NSF awards nearly $1 million for System to build cyberinfrastructure that will expand Maine’s access to new research, learning opportunities
Orono, Maine — The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the University of Maine System (UMS) nearly $1 million to build new cyberinfrastructure that will expand the state’s access to scientific data, expertise and learning opportunities across New England and beyond. The equipment funded by the $976,496 NSF award will create high-speed, 400 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) network connections between the System’s supercomputer cluster at its flagship institution, the University of Maine (UMaine), and two premier research and education facilities in New England: the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center and the Northern Crossroads Gigabit Point of Presence, the region’s primary connector to Internet2. “Digital connectivity is essential for the success of Maine’s schools and students in the 21st century – opening up a whole new world of resources and learning,” said U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King of Maine. “The University of Maine System’s ‘You Can Get There from Here’ network will create important new connections to expand scientific collaboration throughout New England and increase education opportunities across our state. This is a perfect example of how modern technologies like broadband connections can bring more opportunities to rural, underserved areas, and bring our state into the future.” Tapping into these facilities, both of which are dedicated to supporting research and education in New England, will increase the computing capacity of the System’s network infrastructure by more than tenfold. As a result, the new equipment will enhance the ability for Maine researchers, particularly those at small, under-resourced institutions, to share data and resources and collaborate with other experts worldwide. The connection to these hubs also will allow UMS to connect to additional research partners in northern New England in the future by offering intermediate add and drop support in Keene, New Hampshire, and Portland, Maine. “Research and innovation rely on collaboration and networks, and at times that can be challenging in our rural and remote locations,” said UMS Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation and UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. “I want to thank Senators Collins and King for their continued support of investment in science and technology. With this National Science Foundation award, the University of Maine System will connect its cutting-edge computational resources and world-class researchers to colleagues across the Northeast and nation, and students in our state’s PK–12 and postsecondary schools. Together, we can solve problems, and create new knowledge and opportunity for Maine and beyond. This project shows the terrific power and potential of our R1 flagship research university to help strengthen our entire university system, and build Maine’s capacity and global competitiveness.” Bruce Segee, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMaine; will lead the project and collaborate with Jeff Letourneau, executive director of NetworkMaine, a unit of the UMS that provides internet and related-services to various stakeholders across the state; and Garret Peirce, the System’s network architect. “Virtually all research in the 21st century utilizes computers and high speed networks. Maine has traditionally been at a tremendous disadvantage.” says Segee. “This grant will allow Maine researchers to meaningfully collaborate with the rest of the world, both by making resources outside Maine more accessible, and also by making data and resources in Maine more accessible to the rest of the world.” Many schools throughout the state use high-speed internet from NetworkMaine, meaning they will benefit from the upgrades to UMS cyberinfrastructure. In particular, the NSF-funded equipment could broaden educational offerings for K–12 students by connecting them with world-class researchers willing to share their work and experiences. “Maine’s K-12 schools and public libraries have been national leaders in digital learning for decades. This 10x increase in out-of-state capacity will allow us to continue to support their innovation as they bring learning opportunities to all of Maine’s population regardless of location or income,” says Letourneau. UMS not only tries to improve Maine researchers’ access to resources through cyberinfrastructure upgrades, but also through collaborations with various organizations, including the Northeast Cyberteam, the Ecosystem for Research Networking, the Northeast Research and Education Network, the Open Storage Network and the Open Science Grid.
Regional Broadband Dialogues – Advancing Broadband in Maine
When: Friday, June 25, 20219:00am-10:30am Overview:This is a watershed moment for broadband strategic planning throughout Maine. With a significant infusion of federal funding for broadband now available through the recent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and various grant programs we have an unprecedented opportunity to advance broadband projects that align connectivity needs with education, health and economic development priorities. The Maine Broadband Coalition, in collaboration with the Co-Hosts listed below, is leading an effort to convene broadband stakeholders at a state, county and local level to enhance capacity for county governments to plan, coordinate, secure funding for and ultimately execute broadband projects. We anticipate this event to be the first in an ongoing series of dialogues. Co-Hosts:FEMA Region 1 Covid-19 Long-Term Recovery Task Force, Maine Municipal Association, Maine School Management Association, Maine State Chamber, Maine County Commissioners Association, and Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Who Should Attend:County administrators; state representatives; regional representatives from MEMA; representatives from Maine’s Economic Development Districts; representatives from county government, municipalities, utility districts, regional chambers of commerce, healthcare providers, and libraries; and school superintendents. Format:Zoom meeting with panel and discussion which will be recorded for wider distribution. Please Register here in advance. Agenda:A full agenda will be forthcoming, but highlights include: Overview of available broadband funding Why regional broadband planning is more important than ever Key considerations for effective multi-stakeholder regional planning Guidance on effective planning and elements of regional standardization including data, diverse stakeholder engagement, community knowledge transfer/capacity building and financing To RSVP: Please complete the form here: https://forms.gle/f47vrRHLJ4uouozv6 in addition to registering via zoom so we can make the most of your time and effort. A zoom link will be provided to registered participants. Contact: Andrew Butcher – Connect@MaineBroadbandCoalition.org
