Dell announced initiatives with Clemson University, Indiana University and Arizona State University to provide community research computing solutions and services that will help solve some of the world's toughest issues. Through big data research analytics, storage services, open source frameworks for research and new large-data management, archiving and digital curation services, Dell will help universities best support groundbreaking research. Dell plans to support the universities' efforts through the power of Internet2.

"Working with the Internet2 community members from higher education, industry, government, and not-for-profit organizations, we recognize the pivotal role research plays in driving innovation," said John Mullen, vice president and general manager for education, state and local government, Dell. "We know the importance of creating and offering solutions and services that will best serve researchers to ultimately help them solve complex problems and life-changing discoveries."

Clemson University Brings Training and Support to Research Community

Dell and Clemson University will provide training, outreach, advisory and support in addition to on-demand research computing and storage capabilities based on Dell's research computing solutions. Simply gaining access to large-scale research computing systems that enable discovery and innovation can take researchers months. Additionally, lack of access to advisors, technical support and training on how best to maximize computational resources can hinder a project.

Dell's solutions and services will be combined with the strength and experience of the Clemson University research computing team to provide a holistic service enabling rapid access to research computing systems plus the computer scientists and research experts who support them. Designed to work with grant-based procurement models, the new service will enable both on-demand and shared managed cluster "condo" style buy-in allowing for broader access to raw compute power for various budget or procurement needs.

"We are excited to partner with Dell to deliver this innovative new offering through Internet2 NET+ Services and contribute to the changing paradigm of cloud service delivery in high performance computing," said Jim Bottum, CIO, Clemson University. "This is revolutionary in the sense that institutions can now enjoy enhanced, on demand access to not only research computing and high performance resources, but also advanced support and training, leveraging this comprehensive offering to enhance science and research capabilities on their campuses and build upon Internet2's groundbreaking Innovation Platform."

Indiana University seeks efficiency with Dell Cloud

Indiana University plans to leverage the Dell Cloud with VMware vCloud Datacenter Service via Internet2 NET+ Services. With the service it is now able to integrate and manage cloud services that bring increased security, seamless interoperability, superior workload management and a tailored approach that includes Dell ProSupport.

"Indiana University continues to assertively partner with leading firms through Internet2 NET+ Services," said Brad Wheeler, vice president of IT and CIO, Indiana University. "Dell has long-earned its strong relationship with Indiana University and this collaboration with university peers enables us to collectively shape the future of cloud services for higher education."

Arizona State University Brings Ideas to Forefront in New Research Incubation Initiative

The need for scientists, researchers and academics to process, study and extract knowledge from large sets of data, in terms of quantity and complexity, is becoming increasingly critical. Both researchers and data analysts are searching for more effective and efficient methods to discover new knowledge and derive new insights. Dell is working with institutions including Arizona State University to help address these needs by developing a big data as-a-service concept through an Internet2 research incubation initiative. This could include open source tools, analytical database tools and other emerging data service options.

"We are at the forefront of a new approach to discovery based on our ability to apply analytical tools to the massively scaled sets of data being produced by a new generation of research tools and instruments and new methods of collecting data," said Gordon Wishon, CIO, Arizona State University. "This partnership with Dell and Internet2 provides us with a unique opportunity to develop an unprecedented service combining world class infrastructure with economies of scale that will serve the research and higher education communities for years to come."

This component-based approach to data access, analysis and storage for research will allow analysts and scientists to perform their own data preparation; identify appropriate analytical, presentation and data curation tools and practices; and rapidly validate business requirements and metrics. It will offer an environment to facilitate data pipelines that can be deployed directly to a cluster, enabling analytics against much larger data sets and will support multiple orchestration needs across environments.