Problem

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) needed to deploy highly available network systems to support scientific research, enterprise authentication, email and storage systems.

Resolution

LCG Systems designed and implemented networks that support the high availability and high throughput requirements of clinical medical research.  The architectures that were created included gigabit Ethernet campus area networks with redundant and divergent routes scaled to support over 3000 systems. The LCG Systems team deployed a Microsoft Active Directory enterprise directory structure that acts as the central authentication system for users, systems and applications. In conjunction with Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange was deployed as the central messaging solution for 2500 users. LCG Systems installed Storage Area Network systems designed to provide multi-terabyte high speed data storage to research scientists.

Value Added

Network uptime was increased from 95% to 99.9%. NINDS was able to achieve a 10-fold increase in bandwidth which reduced file transfer time and data backup windows by 60%. LCG Systems provided NINDS with a reliable messaging, central directory, and authentication mechanism, reducing related support costs by 75%. The LCG Systems team enabled platform independent access to 5 terabytes of data storage and ensured data recovery for all stored data.