[BIC-announce] Major announcements from the BIC’s data and IT services

[Ted Strauss]

Dear members of the BIC community,

We are coming today with a few major announcements about the BIC’s data and
IT services. Our goal is to make it easier for everyone to access the BIC’s
imaging platforms, and store, curate and analyze your data securely and
economically.
Benefit now from low rates for BIC data and computing services

The rates for computing and data-storage services have been considerably
reduced. The basic rate for mirrored storage is now 20$ per 100GB per year;
and unmirrored storage is 10$ per 100GB per year. Start with any size and
scale up to dozens of terabytes, as needed for your lab. We have obtained
support to invest in a new 500-TB high-end data server. We have also
obtained a Compute-Canada Research Platform & Portal Grant for 1PB of cloud
storage.

In addition, the price for configuration and maintenance of a BIC
NeuroImaging Workstation has dropped to $200/year. Service includes expert
consulting for workstation or data server specification, purchase,
installation and maintenance (Linux). All workstation installations
comprise a series of specialized software applications for neuroimaging
research (MINC, SPM, FSL, AFNI, Brainstorm, etc.). Installation of
additional software packages can be accommodated upon request.

Please consult this page
<https://www.mcgill.ca/bic/files/bic/bic_rates_-_january_2017.pdf> f
<https://www.mcgill.ca/bic/files/bic/bic_rates_-_january_2017.pdf>or
<https://www.mcgill.ca/bic/files/bic/bic_rates_-_january_2017.pdf> a
<https://www.mcgill.ca/bic/files/bic/bic_rates_-_january_2017.pdf>ll det
<https://www.mcgill.ca/bic/files/bic/bic_rates_-_january_2017.pdf>ai
<https://www.mcgill.ca/bic/files/bic/bic_rates_-_january_2017.pdf>ls
<https://www.mcgill.ca/bic/files/bic/bic_rates_-_january_2017.pdf>.

Depending on your needs, we’ll find the best solution for you and your lab:
please contact us to make this happen (data at bic.mni.mcgill.ca).

To submit a request for storage allocation and upgrades, please fill out
our quick Data Request Form (FOAPAL or PO number required):
https://www.mcgill.ca/bic/data-storage-application-form
New data management and cooperation tools: box.BIC and forum.BIC

box.BIC is a dropbox-like solution for the BIC and larger MNI community.
This tool makes sharing and archiving files among members of a lab, or any
group of users (including external collaborators), very easy. It is already
being used by several BIC labs to share data internally, and distribute/collect
data to/from external collaborators. Because this tool is hosted
internally, the transfer rates are extremely fast, the security of data is
guaranteed, and it can seamlessly scale from megabytes to terabytes as
needed.

You can access box.BIC now with your McGill email and password at
box.bic.mni.mcgill.ca. Each lab will be provided a private section with the
data capacity limited by your existing storage allocation.

forum.BIC is an online forum for BIC and MNI users that is a central
communications hub for questions, discussions, announcements, reference
materials, reviews, and other topics. Each lab has a section for private
communications, and you can request new private spaces to be created for
any group, e.g., an event committee or reading group. Because important
information gets buried in countless email threads, forum.BIC provides a
dedicated hub to centralize, archive and curate the most important
conversations for our busy community.

You can log in now *to forum.BIC* with your McGill email and password at:
forum.bic.mni.mcgill.ca. The first time you log in, a prompt will ask you
to ‘create new account’; please click this button.

forum.BIC and box.BIC both use SSL encryption, so all communications are
protected.

Ted Strauss, BIC’s Manager for Data Resources, is offering demos or short
workshops for these tools to any lab or individual. Contact him at
ted.strauss at mcgill.ca to set up a meeting.

Our team is working hard to provide the best research services at the most
affordable rates, for everyone.

Thanks for your support.

Ted Strauss, Sylvain Milot, Jean-François Malouin, Beth Bock & Sylvain
Baillet.




Ted Strauss / Manager, Data Resources
McConnell Brain Imaging Centre / Montreal Neurological Institute
McGill University



ᐧ
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.bic.mni.mcgill.ca/pipermail/bic-announce/attachments/20170209/dcc6315f/attachment.html>