Harvard Research Computing Community,
As part of Harvard University Research Computing & Data Services’ ongoing efforts to keep the community informed and engaged, we are excited to announce a series of virtual town halls to introduce and explore the benefits of the New England Research Cloud (NERC). There is significant savings in cost and time over deploying in commercial clouds (AWS, Azure, and GCP).
Join one of our town halls to get a first month of free credit (up to $1000) for your lab !!!
- Thursday, Nov 30th, 2023 – 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET [Zoom Link]
- Wednesday, Dec 6th, 2023 – 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET [Zoom Link]
- Tuesday, Dec 12th, 2023 – 1:30 – 3:00 PM ET [Zoom Link]
What is NERC?
NERC is an innovative, on-premise cloud computing platform designed to revolutionize how we approach scientific research and collaboration. NERC provides a secure and efficient environment for researchers, educators, and community members to collaborate, share resources, and advance knowledge in various fields. It has a full suite of services ranging from virtual machines (OpenStack), container orchestration (OpenShift), storage (S3 compatible), and data science platform (RedHat Openshift Data Science).
Why NERC?
- Ease of Onboarding: NERC simplifies the onboarding process, making it easy for individuals or research groups to join the platform and get going fast. Whether you’re a seasoned researcher or new to collaborative projects, NERC offers a user-friendly self-serving interface with federated login (single sign-on with your Harvard Key), documentation, and comprehensive support to get you started seamlessly.
- Cost-Effective: One of the key advantages of NERC is its cost-effectiveness. By leveraging shared resources and infrastructure, NERC significantly reduces the financial burden traditionally associated with commercial cloud computing, storage, and networking fees. This allows our research community to embark on ambitious projects without breaking the bank. NERC is fully integrated with Harvard billing.
- Facilitation and Support: NERC is committed to providing ongoing facilitation and technical support. NERC’s dedicated team ensures that you have the guidance and assistance you need throughout your journey. This approach sets NERC apart from today’s public clouds and is critical to bridging the gap in skills that are needed for research and teaching professionals.
NERC Availability:
NERC offers on-prem cloud services to faculty PIs and their researchers, collaborators, and students across the MGHPCC member institutions: Harvard University, Boston University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, the University of Massachusetts, and other non-profit research organizations within the region.
Virtual Town Meetings:
To help you better understand the capabilities of NERC and how it can benefit our community, we invite you to join our virtual town meetings. These sessions will include:
- Overview of NERC: A detailed introduction to the platform, its features, and how it can facilitate collaborative research.
- Live Demonstrations: Step-by-step demonstrations showcasing the user interface, onboarding process, and collaborative tools available on NERC.
- Q&A Sessions: An opportunity for you to ask questions and get clarifications from NERC experts.
Access Resources:
To prepare for the virtual town hall meetings, we encourage you to explore the NERC website and NERC documentation website. Additionally, our web page of tutorials, use cases, and demonstrations are available here to provide you with a more in-depth understanding of the platform’s functionality.
Join one of our town halls to get a first month of free credit (up to $1000) for your lab !!!
- Thursday, Nov 30th, 2023 – 1:00-2:30 PM ET [Zoom]
- Wednesday, Dec 6th, 2023 – 2:00-3:30 PM ET [Zoom]
- Tuesday, Dec 12th, 2023 – 1:30-3:00 PM ET [Zoom]
We believe that NERC has the potential to transform the way we approach research and collaboration in our community. We hope to see you all there! If you are unable to join us for the live event, a recording of the Town Hall will be available on our website afterward.