Research Data Ecosystem Storage (RDE) Allocation Model

The Research Data Ecosystem (RDE) is a collection of technical resources supporting research data. These resources are intended to meet researcher needs for physical storage, data movement, and institutional management. They are provided in partnership with the Division of Research Innovation and Impact (DRII) and are intended to work in conjunction with DRII policy drivers and priorities. The Ecosystem brings together storage platforms, data movement, metadata management, data protection, technical and practice expertise, and administration to fully support the research data lifecycle. DRII has invested in RDE as an institutional resource. Details of the specific underlying platforms may change over time, but always directed towards ease of use, access, and performance to purpose. Throughout May 2023, portions of the RDE are moving into production. These include:

• On-premises high-performance and general-purpose research storage
• Globus for advanced data movement
• Specialized need consultation

These resources work in conjunction with RSS services related to grant support, HPC infrastructure, and data management plan development. Capabilities that are not yet generally available but in development include:

• Data backup
• Data archival
• Data analytics and reporting

Additionally, effective use of some resources may require changes to network architecture, so additional limitations may apply at this time. We invite researchers needing solutions (including those dependent on resources not yet generally available) to consult with RSS. We may be able to find effective workarounds or make use of pilot projects when appropriate. We are committed to finding solutions supporting your research productivity needs!

Resources available to all researchers: RDE Standard Allocation

All researchers are eligible for the RDE Standard Allocation. The Standard Allocation provides a base level of storage suitable for use in connection with High Performance Computing clusters, or for general-purpose lab shares (SMB or NFS). The exact capacity is subject to change based on utilization and DRII direction. See the appendices for current specifications.

RDE Advanced Allocation

For needs beyond the RDE Standard Allocation, researchers may request one or more RDE Advanced Allocations. Advanced Allocations can provide for larger or specialized research storage needs. Storage is provided at a per-TB/per-year rate which is subject to change under DRII guidance. See the appendices for current rates and how the cost model is being implemented. RDE Advanced Allocations should be associated with research services or defined projects. Research Cores, Research Centers, labs providing services to other labs, and RSS may be considered research services. Defined projects include sponsored programs or otherwise well-defined initiatives. All RDE allocations must include appropriate data management planning. A plan may be a formal Data Management Plan associated with a grant, or an operational workflow description appropriate for a core or service entity, as long as data protection, transfer, and disposition requirements are documented. Advanced allocations require consultation with RSS. RSS will work with researchers to match allocated resources with capacity, performance, protection, and connectivity needs. As of September 2024 - DRII is no longer taking requests to fund resources.

Priority Designation

RDE Advanced Allocations are eligible for DRII Priority Designation. This means DRII has determined the proposed use case (such as a core or grant-funded project) presents a strategic advantage or high priority service to the University and agrees to subsidize the resources assigned in that designation. DRII is responsible for determination of criteria for Priority Designation. As of September 2024 - DRII is no longer taking requests to fund resources.

Traditional Investment

RDE Advanced Allocations that are not approved for DRII Priority Designation or that inherently receive funding for storage may be treated as traditional investments, with the researcher paying for the allocation at the defined rate.

Data Compliance

By default, the RDE environment supports data classified as DCL 1 or 2. It may be possible to arrange for a higher DCL, but this must be vetted and approved by appropriate security and compliance authorities.

Allocation Maintenance

Researchers are expected to ensure allocation information is kept current. Annual confirmation that the allocation is still needed will be required for all Standard Allocations. For lab (group) and Advanced Allocations, annual vetting of group membership will be required, as well as updates to data management planning if changes (duration, disposition, etc.) are needed.

Appendix

Appendix A: RDE Standard Allocation

Individual researcher: 500GB (In addition to 50GB home directory space for HPC users) Lab group: 5TB Duration/renewal cycle: Annual

Appendix B: RDE Advanced Allocation

Capacities and duration determined in consultation. Cost per TB per year (equipment/licensing): $95 for high performance storage, $25 for general purpose storage* Supplemental services Snapshotting (pending implementation and potential cost evaluation) Performance optimization Backup (pending implementation and potential cost evaluation) Archival (pending implementation and potential cost evaluation) Globus endpoint

*Note: All currently available storage is high performance. As capacity is consumed, general purpose (lower tier) storage will be added to the hardware environment and data priced as “general purpose” will be subject to automatic migration to the lower tier.