With research being such an integral part of what we do here at Auburn, OIT devotes a great deal of effort to creating research resources. We work to keep networks up to speed for international collaborations as well as local efforts all across campus. We make various software packages available through virtualization and provide access to them with computer labs. And for larger-scale research, our supercomputers make quick work of complex data that would take a single computer at least 10 times longer to parse through.
For the High Performance Computing (HPC) group, 2020 brought the installation and launch of Auburn's 3rd generation state-of-the-art Supercomputer, Easley. This implementation came at a crucial time as alternate operations highlighted that excellent research requires strong remote access to data and computing services. The HPC team worked on campus during remote operations to oversee the buildout which started during the summer with subsequent installation, configuration, and testing lasting through November.
Named for Alabama native and NASA Scientist Annie Easley, this system is already breaking barriers in terms of computational power and capacity with more than twice the compute power and thrice the storage capacity of the existing Supercomputer, Hopper. For more information on the research opportunities available, visit the HPC website.
In 2019, the network took great strides in improving the internet connectivity across campus by doubling our bandwidth and creating a backup connection as an emergency failover. In 2020, they took those efforts a step further and made major progress toward implementing a 100-gig pipeline to campus, which would offer 5x the data speed.
In addition to that major project, the network team returned to campus during alternate operations so they could work on the installation of thousands of network ports for new buildings on campus. They also used that time with a largely empty campus to speed up the process on various planned network improvements so connectivity would be in great shape upon the University's return to normal operations. They replaced 400 wireless access points for improved connectivity, and they improved the distribution function in 173 buildings which means now all buildings on campus have the ability to access the same wireless network capacity.
In order to facilitate rapid communication between colleagues, especially during a time when dropping by an office wasn't an option, the telecommunications team worked to make several improvements throughout 2020.
They continued the effort of migrating campus phones to a VOIP system that started in 2019 and managed to migrate over 6000 which leaves approximately 1200 left to complete in 2021. They also started researching the best way to handle new regulatory laws regarding emergency call requirements.
In addition to campus-wide initiatives, the telecommunications group implemented call distribution for the University Housing department to better serve student and parents. The team also established and monitored the daily calls from COVID hotline numbers.
Several OIT teams worked together to provide systems and software access to Central IT and eleven other departments.
The Digital Workspace team spent much of 2020 providing crucial support to units and individuals requiring assistance in gaining remote access to critical systems while working off of the campus network. They also introduced new units to the option of remote access and started the process of converting those units' assets to cloud-based systems for easier access.
This infrastructure work is supplemented by the software and vendor vetting efforts that go on to make sure that our faculty, staff, and students have access to the systems they need while maintaining a secure and cost-effective environment for the University. The vetting staff oversaw more than 1000 new software requests while managing and negotiating over 100 existing software contracts for different units.
As a Carnegie R1 Research Institution, it was crucial that Auburn continue in research, communication, and scholarship efforts even while in alternate operations. The Office of Information Technology made sure that the necessary technology to accomplish this was available. Some of the outstanding efforts include:
| Research Numbers At A Glance |
|---|
| 606 Supercomputer Researcher Accounts |
| 186 Compute nodes in the new Easley Supercomputer |
| 6000 Phone Numbers Converted to a New VOIP Telephone Switch |
| 275 New Cell Lines and MiFi devices established for Auburn Employees |
| 400 Old Wireless Access Points replaced |
| 173 Campus buildings upgraded so all of campus has wireless connectivity access |
| 1028 Requests received for new software purchases |
| 118 Ongoing software contracts and renewals managed while negotiating cost savings for the University |
Last Updated: March 04, 2021
