Research Data Storage Infrastructure (RDSI) Project Information

The aim of the RDSI Project is that researchers will be able to use and manipulate significant collections of data that were previously either unavailable or difficult to access and that there will be a consistent means of accessing this data. This will be achieved through the development of a national network of a limited number of data stores, or Nodes, where the content held in those stores is allocated capacity through a priority and merit process and where that content can be readily accessed, analysed and re-used in a coherently governed environment. There may be more than one category of Node. The Project will be realised through the creation and development of data storage infrastructure accessed through a common infrastructure layer and provided by agencies within the sector, or commercial providers, or both. Specifically, the intention is to increase the sharing and re-use of research related data, which might be sourced from any sector, and the collaborative activity based on the sharing of data, and not merely to achieve improved data retention. A national data environment of the scale planned will also enable new questions to be asked on topics and at scales not previously possible. The data storage infrastructure created by the RDSI Project will be connected to the AREN by a high bandwidth connection, funded and constructed under the Super Science National Research Networks (NRN) Project. This will include dedicated high speed connections between major nodes. The resulting data environment is not intended to be exclusive to the use of RDSI Project stakeholders. Rather, the delivery of the RDSI Project is expected to contribute to the development of an open infrastructure that institutions, disciplines and research facilities can expand or extend to meet other requirements and into which other sector interests can add capability over time.