Our department already boasts a moderately sized Cloud Computing cluster built by our faculty with financial assistance from a SUNY Innovative Instructional Technology Grant.  It is currently utilized as a laboratory environment for many of our advanced courses.  Unfortunately, we have already expended the capacity of our current system, and are seeking to expand and enhance the cluster in order to support a greater number of students and courses.  The cluster also allows us to offer training in emerging technologies that students would otherwise not encounter until they reached industry, thus better preparing them for gainful employment.  When expanded, one of our goals is to extend Internet access to our Cloud.  In this way, we could offer more upper division courses in Newburgh and in a distance learning format.

     We have already had multiple preliminary discussions with the Foundation regarding this request.  Potential funding is tied to a major gift proposal currently in draft with the Foundation.  If granted, half of the requested amount would be eligible for matching SUNY Capital Expenditure monies already in place for the BioTech building.

      Note that the attached budgetary request represents an example configuration and cost estimates.  The final implementation components may vary depending upon funding, facilities constraints, vendor pricing models, and the availability of newer systems.

      It should also be noted that the current allocation of requested funding resources is highly dependent upon support from SUNY Orange.  We have spoken with IT to identify data center space already equipped with sufficient power, networking, and HVAC resources.  If such a location is no longer available, an alternative setting will need to be identified and a significant portion of the funding request will have to be reallocated to facility development.

      We would also like to look into the possibility of obtaining some dedicated hours from IT staff for integration and administration of the new cluster.  This will ease the administrative burden on faculty (who have borne it without compensation for several years without complaint).  One way of potentially filling this need would be to allocate student workers drawn from either work-study or our internship program, provided our faculty can set skill criteria and decide which students are eligible.