Last modified: Monday, April 12, 2010
IU to operate new high-speed network for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Global Research Network Operations Center (GlobalNOC) at Indiana University has been selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to serve as operator of its new high-speed network for climate research called "Nwave."
The three-year, $1.6 million contract is funded in part under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and will create seven new jobs within the GlobalNOC. The project adds to the growing list of national and international networks for which the Indiana-based GlobalNOC serves as network operations center.
The GlobalNOC at Indiana University provides 24x7x365 professional network support for the most advanced research and education networks in the country. Global NOC staff ensure the health of these networks using a variety of management and monitoring tools, including a 30-foot video wall in their state-of-the-art control center.
"The GlobalNOC was chosen to lead operations of Nwave because Indiana University has a proven track-record of successfully managing this type of large-scale research network," said Joe Klimavicz, NOAA's chief information officer. "NWave will provide NOAA with a secure, dedicated high-speed network over which our scientists can share data on climate and the environment. This type of technology has become essential to maintaining scientific research and competitiveness within the United States."
"NOAA's choice of Indiana University to manage this pioneering research network again affirms the excellence of IU's technology capabilities and confirms that our strategy is paying off to create information technology jobs and expertise in Indiana," said Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie. "The state's investment in IT and its research universities is placing Indiana in leadership roles for some of the nation's most advanced research efforts."
Since its formation in 1998, the GlobalNOC has received strong support from IU and the state of Indiana which helped it grow from an initial staff of three people to a group of 70 that manages more than $20 million in external contracts for research and education networks.
Nwave will provide NOAA climate researchers with fast, stable access to high performance computers. It also will allow NOAA to easily share computational resources with the U.S. Department of Energy and other U.S. government agencies. "Climate research is vital, and the GlobalNOC is proud to be chosen to provide networking services to enable and enhance this research," said David Jent, associate vice president for networks at Indiana University.
About the GlobalNOC at Indiana University
The GlobalNOC at Indiana University provides 24x7x365 professional network support for the most advanced research and education networks in the country. Beginning with its support of Internet2's Abilene network, now known as Internet2 Network, the GlobalNOC has since expanded with the community to support the TransPac2 network, National LambdaRail (NLR), the MANLAN research exchange point in New York City, Indiana's I-Light, The Indiana GigaPoP, the TeraGrid's IPGrid network, and the CIC OmniPoP in Chicago, among others.
