CONNECTIVITY

High-speed connections to national research networks begin at home

Clemson University has closed the cyber gap in South Carolina and across the international research map. In 2006, a tech team laid out a plan for making Clemson an information technology leader. They started with a comprehensive upgrade to the campus networking systems and expanded capabilities through grid computing, high-speed connections to national research networks and supercomputing right here at home.

A wealth of new technical features, expanded technical support and
computer labs located all across campus, including a 24-hour computer
lab in Brackett Hall, demonstrate that Clemson Computing and
Information Technology is as “customer-driven” as it is “cyber-driven.”

Data transmission superhighway links research to the high-performance computing world

Clemson has scored a major advantage by creating a regional optical network known as C-Light. The fiber-optic high-speed highway provides the foundation for research, academic and economic advancements that were previously impossible.

“Clemson’s capacity for data transmission has increased from the equivalent of a footpath in the forest to a 16-lane superhighway,” says Jim Bottum, vice provost for computing and information technology. “It puts Clemson ‘on the map’ in a big way.”

C-Light connects South Carolina to the national high-speed research community through direct fiber connections between Atlanta, Clemson, Greenville and Charlotte, providing access to the National Lambda Rail, Internet2 and other national and international research networks.

Next-generation high-performance computing cluster enhances research productivity

Researchers need vast and flexible computing capabilities to conduct their research, collaborate, store and analyze huge amounts of data. Part of the solution is the Palmetto Cluster, a shared supercomputer cooperatively developed by faculty and Clemson Computing and Information Technology, which moved Clemson into the top 100 computing sites in the world and makes the University more competitive in research productivity.

The research enabled by the Palmetto Cluster runs the gamut from cross-layer protocol design of wireless communication networks to simulations in molecular dynamics to human developmental studies.

Economics professor Paul Wilson says, “The new cluster allows me to undertake data- and computationally intensive projects that would have been otherwise impossible.”

The system is both innovative and cost-effective because it’s based on a “condominium cluster” concept that uses small computer arrays assembled into larger units, much like a condominium complex. Faculty “owners” provide a significant percentage of the funding for the compute nodes while the University provides the rest of the nodes plus the infrastructure to build the cluster. The cluster can be provisioned, configured and managed as faculty and research needs dictate.

24/7 network monitoring helps find and fix problems before users are affected

On a wall full of vivid, large-screen flat displays, colorful graphics show the status of systems and networks and verify that the Internet connection is up and running. The University’s new state-of-the-art Network Operations Center enables comprehensive monitoring of the network and computing systems used by Clemson and its affiliated organizations.

Located in the Information Technology Center at the Clemson University Advanced Materials Center, the operations center uses real-time diagnostics and other leading-edge technologies to manage and operate local, state, regional and national networks and Clemson University computing resources. This monitoring helps ensure reliable and available services by diagnosing and correcting problems — often even before they have a chance to impact users.

By building strong cyberinfrastructure, Clemson is attracting top faculty, enriching students’ educational experience and helping South Carolina increase information technology capacity for economic development.

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