State of Alberta Digital Infrastructure Report
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State of Alberta Digital Infrastructure Report V2.0 1 Table Of Contents Executive Summary Networking – At a Glance Data Centres – At a Glance Computing – At a Glance Cybersecurity – At a Glance Data Management – At a Glance Skilled ICT Workers – At a Glance Introduction Networking in Alberta Overview Background Current Landscape: Broadband Availability in Alberta Alberta SuperNet CyberaNet Large ISPs Municipal / Community Networks Public WiFi Rural First Nations Emergency Communication System Internet Exchange Points Low earth orbit satellites (LEOS) High altitude regional wireless networks Changes in the policy and regulatory landscape Other infrastructure owners IPv6 Future Needs and Opportunities Data Centres and Hosting Facilities Overview Background Data Centre Standards Data Centre Costs Current Landscape Private Sector Data Centres NotForProfit Data Centres Future Needs and Opportunities V2.0 2 Computing Overview Background: High Performance Computing Compute Canada / WestGrid High Performance Computing Usage Sustainability & Operations Background: Cloud Resources Current Landscape: Cloud Resources Rapid Access Cloud (RAC) Digital Accelerator for Infrastructure and Research (DAIR) WestGrid/Compute Canada & Institutional Resources Commercial Cloud Resources Background: Shared Services PostSecondary Learning Management Cloud Adobe Connect Shared Services Framework K12 Future Needs & Opportunities Cybersecurity Overview Background Description of standards Current Landscape Common Threats and Issues Risk Tolerance Cybersecurity in Alberta Resources Future Needs and Opportunities Data Management Overview Background Current Landscape TC3+ & Digital Scholarship Research Data Canada & Canadian Academic Libraries Open Data University of Alberta Initiatives Alberta Government Initiatives Industry & Initiatives V2.0 3 Municipalities Future Needs and Opportunities People Overview Background Current State of HQSP Landscape Current Projection for Skilled Shortages Relevance in the Global IT Space Inventory of ITrelated Education Programs Number of ICT Program Graduates or Program Completers Number of Applied Researchers, Doctorates or Postdoctorates Working in Advanced ICT Research Number of Programs Supporting HQSP in ICT Future Needs and Opportunities Conclusion Appendices About Cybera Acknowledgements V2.0 4 Revision History Date Revised Version Revisions By Oct 10, Cybera 0.9 Development of the first draft 2014 Oct 20, Cybera 1.0 Revisions to all sections. Additions of the Executive Summary, 2014 Introduction and Data section. Oct 31, Cybera 1.1 Revisions to all sections. 2014 Sept 13, Cybera 2.0 Updated network section & acknowledgements. Updated 2016 hyperlinks and citations. V2.0 5 Executive Summary Governments worldwide are investing in digital infrastructure as the foundation for innovation, economic growth and market diversification. This infrastructure is critical for creating new industries, and reinventing traditional industries. Understanding the current landscape of digital infrastructure in the province has the potential to create a strong strategic foundation for government to harness innovations in science and technology, and drive new market diversification in Alberta. In 2014, Alberta’s not-for-profit advanced technology agency, Cybera, began building an outline of the information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure currently in place, highlighting what is needed to perform advanced research and foster innovation in the province. This State of Alberta Digital Infrastructure Report provides a detailed review of Alberta’s current network connectivity, data centre resources, high-performance and cloud computing resources, cybersecurity awareness and protection measures, data management policies and procedures, and key personnel. It presents an overview of opportunities for investing in Alberta’s digital infrastructure in a way that responds to multiple immediate needs, capitalizes on the efficiencies created by shared infrastructure, and lays the foundation for future research and innovation. This State of Alberta Digital Infrastructure Report is intended to be a constantly evolving review on digital infrastructure in the province. It is Cybera’s intent that this document will continue to evolve as feedback from partner organizations and external stakeholders is received and incorporated. Cybera will continue to collaborate with invested stakeholders and key contacts to gather the full scope of information in an iterative and coordinated approach. Readers of this report should bear in mind that while Cybera is the province’s expert technical agency, we do not have all the answers and as such rely heavily on our colleagues