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Secure Research Cloud (SRC)

Service Description

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is the delivery of on-demand hosted computing services over the internet. Rather than buying, owning, and maintaining physical infrastructure or data centers, you can subscribe to services from a cloud provider. Using cloud services allows users to be more agile and flexible by scaling services up or down in a stable and high-performance execution environment.

Vanderbilt University Information Technology (VUIT) leverages Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its public cloud services. Vanderbilt utilizes direct connections into AWS which allow us to extend our on-campus network to create secure and private workspaces inside of AWS.

What is SRC?

SRC is a secure research environment in AWS cloud that is ready to use and is preconfigured with security. Controls in place are modeled after NIST 800-171.  Users login from anywhere with an internet connection and access resources within the secure environment utilizing remote desktop tools.

SRC is accessed through Vanderbilt's VPN client by logging in with a VUnetID.  There are built-in securities such as a private, encrypted connection, access control with MFA and least privilege, incident detection and response, and full logging and auditability.

SRC is able to store and process the following data types:

Data Classification Definition Examples Compatible with SRC
Level 1 Public Data that is publicly available News, Faculty books, Published research data Yes
Level 2 Institutional Use Only Data that is private to VU and should not be available to non-VU without permission Non-public research data, Confidential administrative data Yes
Level 3 Restricted Data that must be kept confidential by law or contract PII, FERPA, PHI/HIPAA, Data Use Agreement data  Yes*
Level 4 Critical Data that is protected by law and requires bespoke security Regulated research data (e.g. ITAR/EAR/CUI), PCI, Tax info, Banking account info No

* Consultation needed to ensure compliance

Vanderbilt's full Data Classification Policy can be found here.

What SRC comes with What you must provide
  • Hardened base server image
  • Windows or Amazon Linux 2 Operating System
  • Mozilla Firefox browser
  • Ongoing infrastructure and security support
  • Budget and Idle resource alerts available upon request
  • Your own data sets
  • Software licenses* and software support
  • COA/POET String for payment
  • On-going monitoring of costs

          * Be aware of your software licensing requirements and restrictions (e.g. SPSS or MatLab).

A helpful user guide is referenced in the section: Documentation and service information links below. It provides helpful information on how-to's, user do’s and don'ts, and FAQs.

SRC Examples   

Example Instance 1
(Basic)

Example Instance 2
(Memory intense) 		Example Instance 3
(Memory intense + high storage)
Specifications:
  • 2 vCPU
  • 8 GiB Memory
  • 100 GB Data set size
  • Supports basic analysis in Excel

Total cost for 40 hours of use in a 30 day month (2 hrs/day):

  • Windows:  $57.44
  • Amazon Linux:  $55.33

Specifications:

  • 4 vCPU
  • 32 GiB Memory
  • 500 GB Data set size
  • Supports work in R, STATA or other memory intensive programs

Total cost for 40 hours of use in a 30 day month (2 hrs/day):

  • Windows:  $112.44
  • Amazon Linux:  $105.08

Specifications:

  • 4 vCPU
  • 32 GiB Memory
  • 1000 GB Data set size
  • Supports work in R, STATA or other memory intensive programs

Total cost for 40 hours of use in a 30 day month (2 hrs/day):

  • Windows:  $172.44
  • Amazon Linux:  $165.08

Costs depicted in above are examples only. Fees can vary depending on your needed storage size and computing power. More information on cost breakdowns can be found in Service Charges or Fees.

Support Contacts

To learn more, get started, or get ongoing support, fill out this form

Service Charges or Fees

AWS offers you a pay-as-you-go approach. With AWS you pay only for the individual services you need, for as long as you use them, and without requiring long-term contracts or complex licensing. AWS pricing is similar to how you pay for utilities like water and electricity. You only pay for the services you consume, and once you stop using them, there are no additional costs or termination fees.

SRC account owners are billed on a quarterly basis and pay a direct pass-through cost from AWS. In other words, you only pay for what you use. There are 2 types of costs, static and hourly. The total pass-through cost will be a sum of both.

  • Examples of fixed or static costs: Storage, Backups, Networking, Security
  • Examples of variable or hourly costs: Total hours (billed by the second) that the server is running.
  • Static Monthly Costs: $53
  • Windows hourly cost: $0.111
  • Amazon Linux hourly cost: $0.0832
  • Static Monthly Costs: $95
  • Windows hourly costs: $0.436
  • Amazon Linux hourly cost: $0.252
  • Static Monthly Costs: $155
  • Windows hourly costs: $0.436
  • Amazon Linux hourly cost: $0.252

The bill is charged to a COA or POET string. Each account is integrated with cost monitoring, projection, and reporting tools. Please consult the official AWS Pricing Calculator for more precise cost estimates.

Requesting Service

To learn more, get started, or get ongoing support, fill out this form.

Documentation and Service Information Links

Related Services

Data Use Agreements
Cloud Storage

Service Category

Research Support