Research IT Services

A number of free and cost-recovery services are available to the UGA research community including research data management planning, publication, and digital preservation services as well as computing, storage, sharing and back up services.

Some services, such as those of the GACRC and UGA Libraries are campus-wide. Many colleges also offer college-specific IT resources, services, and support for their researchers. These services may be independently offered or in partnership with campus-wide services. Researchers are encouraged to contact their local IT departments to request information about available resources.

Campus-wide services

Research Data Management, Publication, and Digital Preservation Services

• Research and Computational Data Management
  Research and Computational Data Management (RCDM) in the UGA Libraries offers resources and support for UGA faculty and student research. They assist with research data management planning; data discovery, access, and collection; data storage, analysis, and visualization; publishing, copyright, and digital preservation. RCDM also offers seminars on timely research topics, workshops designed to develop your data science, GIS mapping, and data visualization skills, and one-on-one data consultations to answer questions about your research projects.

Computing Services

• The Georgia Advanced Computing Resource Center (GACRC)
  The GACRC is a collaborative partnership between the Office of Research and the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology. The GACRC, administered by EITS, provides large-scale computing services and solutions for University researchers.
  
  
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud-based computing services suite. The scope of initial services available can be found at aws.amazon.com. AWS third-party professional services are not available under this program. Departments and units at UGA may purchase AWS through UGAMart, but must first complete a CESS approval form to participate.

Data Storage, Sharing, and Backup Services

• Office 365 OneDrive for Business
  OneDrive for Business is a cloud-based solution for storing, syncing and sharing files. Every UGA faculty, staff and student has access to free web-based file storage, including editing and collaboration tools. Users can access OneDrive for Business with their UGAMail account by visiting ugamail.uga.edu. OneDrive for Business should not be used for storing or sharing sensitive or restricted data, such as Social Security numbers.
• EITS Research Institutional File Stores (RIFS)
  Institutional File Storage (IFS) is an affordable digital file storage option for UGA units. EITS offers three options: Standard IFS, Secure IFS and Research IFS. Users of Research IFS have 1TB minimum of space that is intended for use as a target for backups of research data.
• SendFiles
  SendFiles is an encrypted file service that allows users to securely share sensitive documents or large files to other UGA users or people not associated with the University. Attachments in SendFiles can total up to 2GB in size, and the service offers more than one solution for sending and receiving files.
• EITS Secure VDI
  Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a secure Virtual Desktop environment that can be coupled with Secure Institutional File Stores for working with sensitive data. Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), EITS is accountable for central hosting activities.
• EITS Physical Server Hosting in Boyd
  The Boyd Data Center hosts physical servers that contain critical systems and data for many UGA colleges, departments and administrative units. With a total of 16,000 square feet of space, an enterprise class generator, secure card access and gas fire-suppression system, the Boyd Data Center provides peace of mind for securing crucial data.

• EITS Virtual Server Hosting
  Virtual server setup, configuration, and hosting responsibilities include hardware, firmware, VMware software updates, infrastructure issue diagnosis and resolution.
• USG Peachnet Virtual Data Center
  PeachNet is a virtual server hosting at the USG Data Center and provides an ESX cluster environment using VMware’s Virtual Cloud Director (vCD).
• USG Cloud Backup
  PeachNet’s Backup service’s destination is an off-site backup service via USG. The backup system is based on EMC’s Avamar system. This offers source-based de-duplication and greatly reduces wall clock time for backups to run and reduces traffic over the LAN.
• Globus
  Globus is a data transfer management platform that facilitates the transfer and sharing of research data in an efficient, reliable and secure manner. An overview of Globus can be found on their website. UGA has an institutional subscription to Globus, managed by the Georgia Advanced Computing Resource Center (GACRC). Globus can be used by any research group on campus, independent of the GACRC if needed. The GACRC also has a number of end-points configured for data transfers to/from GACRC storage.