Case Study: RDSI (Australia’s Research Data Storage Infrastructure) achieves ultra-high-speed, secure nationwide research data transfers with Aspera

Rdsi Initiative Uses Aspera for Science DMZ Data Mover

RDSI, an Australian Government–funded initiative led by the University of Queensland, needed a reliable way to move, store and share ever‑larger research datasets across eight nationally‑distributed high‑performance storage nodes and computing centers. The challenge was to provide ultra‑fast, secure transfers with easy researcher access and integration with common authentication (LDAP/SAML), while coping with limited local bandwidth and intermittent network outages.

RDSI deployed Aspera’s Connect Server on each Data Transfer Node, the Aspera Shares browser interface for simple uploads/downloads and access controls, and Aspera Console for centralized management. The solution delivered full line speeds on fast links (10 Gbps) and 7–8 Gbps for international transfers, enabled an 11 TB overnight transfer under a 40% bandwidth cap despite scheduled outages, and added bandwidth control, automatic resume, and consolidated sharing—greatly improving collaboration and operational visibility while opening the door to cloud storage exploration.

RDSI

Peter Elford

Network Program Manager, RDSI