Research and Academic Computing Services (RACS) supports the computing needs of the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS), deploying and managing high end research computing that implements bleeding edge technologies for high performance computing, data intake and storage infrastructure, GPU computing, and edge computing. These technologies are managed in the CEOAS Environmental Computing Center (ECC) which contains high-throughput network, storage, and computing infrastructure in order to meet the challenges of next-generation scientific workflows. Significant improvements and innovation in compute, networks, storage, visualization, and sensor technology continue to accelerate, generation after generation. These advancements add to the complexity of computation, data analysis and delivery, which now takes hundreds of steps as scientists continuously push the limits of technology.
In order to address the infrastructure requirements for next-generation cyber infrastructure workflows, CEOAS has deployed throughout the ECC a 100GbE network fabric, protected and backed up by 24x7 uninterruptible power distribution and generator systems. Certain backend storage and research networks are served by 200Gb and 400Gb Ethernet switches that support RDMA. At the core of this fabric, the ECC has over 40Tbps switching capacity, enabling new edge services with excellent levels of scale as emerging, richer data types take hold in the scientific community. In addition to providing this high-bandwidth intra-datacenter connectivity, CEOAS has designed, architected, and extended a similar infrastructure connectivity throughout all our buildings as well as into offices and labs. The CEOAS network domain has 8 buildings that are all connected together via multiple strands of high-capacity, single-mode optical-fiber cabling (supporting 100GbE) with high-speed edge networking supporting up to 10Gb connections at individual desktops. More than 1,000 devices are currently connected to the CEOAS computing network including servers, desktops, and edge devices. From this local network domain, CEOAS is connected to the OSU campus network with redundant 100GbE uplinks, which in turn is connected to the commodity Internet as well as Internet2. Additionally, it connects to a cross-campus 400GbE research network for accessing distributed storage with datacenter-level redundancy.
At the heart of the ECC are supercomputer-class machines ranging from large shared memory systems with terabytes of memory per machine to tightly-coupled clusters with and without GPU acceleration. The servers and supercomputers within the ECC provide a wide range of services, including compute servers, infrastructure virtualization, redundant storage, software/applications stacks, plotters/print servers, and project and scratch storage services. The ECC currently supports over 500 users with more than 50 major projects holding over 8 petabytes of live data. File servers (including shared home directories) are Linux or Dell PowerScale and feature drive- and/or node-level redundancy for reliability on all servers where data is kept. Single-point authentication for logins is available on all platforms. The college maintains a comprehensive file backup system with a total capacity of approximately 400 TB. All disk and application servers are snapshotted daily and backed up weekly, and archives are kept online for 1 year. All college software is maintained through a central repository and is available to faculty, staff, graduates, and undergraduates. Software may also be installed on personally owned computers, depending on individual licensing agreements. The college maintains and supports software for Linux (RHEL, Ubuntu), Windows, and macOS. All IT services are supported by the RACS team of research and IT professionals who service the entire College. This support includes 12 full-time employees across different computational projects. Each person has a focus area but is also cross-trained to support other personnel.
Our student facilities contain a heterogeneous mix of workstations and data analysis machines specifically tuned with hardware for more demanding scientific needs. These include Linux and Windows based systems from Dell, NVIDIA, IBM, and Supermicro. In addition, throughout the college RACS manages high-end plotters, braille and color printers, and scanners. A virtual Geographic Information System (GIS) lab running on dedicated equipment is available at all times, along with two high-performance labs for in-person use. All these facilities feed state-of-the-art seminar and presentation rooms, enabling faculty with a “one-touch” control of systems and data routing. These facilities are capable of delivering high-definition scientific workflow experiences at a full 2k and 4k resolution.
The CEOAS Communications group provides a variety of services focused on publicizing research and outreach programs. This support includes editing and graphic services for journal articles and presentations; web templates; materials such as brochures, scientific posters, and reports. The department also creates outreach vehicles such as the college website, research highlights, student recruitment information, and other college-wide publications. CEOAS Administrative Support includes a fully-staffed on-site business office to help administer the grant. Other CEOAS administrative support includes help with purchasing, travel arrangements, workshops, reception, mailing and shipping, and office supplies.
CEOAS RCS Fee Guide (accessible PDF)
This PDF file explains the current (2019-present) cost models and support services for the RACS group.