Rapid advances in imaging and genetics technology have enabled researchers to produce extremely high-resolution, multidimensional datasets of the brain. But the complexity of the new data requires immense computing capabilities.
The Institute houses a 3,000-square foot data center that supports hundreds of local, national and global big data investigations in the neurosciences. The facility boasts cutting-edge networking, storage and computational capabilities to ensure data is secure yet easy for researchers to access and share.
INI’s data center, which has the capacity to store more than 18 petabytes of data, is one of the world’s largest archives of neuroimaging, genetics, and related data. It contains 48 racks, 10 of which are reserved for core services and are on dedicated, redundant power to ensure continuous operation.
In order to guarantee reliable data access and reasonable download speeds, the institute also maintains a top-of-the-line supercomputing system specifically designed for big data applications. An onsite high-performance computing (HPC) cluster contains 4,096 processer cores and 38,912 gigabytes of memory.
The INI recently upgraded its storage and compute resources with a new Dell ECM Unity XT 480F All-Flash Storage unit and a 52-node Dell EMC Isilon A2000 NAS Storage cluster.
For more information about the institute's data center, please contact NICC@ini.usc.edu