Maine’s Schools and Libraries, the Internet and E-Rate
For over 20 years the majority of the cost to connect Maine’s K-12 schools and public libraries to the Internet has been paid for with E-Rate funds. E-Rate is the “friendly” name of one of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund programs. Officially the program is called the Schools and Libraries Program. The FCC has the Universal Service Administration Company, or USAC, administer all of the Universal Service Programs including the E-Rate program. Networkmaine files a consortium application with USAC for E-Rate funding each year on behalf of its members that participate in the MSLN Project. E-Rate covers roughly 70% of the connectivity costs of the MSLN Project. In recent years, that has represented over $4.0 million of E-Rate support coming to Maine. The map below depicts information pulled from USAC’s OpenData website detailing successful applications for Data Transmission Services and/or Internet Access, referred to as “Category 1 services”, in E-Rate funding years 2018, 2019, and 2020. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1R2MDqh1_HcXV_iJjZc6cdo9LyIUOir9S” class=”” frameborder=”0″>
Study From Car Initiative
Last updated on: 9/11/2020 at 9:30 am With the closure of public schools and the subsequent transition to remote learning, many schools have identified a lack of adequate Internet access in the homes of some of their students, limiting the ability of those students to participate in online learning opportunities. Networkmaine has offered assistance to the roughly 140 local schools that have their WiFi networks provided through the Maine Learning Technology Initiative in creating an additional “guest” WiFi network. This additional WiFi network will be completely segregated from any existing network(s) at the school. The hope is that the MLTI wireless service currently bleeds out of the building to the extent that someone could park in the parking lot and obtain service, allowing them to participate in online learning while maintaining the social distancing that the school closures are intended to facilitate. We have already heard from schools that are repositioning their WiFi access points near exterior wall and windows to help extend the outside coverage. We have dubbed this effort Study-From-Car as a play on the phrase work-from-home that has become so prevalent in the media. We encourage participating schools to use the hashtag #studyfromcar if they make any announcements on social media. If your school is doing something similar and would like to have it added to this map please drop an email to us at: NOC@maine.edu or fill out the form below. 03/23/2020 – In response to the overwhelmingly positive feedback we have received, we are now including any member that has a guest WiFi service and wants to be included on our Study-From-Car map. 09/11/2020 – With the state still in the grasp of the pandemic and remote / hybrid learning models being widely used, we will be keeping this map up to date during the 2020-2021 school year. Locations will be removed if they can no longer provide public WiFi and new public WiFi sites will be added as they are reported to us. [iframe src=”https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1vZrvHKkHhAVLdV21sRRPbhuMOCnIRTCl” width=”640″ height=”480″]
MLTI WiFi and COVID-19 school closures
With the closure of public schools and the subsequent transition to remote learning, many schools have identified a lack of adequate Internet access in the homes of some of their students, limiting the ability of those students to participate in online learning opportunities. For MLTI wireless schools, there may be a way that Networkmaine can assist you in addressing these situations. Networkmaine is offering to enable, for the duration such a service is needed at a school, an additional “guest” SSID. This additional SSID would be completely segregated from any existing network(s) at the school. The hope is that the MLTI wireless service currently bleeds out of the building to the extent that someone could park in the parking lot and obtain service, allowing them to participate in online learning while maintaining the social distancing that the school closures are intended to facilitate. These are the details of what we are proposing: The SSID will be ‘mlti-guest’ and would be an open network (no form of authentication needed). The new ‘mlti-guest’ SSID would be seen everywhere the school’s MLTI SSID(s) are currently seen. Traffic on the new ‘mlti-guest’ network will use a separate network from anything in use at the school, and will be completely segregated from all existing school networks Networkmaine will provide DHCP and NAT services for this traffic, if needed or desired (see caveats). Traffic from the new ‘mlti-guest’ SSID can optionally be delivered to the existing LAN interface, on a separate vlan from the existing wireless traffic to maintain segregation, if access to local resources is needed. The new ‘mlti-guest’ SSID would be removed when normal school operations resume (or upon request) to prevent students from using it in favor of the existing managed school network. Some caveats to be aware of: If you are currently using the MLTI guest wireless service, this offer does not apply to you (you are already effectively doing what we are proposing). Though you may consider removing any restrictions you are placing on your guest wireless network currently (if you lock out school devices, or restrict bandwidth for instance). If your MLTI management path includes a VPN router or passes through school network infrastructure, Networkmaine will not be able to enable the NAT and DHCP features (we can tell you if this applies to you if you aren’t sure). In some cases we can work with school network staff to work around this, but where VPN management is in use it may not be technically possible. In such cases the service could still be enabled, however the school would have to provide NAT and DHCP services. Umbrella content filtering and security services will be applied. If you have any questions about this offering or are interested in deploying this new temporary wireless service at your school, please contact Networkmaine. #studyfromcar