and simulations, and computational genomics, directly benefiting research in a wide range of disciplines. The enhanced network connectivity will also make an impact on closely interlinking the two campuses, fostering multidisciplinary research that can lead to scientific breakthroughs.

Broader Impacts: The project will enhance the capabilities of researchers to host data and share data with researchers in other institutions, which can benefit a larger community of researchers. The proposed infrastructure will also facilitate our current GENI educational activities by providing a platform for computer networking courses and training programs. The researchers participating in the project will continue their current practice of involving minority and underrepresented students in research, and will disseminate their research outcomes to the scientific communities through journal and conference publications.

People

This is a joint project between UCONN Storrs and UCONN Health Center. We graciously acknowledge the support from NSF, and the support from UCONN University Information Technology Service (UITS), Office of Vice Provost of Research, and School of Engineering.