within our member institutions. Although many have had a chance to comment on this draft, many more have not. As such, the facts and figures reported here may change as more of our colleagues have a chance to read and comment on the material. If readers are making critical decisions based on data in this report, we encourage them to contact the authors to ensure the very latest information is available. In effort to facilitate and present a summary of the findings, each section is presented “At a Glance” as part of this executive summary. Each “At a Glance” presents a section overview, a review of current landscape numbers at the time of this draft, and future recommendations for consideration. For a detailed review of all recommendations see the corresponding section. 1. Networking — At a Glance 2. Data Centres — At a Glance 3. Computing — At a Glance 4. Cybersecurity — At a Glance 5. Data Management — At a Glance V2.0 6 6. Skilled ICT Workers — At a Glance Networking – At a Glance Over the next 5-10 years, Alberta will continue to see an increased demand for bandwidth as users adopt more cloud services and move to mobile platforms. Alberta houses two high-speed public fibre networks: the research and education network, CyberaNet, and the province-wide fibre optic network, the Alberta SuperNet, which are available to a select portion of the population. Commercially, there are several telecommunications providers in the province, but their reach and bandwidth capabilities vary. Many residents in rural areas struggle to obtain internet connections at a cost and speed comparable to the province’s urban centres. By the Numbers... ● Expected annual growth rate of Canadian internet traffic between 2015-2020: 22% (2.7x today’s traffic)1 ● Percentage of low income households in Canada with internet access at home (as of 2013): 59.7%2 ● Current number of Albertans without access to internet at speeds of at least 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload: 80,000 ● Average Canadian download / upload speeds in 2015: 18.6 Mbps down / 7.3 Mbps up3 ● Average rural Canadian speeds in 2015: 14.8 Mbps down / 6 Mbps up ● Average Alberta speeds in 2015: 13.5 Mbps down / 5 Mbps up ● Percentage of Albertans over the age of 18 who own a mobile device: 80% ● Expected annual growth rate of Canadian mobile data traffic between 2015-2020: 42% (6x today’s traffic) ● Expected annual growth rate of Canadian IP video traffic between 2015-2020: 20% (3x today’s traffic) Recommendations for Improving Networking Short-term (1-3 years) ● Develop a provincial broadband strategy ● Set a provincial target of 25 Mbps symmetric internet bandwidth ● Establish a community to aggregate and facilitate rural broadband solutions ● Ensure the new Alberta SuperNet agreements (due in 2018) allow Alberta to play a leadership role in broadband Long-term (3-10 years) ● Develop a provincial plan to leverage federal funds and initiatives to expand broadband access into rural Alberta 1 Cisco, VNI Complete Forecast Highlights Tool, 2016. 2 CRTC. Communications Monitoring Report, Table 2.0.8. Accessed 2 May 2016. 3 CIRA. Canada’s Internet Performance: National, Provincial, and Municipal Analysis. April 2016. V2.0 7 ● Set a provincial target of 100 Mbps symmetric internet bandwidth ● Work with municipalities to open their fibre assets to public institutions and community based not-for-profit ISPs Data Centres – At a Glance Data centres host most of the physical components of modern computing, including the networking, hosting and storage infrastructure. For this section, Cybera focused on the research and innovation-focused data centres and, to that end, interviewed the IT infrastructure managers at five post-secondary institutions: the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge, Mount Royal University and NAIT. Although Cybera did not gather information for all 26 post-secondary institutions in Alberta, from the sampling of information gathered, it is confident that the availability of space and resources at the Universities of Calgary and Alberta compose the majority of the data centre capacity in the academic sector in the province. From Cybera’s perspective, the academic data centres are currently more cost effective for research and innovation, and should continue to be fostered for these sectors going forward. By the Numbers… ● Number of commercial data centres currently identified by Cybera in Alberta: 17 ● Total combined capacity of public data centres at Universities of Alberta and Calgary: ~5.5 MW ● Current available capacity at Universities of Alberta and Calgary ~1.5 MW (more could be made available if old equipment is decommissioned and if renovations are done to expand existing centres). Recommendations to Improve Data Centre Capacity Short-term (1-3 years) ● Convene an