Calgary-based Cybera is asking for expressions of interest in ‘cyber-infrastructure’ projects targeting the oil and gas vertical. Cybera is a Canadian not-for-profit qango* that provides leadership and investment in Alberta’s cyberinfrastructure.
Networks
Cybera defines cyberinfrastructure (CI) as the integration of high speed data networks, high performance computers and storage clusters, visualization and sensor networks. These resources are exposed as web interface-based services and computing ‘utilities.’ Alberta’s CI includes the WestGrid and CyberaNET networks. The latter connects a dozen research establishments via a 10Gb/s Ethernet link between Calgary and Edmonton. Cybera is looking for increased use of CI on commercial seismic processing, reservoir modeling, and risk management. To date such outsourced IT has been held back because of ‘culture and conservatism, data management challenges and poor telecom links**.
$CDN 15 million
The CI initiative is a $15M program in support of ‘collaborative projects to accelerate the development of CI and ‘e-Research.’ Expressions of interest are being solicited from oil and gas companies for participants to contribute problems, data, algorithms and staff time.
* Quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation.
** Up to a point, Calgary’s Metronet already had a 5GB/s bandwidth in 1996! (OITJ Nov 1996).
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