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Supercomputing network on its way to South Carolina
By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer
Plans are under way for a collaborative supercomputing network that will crisscross the state, connecting several research institutes, including the state’s universities and colleges.
Known as SC LightRail, the project will be designed and managed by the South Carolina Research Authority with guidance from a governing board.
SC LightRail will connect South Carolina to the National LambdaRail supercomputing backbone and provide access to computer centers and national laboratories.
Dave McNamara, SCRA’s vice president and director of SC Launch!, said the objective is to strengthen the scientific and technical capabilities of the state to grow the knowledge economy and encourage research and learning.
“We’re trying to coalesce the initiative, to form a consortium that will move this thing forward and get it accomplished on behalf of all the users in the state,” said McNamara. “We’re very early in the process, but we’re making progress and dealing with a number of entities who want to be part of this consortium.”
According to information provided by the SCRA, such a consortium could involve the research universities—Clemson University, the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina—as well as the Health Sciences South Carolina partners, which includes Palmetto Health, Greenville Hospital System and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. In addition, industry research entities, other state universities and technical colleges and research institutes such the Savannah River National Laboratories, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Charleston will be encouraged to join.
Specifically, the network is designed to:
• Interconnect universities, research institutes and industry to enhance collaboration in support of instruction, research, health sciences and public service.
• Create an advanced fiber-optic network dedicated to research and designed to span the state providing security, high performance and high reliability through a diverse route infrastructure.
• Provide high bandwidth connectivity and facilitate access to advanced voice, video and data services.
• Provide bandwidth to enhance distance and distributed learning and educational programs for the citizens of the state.
The project is scheduled to be completed in three phases by 2009.
“We’re not actually deploying at this point,” McNamara said. “We’re getting the backbone in place and gathering the members of the consortium now.”
The project will be paid for by a number of sources, McNamara said.
“It’s a little early to know exactly how it’ll be funded, but we want to go after federal funding,” he said. “We expect there’ll be some federal funds for initial setup, and then members of the consortium would probably step up to some extent. Ultimately private users, by which I mean companies that are heavy into research, will probably contribute.”
Wider connectivity
The National LambdaRail system is already in place in several other states. The mission of the national network is to advance the research, clinical and educational goals of members and other institutions by establishing and maintaining a nationwide network infrastructure that is owned and controlled by the U.S. research community.
“By focusing on facilitating research, NLR, in partnership with the regional optical networks, continues the network innovation cycle and ensures that all the participants in the research and education community reap the benefits of big, fast, customizable networks,” said Tom West, president and CEO of National LamdaRail. “The reality is that researchers are the innovators, the folks who think big and drive myriad ways to create the networks of the future today.”
West also noted that by keeping ownership of the underlying infrastructure with the regional networks, which, in the case of South Carolina, would be SCRA and the state’s research universities, it will ensure that the research community will maintain control and flexibility in meeting the requirements of the most advanced network applications and provide the resources demanded by cutting-edge network research.
Technology support
The SC LightRail network will be supported by SCRA’s Communications and Computing Infrastructure Technology Group, which provides computing, telecommunications, data networking and PC support to SCRA associates and clients throughout the United States.
CCIT manages multiple fiber optic networks, dozens of servers and terabytes of data. Working with business systems such as accounting, payroll, Web hosting, e-mail and voicemail, as well as research computing for image processing, CCIT provides round-the-clock services from its primary data center in Charleston and its backup center in Clemson.
McNamara pointed out that SCRA’s mix of supercomputing capabilities, applications management and marketing, and networking initiatives and expertise can provide the best support for this type of project, especially in light of its requirements for network security, data integrity and redundant backup systems.
“That’s what SCRA does best: act as a trusted agent, a neutral third part that can get this thing going,” he said. “With our capabilities, we’ll be handling a number of the application layers as well as hosting for various entities. Without the supercomputing, it’s nothing but open pipe.”
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