Moving Big Data Across Devices
A number of methods allow transferring data in/out of MERCED Cluster. For most cases, we recommend using SSH-based file transfer commands, such as scp, sftp, or rsync. They will provide the best performance for data transfers from and to campus.
Most casual data transfers could be done through the MERCED login node, by pointing your transfer tool to merced.ucmerced.edu. However, for transferring large amounts of data, FIONAs with dedicated bandwidths can be used for scheduled, unattended data transfers. If you are looking to complete a Big Data transfer, please submit a General Request.
UC Merced's Science DMZ (sDMZ)
Supported by the National Science Foundation’s Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CC*) program, UC Merced comple
ted its 10-100Gbps Science DMZ network with the extension of the Science DMZ (sDMZ) to the new, multi-million dollar Research Computing Facility. The sDMZ now connects the three main campus data centers at speeds of 10-40Gbps, as well as connecting the Wide Area Visualization Environment and lab.
The network has also been extended over existing infrastructure so that individual labs hosting specialized scientific instrumentation, such as microscopes and imagers, are also connected. This allows researchers to share their data with centralized computational resources, such as MERCED, or with external collaborators.
FIONAs
Fast Input/Output Network Appliances (FIONAs) allow UC Merced researchers to stage data for external collaboration and quickly access data hosted remotely. Each of the four FIONAs on campus has approximately 80TBs of storage, allowing for multiple users to access disk-to-disk read-write speeds of nearly 10Gbps, even for data that are hosted thousands of miles away, as the FIONAs are part of a larger network known as the National Research Platform. Styled after the Pacific Research Platform (PRP)—which can be thought of as a sDMZ of sDMZ’s—the PRP connects all 10 UC campuses at speeds of up to 100Gbps.
sDMZ and FIONAs in the Kolligian Library
As part of a large-scale digitization project that seeks to scan, annotate, and upload thousands of TBs of data to the California Digital Library using a large-scale FIONA, the UC Merced Kolligian Library now connects directly to the sDMZ network and CENIC’s High Performance Research Network. Their new FIONA and its hundreds of TBs of spinning disk will allow for the storage and efficient uploading of thousands of digital assets. The Library's FIONA will be hosted in the new Research Computing Facility.
