Sun Micro Systems Sun Fire 6800 Computer System

描述(由申请人提供)： 这是宾夕法尼亚大学(Penn)医学院临床流行病学和生物统计中心(CCEB)的一项应用程序，用于升级和扩展研究计算基础设施，以支持由NIH资助的多个有价值的研究项目。这项提议要求太阳微系统公司的Sunfire 6800，一种专门的数据库和统计计算服务器，通过取代过时的甲骨文数据库和不充分的统计计算基础设施来提供新的能力、容量和可靠性。该服务器特别适合支持大规模数据库和统计计算密集型环境。该应用程序的具体目标如下：1)替换和升级当前的数据库计算环境，从而确保继续可靠地支持正在进行的NIH项目。2)为目前依赖于数据库环境的NIH项目提供响应的统计分析计算环境，3)提供更高的计算性能和扩展的容量，以便能够支持更多的NIH项目。临床研究计算股(CRCU)是CCEB内的医学院核心研究机构，为大型临床研究项目所需的研究计算基础设施和统计方法补助金提供支持。目前支持的项目(NIH资助的30个活跃项目，总成本190,235,076美元)范围从统计方法ROL到临床研究RO1和PO1项目，再到包括多中心、多研究、数据协调中心(DCC)和教育和研究治疗中心(CERT)的合作协议(U01、U10、U18)。这些由美国国立卫生研究院资助的研究项目严重依赖先进的数据库技术，其中许多项目利用最先进的WWW部署的数据管理系统和数据库进行远程数据输入和管理。所有项目都涉及广泛的统计分析，对数据库和统计计算密集型基础设施的需求日益增长。为了提供足够的计算环境，CRCU维护专门为Oracle(R)关系数据库管理系统、SAS(R)和S-Plus、MatLab(R)和Stata(R)配置的专门计算设备。然而，支持宾夕法尼亚州立大学不断扩大的NIH研究计划的硬件要求远远超过了最初于1997年安装的标准计算服务器提供的有限资源，并且非常符合RFA中规定的设备资格标准。对NIH项目支持的需求不断增长，以及原始计算基础设施的老化，导致容量(即可支持项目的性能和数量)和可靠性限制被达到并超过。NIH的每个新增项目都进一步强调了原始设备的可靠性和稳定性，只为升级原始计算基础设施提供了边际资金。这一庞大的计算基础设施请求与NCRR的目标高度一致，NCRR的目标是通过多笔赠款提供共享资源，这些赠款的成本过高，难以证明个别项目的合理性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is an application from the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) School of Medicine to upgrade and expand the research computing infrastructure, in support of a multiple, meritorious NIH-funded research projects. This proposal requests a SUN Microsystems SUNFIRE 6800, a specialized database and statistical compute server, to provide new capabilities, capacity and reliability, by replacing a dated Oracle (r) database and inadequate statistical computing infrastructure. This server is particularly well suited for supporting large scale database and statistical compute-intensive environments. This application advances the following specific aims: 1) replace, and upgrade the current database computing environment, thereby ensuring continued reliable support of active NIH projects., 2) provide a responsive statistical analysis computing environment for the NIH projects currently relying upon the database environment, and 3) provide improved computing performance and expanded capacity so that additional NIH projects can be supported. The Clinical Research Computing Unit (CRCU), a School of Medicine Core Research Facility within the CCEB, supports the research computing infrastructure required by large-scale clinical research projects, and statistical methodology grants. Currently supported projects (30 active NIH funded projects with total costs of $190,235,076) range from statistical methodology ROls, to clinical research RO1 and PO1 projects, to cooperative agreements (U01, U10, U18) that include multi-center, multi-study, Data Coordinating Centers (DCCs) and Center for Education and Research Therapeutics (CERTs). These NIH-funded research projects rely heavily on advanced database technologies, with many utilizing state-of-the-art WWW-deployed data management systems and databases for remote data entry and management. All projects involve extensive statistical analysis, with a growing need for database and statistical compute-intensive infrastructure. To provide an adequate computing environment, the CRCU maintains specialized computing equipment specifically configured for the Oracle (r) Relational Database Management System, SAS (r), and S-PLUS (r), MATLAB (r), and STATA (r). However, the hardware requirements to support the expanding NIH research program at Penn far exceed the limited resources provided by standard compute servers, originally installed in 1997, and are very consistent with the equipment eligibility criteria set forth in the RFA. Growing demand for NIH project support, and the advanced age of the original computing infrastructure, is causing capacity (i.e., performance and number of supportable projects) and dependability limits to be reached and exceeded. Each additional NIH project further stresses the reliability and stability of the original equipment, and provides only marginal funding for upgrading the original computing infrastructure. This large computing infrastructure request is highly consistent with NCRR goals of providing shared resources across multiple grants that are cost-prohibitive and difficult to justify for individual projects.