ESnet is going directly to the “light” source

Over the past few years, ESnet staff has worked to engage researchers across a variety of disciplines to ensure our services meet their needs. As a part of this ongoing effort, I will be leading a session titled “The Energy Sciences Network: Moving Data, Advancing Science” on October 4^th at the Advanced Light Source User Meeting being held at Berkeley Lab. I hope to involve ALS users in a discussion around ways to use the ESnet network to more efficiently exchange and transfer their scientific data. The talk will also review some common problems encountered in the transfer of large scientific data sets, as well as highlight solutions showcasing how research groups have worked with ESnet to effectively use the network to expedite their data sharing and analysis.

ALS has a number of different experiments that can benefit from ESnet’s capabilities in different ways. Computing-intensive disciplines such as protein crystallography, X-ray microdiffraction, and other fields that utilize the ALS are experiencing unprecedented growth in data production. This is straining traditional methods of data distribution and analysis. As a matter of fact, within the next five years, we expect that many ALS user groups will experience an increase in data production of up to a factor of 1000, which will far exceed traditional digital media distribution capabilities. Without better ways of distributing data, scientific productivity could be significantly impeded.

In recent months, ESnet has developed new tools and software innovations as part of our goal of making our network and services more accessible to our users.  If you would like to get tips on how to use ESnet focused on your particular scientific discipline, or just have general questions, please contact us at info@es.net.

–Eli Dart