Research Infrastructure: CC*Networking Infrastructure: Deep Soil to Supercomputing - Infrastructure Enhancements as a Force Multiplier for Idaho Research

This network improvement project enables and accelerates data-intensive research at the University of Idaho and beyond by addressing acute network bottlenecks and improving multi-institutional access to shared research infrastructure. Idaho’s unique model for statewide cyberinfrastructure collaboration stems from a collective need to share and maximize limited resources while advancing multi-institutional science efforts. This project accelerates research and education at the University of Idaho while improving access to shared cyberinfrastructure for our peer research universities, primarily undergraduate institutions, and tribal research partners. This project achieves two primary objectives: 1) replacing legacy multi-mode fiber optics to enable 10Gbps high-speed access to the Deep Soil Ecotron, a new NSF mid-scale infrastructure project, and 2) end-to-end modernization of 100Gbps campus Science DMZ networks through targeted equipment improvements to remove barriers to efficient scientific data exchange. The Deep Soil Ecotron represents unique research infrastructure hosted at the University of Idaho, allowing U.S. investigators to conduct soil biochemistry experiments at extreme soil depths. This network improvement project replaces aging multi-mode fiber infrastructure to enable efficient data exchange with the Ecotron facility, multiplying the reach and impact of this unique national research resource. Under University of Idaho leadership, Idaho’s research universities co-manage and co-utilize significant shared cyberinfrastructure such as the Falcon supercomputer. This project provides an order-of-magnitude upgrade in data throughput to existing Science DMZ networks supporting Falcon. As multi-institutional dependency on Falcon increases, these improvements are a necessary step to support a growing set of known and future University of Idaho science drivers and collaborations within the state. This award by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). 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.