Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), a Historically Black College and University, is implementing a Science DMZ to Improve Network on Campus for Research and Education in Agriculture, Science, and Engineering (INCREASE), which is an upgrade to current cyberinfrastructure that allows researchers to effectively work in the fields of Big Data and Data Intensive science. This INCREASE project enables data driven research in the areas of cyber security, high performance computing, computational chemistry, brain imaging, genomics, and bioinformatics. It provides better visualization and collaboration mechanisms for PVAMU researchers from seven departments in three colleges. It leads to better educational resources to train students at a minority serving institution. The INCREASE project specifically ties researchers from four research centers closely together to form a new foundation of campus cyberinfrastructure.
The INCREASE network, bypassing PVAMU-IT's firewall, integrates with existing infrastructure and provides improved connectivity between PVAMU and Internet2 via Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN). It also provides high bandwidth interconnectivity to other research universities and High Performance Computing resources nationwide. As part of the network design, the need for Software Defined Networking solutions that can selectively steer Science DMZ traffic around the campus firewall solution as well as look into implementing a deep-packet inspection and Intrusion Prevention Service to route unregistered connections in and out of the Science DMZ is considered. The study and exploration of the INCREASE network can provide guidance for universities of similar scale to pursue and utilize research resources.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
