Microsoft, NSF Open Cloud Computing to Scientists
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American scientific researchers struggling under oceans of data can rejoice. Microsoft and the National Science Foundation started a three-year project to offer US scientists free access to the Windows Azure cloud computing system. The two organizations hope the service will spur research by allowing scientists to begin projects and sift through data more quickly.
Dan Reed, corporate vice president for technology strategy and policy at Microsoft, refused to put a dollar amount on the project, but said his company was willing “to invest millions of dollars in the service and that it could support thousands of scientific research programs,” according to an article in the New York Times.
Choosing which projects would be granted access to the service would be left up to the National Science Foundation. On its website, the NSF mentions three mechanisms through which researchers can request use of the Microsoft Windows Azure platform. Both new and ongoing projects will be eligible.
The agreement comes at a time when many scientific research projects face the challenges of coping with too much data. According to Dr. Jeannette M. Wing, assistant director of computer and information science and engineering directorate at the NSF, “We are generating streams and rivers of data.” Imagine, if you will, a single project that generates as much as a terabyte of data – 1,000 gigabytes – every minute. Multiply that by many projects. Genetic sequencing systems generate this kind of data, and the more we learn, the more information we collect and need to use.
It's not just the genetics research, either. With the cost of sensors coming down, scientists are using more of them. And naturally, they're generating more data that needs to be analyzed. Ed Lazowska, a University of Washington computer scientist, noted the changing research landscape by pointing out how the staffing needs of projects have changed. Once upon a time, the typical scientific research program on his campus called for one day of work a week from a half-time graduate student. Now, managing the data from that same project requires a full-time employee.
As you might expect, this isn't the first time the NSF has turned to cloud computing to help ease the burden of sifting through data. The organization has offered computing power to scientists through the following initiatives:
- Cluster Exploratory (CluE) let scientists access a set of cloud-based software services supported by Google and IBM, in addition to another cluster supported by HP, Intel and Yahoo housed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Teragrid, which includes a Condor pool at Purdue University.
- Other university-based initiatives at the San Diego Supercomputing Center and Indiana University.
Next: Microsoft's Contribution >>
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