Science in Stock with Meso@LR
In an era where science increasingly relies on data, the University of Montpellier, with financial support from the Region and the Metropolitan Area, is providing the scientific community with a shared storage space. More efficient, more secure, and more environmentally friendly, it is part of a regional initiative in which Inserm is participating. Anne Laurent, Vice President for Open Science and Research Data, explains.
Inserm and the University of Montpellier have just signed a cooperation agreement to establish a shared data management environment. Why is this important?
It is important because, in order to conduct scientific research and produce scientific results, engineers, researchers, Professors, and doctoral students are increasingly relying on data. It is a resource that we store, manipulate, analyze, and enrich; however, all of this requires enormous amounts of storage and processing capacity, making it essential to share these resources. It is these resources that we are establishing for our scientific communities through Meso@LR.
What is Meso@LR?
It’s a kind of massive computer divided into two parts: high-performance computing and storage. On the computing side, there are enormous processors. On the storage side, Meso can be compared to a super hard drive—or rather, two super hard drives located in two different rooms to double security. It is this super hard drive that is gradually being made available to the scientific community for their work. This conference serves as a sort of launchpad for this collective endeavor, which everyone is invited to join.
And how much storage capacity do those big hard drives have?
The Meso@LR data infrastructure can store 15 petabytes—that’s huge! 15 petabytes is equal to 15 million billion bytes. That’s the equivalent of about a million USB flash drives!
Will this platform be open to all Muse partners?
It’s broader than that. It’s one component of a regional initiative. Meso@LR is a structure managed by the University of Montpellier but designed to meet all the IT needs of research in Eastern Occitanie. It is co-funded by the Region and the Metropolis; for its part, the University of Montpellier has been responsible from the outset for hosting, staffing, electricity, etc.
So is the agreement with Inserm the first in a series?
Yes, Inserm is the first organization to sign, but we are indeed working with other partners. And this cooperation is strengthened by the leading role Inserm has played in establishing the Montpellier Institute of Data Science (ISDM).
And what exactly does it entail?
Inserm now has 2 petabytes of storage space on Meso@LR, which it can use to develop its offerings and services for the scientific communities associated with Inserm. Inserm holds the keys to this space and manages it using the expertise of its IT teams.
UM does not have access to their storage space. Isn’t that data sharing?
No, Inserm sets its own data -sharing policy, and this data is and remains the property of the lead institution. There are other infrastructures for data sharing and openness at the national level.
And what’s in it for them?
By pooling these resources in highly secure environments, we enable IT teams to work with greater peace of mind, reducing concerns about potential issues—such as air conditioning—while allowing them to acquire top-of-the-line equipment and share their experiences and expertise. This enables us to develop even more ambitious projects.
And for users?
Value-added services and more user-friendly, high-performance data processing environments. It’s a paradigm shift—it’s like no longer having your own tools at home but having better ones instead; there’s everything to gain. Furthermore, since scientific projects bring together multidisciplinary teams, Meso aims to provide a unified response to questions that all researchers are asking.
What kinds of services will be available?
To give an example, the cloud offering currently under development will enable us to provide “virtual machines.” Instead of having to install hardware, access software, or data processing software on each of our computers, these resources will be shared within this cloud environment. This also improves performance and security.
By the way, who handles the technical side of Meso?
It’s a team of top-notch engineers—I want to emphasize this because it’s truly impressive; our model is closely scrutinized. Here, too, it’s a collaborative and shared effort; each partner has agreed to make engineers available for 20 to 30% of their time, sometimes more. On these kinds of issues, no one can do it alone anymore; we really have to work together—without that, we wouldn’t be able to move forward.
And from an environmental standpoint, is there a benefit to pooling resources?
We now know that housing these environments in dedicated, ultra-energy-efficient buildings helps reduce their environmental impact. But this benefit will also depend on how we use them, both individually and collectively. I’m the first to admit it: I filled up my hard drive because I had the space—it’s just like closets! We need to learn to delete our data when it’s no longer useful. In this regard, the work being done to provide support is essential; in fact, a cross-departmental project is currently underway at the UM on this very issue.
Precisely by creating a new storage space when laboratories already have their own solutions, isn’t there a risk of duplicating storage?
The idea is that, over time, we can phase out local solutions that consume human resources and electricity—except when they’re needed, and sometimes they are needed. That is also why we include this in the agreement.
A cost of 300,000 euros. What does this cover?
This is the total cost: electricity, personnel, and storage facilities for this Inserm project over a five-year period. Inserm also contributes personnel and expertise, which is invaluable for providing a high-quality service.
Are there any links between Meso@LR and the Institute of Data Science?
Yes, we are convinced that data science and scientific data will be at the heart of science. And this poses major challenges in making these data easy to find, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR). To manage and utilize this data, skills and support are needed… This is one ofthe ISDM’s missions. Some of these issues are also still subjects of research in which the laboratories at the Montpellier site are very active and well-recognized.
And how can you access these support services?
The UM’s cross-departmental group for open science was created for this purpose, in collaboration with ISDM, Méso@LR, and all Muse partners. This support is available through the services catalog in the digital learning environment (ENT). We are currently working together to enhance its visibility and expand its services.
Is open data a goal?
People sometimes say,“Data: as open as possible, as closed as necessary.” Once again, we need to give researchers time to analyze and make use of it, and Meso is specifically designed for science that is “in the making,” if I may say so. It is neither a data warehouse nor a data portal. Nevertheless, data governance is a consideration that must be addressed in order to collectively build environments that are designed to move toward sharing and openness. We want to make Montpellier a place where scientific data is produced, but also where it is utilized and, when possible, shared as a common good.