Survey form and methods for second CASC survey of academic research computing and data center usage

Abstract

Availability of cloud-based resource delivery modes is transforming many areas of computing. Many academic institutions that support research computing facilities are considering and changing their mix of on-premise and remote facilities (including in particular use of commercial cloud facilities). A working group of the Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation (an educational nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization) has conducted an annual survey of higher education institutions now for two years running, with intentions of continuing. This survey asks a number of questions of academic institutions regarding their investments in research and data-oriented computing facilities, the extent of those facilities, and institutional activities. This technical report includes the full text of the survey instrument itself and describes the methods and survey population.