This project, "CC-NIE Network Infrastructure: Dedicated High-Speed Science Network", establishes a high-performance campus network dedicated to the Tulane University scientific research community. The new network offers a 10x and 40x speed increase from the current general-purpose campus network. The network connects directly to researchers' PCs and servers, successfully addressing the "last meter" problem. Researchers can provision a 10-gigabit connection between equipment and remote servers located on various Tulane research campuses; Tulane's planned (summer 2014) 100 Gbps connection to the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI) and Tulane's Internet2 affiliation allows researchers to connect across the state, the country, and the world.
The dedicated high-speed science network mitigates current bandwidth constraints and enables faculty to conduct and advance data-intensive research through increased visualization capacity, telepresence, and low-latency, bandwidth-intensive data transfers to campus computational clusters, regional institutions via the LONI network, and national centers that peer with I2, including members of the XSEDE consortium. These capabilities impact a vast spectrum of academic research education and outreach, meeting the demand for science-oriented services, while satisfying the ever-growing need to provide these services for non-science disciplines.
This upgrade enables the expansion of the university population that utilizes the resources available at the national HPC center, while encouraging increased participation in STEM disciplines. The projects that benefit from this increased functionality have tremendous impacts on the interests of the greater community, including advancement of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill recovery, Mississippi Delta research and coastal conservation, and an increased understanding and ability to treat genetic disease.
