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ITS Support for e­Research

ITS Support for e­Research. Stephen Gough Assistant Director of IT Services. Review of computer services - 1997. 2.4.5 (a) the University work towards minimising the range of equipment supported on central funds, subject to functional requirements being met

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ITS Support for e­Research

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  1. ITS Support for e­Research Stephen GoughAssistant Director of IT Services

  2. Review of computer services - 1997 • 2.4.5 (a) the University work towards minimising the range of equipment supported on central funds, subject to functional requirements being met • led to support being predominantly for MS Windows • lots of Unix expertise in ITS though • many Unix servers

  3. e-Science Development Officer • David Spence appointed Jan 2008 • half-time • other half working for Oxford e-Research Centre (OeRC) • working on: • mapping • interviews • some documentation

  4. http://www.reading.ac.uk/e-research • Providing better resources, software and support to allow researchers in Reading to make use of e­Research technology in their research • To encourage inter-disciplinary collaborations to be formed inside and outside of the University around e­Research • To develop an e­Research agenda for the University

  5. e-Science advice and networking • e-Research and the Grid • what resources will best suit your research • contacts for collaboration • national e-Research resources • e-Science email list • http://www.lists.rdg.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/e-science

  6. Campus Computation Grid • free, automatic access to about 500 lab/library PCs • while not in use by students • ideal for research that involves running a program many times • where each run takes about an hour or less • Grid nodes run Linux • Grid is connected to National Grid Service • need an e-Science certificate • apply to ITS Help for an account • help provided on getting started

  7. Certification processes • access to many Grid resources requires the use of a digital certificate issued by UK e-Science Certification Authority • apply for certificate at: • http://www.grid-support.ac.uk/content/view/23/182/ • link to this from e-Research page • IT Services approves your request • on presentation of photographic identification

  8. Globus Gateway • Globus • widely used set of tools that are used in e-Research • Globus Gateway • single point of reference for external (Globus) services wishing to access Globus resources in Reading and vice versa • a way for users in Reading to access external resources which are accessed with Globus, without needing to install these tools themselves • need to register with IT Services • contact David Spence, or • ticket to ITS Help

  9. Future plans • coming out of e-Research mapping exercise • need to prioritise • follow up survey is important • paper forms available

  10. Advice & support • support for Linux and MacOS • advice on Linux distributions • how to configure for Reading network • basic Unix/Linux/Mac use

  11. Resources available • information and advice on how to use them • Campus Grid • ACET’s Bladecenter • National Grid service • resources at Oxford

  12. Campus Grid developments • checkpointing server - by end of July • submission/compilation server - by end of July • additional RAM and local disk space for Grid nodes • updated during summer 2008 • R & Matlab runtime • simplifying access • Nimrod, Swift, GRex etc • which? • add existing departmental/school clusters • managing resulting data from computation done on Grid • Wake on LAN for Condor

  13. Virtual research environmentsand collaborative tools • Access Grid • one at ESSC • Personal Interface to Access Grid • info on e-Research page • JANETTalk • trial coming soon • Blackboard • wikis • SVN

  14. Collaboration networks • directory of expertise? • making best use of existing expertise • email list • wiki • contacts within Reading and with Oxford / Southampton • others? • KCL

  15. Hosting facilities • hosting facility for school owned clusters and servers • http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/its/help/its-help-forms/requestlylespace.asp

  16. Data • data stewardship • best practices • QAR issues • hosting centrally vs backup service • continued research use of data • support for web server based databases and tools • advice about databases/web servers • common tools • file handling/archiving • microscopy system developed in Oxford • CfAM, fMRI, CAF etc

  17. Training • Grid use • Unix/Linux • programming • advice on porting • data stewardship

  18. Providing suitable software environment • Matlab compiler licences • ordered • document use • Matlab site licence? • Matlab TAH • ATLAS.ti • qualitative analysis • available on Terminal Server • UCINET • analysis of social network data • available on Terminal Server • others?

  19. Seminars • already good programmes from ACET & PEDAL • details posted to e-sci@lists.reading.ac.uk • specialist Arts & Humanities seminars?

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