NSF Campus CyberInfrastructure (CC*) Regional Network: Connectivity through Regional Infrastructure for Scientific Partnerships, Innovation, and Education (CRISPIE)
Edge NSF CRISPIE (Connectivity through Regional Infrastructure for Scientific Partnerships, Innovation, and Education) is a U.S. National Science Foundation Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CC*) project (NSF Award #2346648) led by NJEDGE.NET, Inc. (referred to as Edge) in collaboration with seven institutions across New Jersey. CRISPIE aims to improve access to advanced research networks and related cyberinfrastructure for small liberal arts colleges, non-R1's, including Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and community colleges. The project focuses on key areas: enhancing internet connectivity, deploying Science DMZ and network monitoring and optimization capabilities, a Regional Data Transfer Node (DTN), a Resource Sharing Environment, an Identity and Access Management Framework leveraging InCommon Federation, providing access to regional and national resources, and offering specialized training programs to bolster research, education, and professional IT support.
Built for regional research capacity
CRISPIE is now in the phase where the deployed infrastructure becomes a usable regional research platform. Edge-DTN-STOR is available to the Edge NSF CC* CRISPIE partner institutions and supports workflows that connect researchers and educators to regional and national cyberinfrastructure. Edge-DTN-STOR combines shared storage, secure federated access, Nextcloud collaboration, and DTN data movement for active projects.
To get started leveraging the Edge-DTN-STOR, please visit https://www.crispie.njedge.net/edge-dtn
Project Phases to Date
The NSF CC* CRISPIE project (NSF #2346648) has reached an important milestone. After completing foundational training and infrastructure deployment across our partner institutions, we are now entering Phase III: Active Community Utilization of the Data Transfer Node (DTN) and Phase IV: Resource Sharing Environment. Phase III marks the transition from infrastructure build-out to research activation, where the research and education community have access to the regional DTN.
Phase I – Education, Training & Workforce Development
In Phase I, we focused on institutional readiness through workshops, technical sessions, meetings/virtual office hours, and workforce development activities to ensure campuses are prepared to leverage advanced cyberinfrastructure.
Phase II – Infrastructure Implementation
In collaboration with the National Research Platform (NRP), Rutgers University, Edge staff, ESnet, and campus partners, we deployed:
- ✓Science DMZ Architecture
- ✓perfSONAR Performance Monitoring
- ✓High-speed Network Validation and Tuning
These efforts eliminate network bottlenecks and enable secure, high-performance data movement.
Phase III – Leveraging Edge-DTN-STOR
CRISPIE EDGE-DTN-STOR is a high-performance research storage service built on Nextcloud and integrated with dedicated Data Transfer Nodes (DTNs). DTNs are purpose-built to move large datasets efficiently without impacting login nodes or campus systems. This is the phase we are entering.
What Edge-DTN-STOR Provides
- ✓96 TB of shared, high-performance storage
- ✓Optimized data movement within a Science DMZ
- ✓Secure, federated institutional access
- ✓Integration pathways with national resources
- ✓Web-based collaboration and multi-platform mounting options
Phase IV: Resource Sharing Environment
CRISPIE provides access to National Resources and will expand into a broader resource-sharing ecosystem connecting campus resources available at CRISPIE partner sites in the coming months. Please visit here to learn more and gain access to Resource Sharing Environment.