pa sciencedmz
The Pennsylvania Science DMZ (PA Science DMZ) service provides a means for researchers to collaborate with their peers. The PA Science DMZ service is analogous to a private network exchange, but is available exclusively to KeystoneREN connected institutions. Built as a performance based security enclave network, the network segment is ideal for giving a preferred path for lowest latency and best performance that would otherwise transit the public Internet. The PA Science DMZ can be a lower-cost and flexible alternative to circuit, private-line technology, or VPNs that customers may be using today for best effort connectivity between disparate locations and peers.
Requirements for Service/Technical Specifications
KeystoneREN clients and affiliates subscribing to KeystoneREN Network Services are eligible to use the KeystoneREN PA Science DMZ. A KeystoneREN Network Connection Service is required to participate in the KeystoneREN PA Science DMZ. perfSONAR servers will be used to validate loss, latency, and jitter as well as schedule throughput tests. Interface counters will be streamed six times every minute as well as network packet samples via sFlow for transparency and visibility of the researchers science workflow and collaborations.
Benefits
- Any-to-Any connectivity – Any customer can send traffic to any other customer within the PA Science DMZ with minimal configuration in the customer’s network.
- Cost effective – Easy to use and cost effective Ethernet technologies makes the PA Science DMZ very accessible without additional infrastructure investment.
- Flexible – Simplicity of Ethernet hand off maximizes use cases and implementation options.
- Simplified bandwidth scaling – Incremental connectivity options allow bandwidth to be upgraded without additional network infrastructure or long provisioning times.
Presentations
- Introduction and Overview of the Science DMZ Architecture, the Science DMZ Toolset and Featured Use Cases, Ken Miller, Chief Technology Officer, KeystoneREN, CyberAccelerate Roadshow, September 9, 2025.
- The Role of RENs in LACs and the PA Science DMZ Use Case, Consortium for Liberal Arts Colleges (CLAC), Wayne Figurelle; Jennifer Oxenford;, and Carrie Rampp, June 11, 2025.
- PA Science DMZ Overview, October 24, 2024, CyberAccelerate Workshop
- PA Science DMZ Overview, Overviews of New CC* Regional Networking Awards, Ken Miller, September 18, 2024, The Quilt Fall Member Meeting.
- Connecting the Keystone State: CC* PA-DMZ Update, Wayne Figurelle, June 11, 2024, Research Computing at Smaller Institutions.
- Panel Session on the PA Science DMZ, Wayne Figurelle, Grant Dull, Ben Miller, Jason Simms, Frederick Adkins, April 17, 2024, KINBERCON.
Acknowledgement
The Pennsylvania Science DMZ is joint collaboration of KeystoneREN and Penn State University is funded in part by NSF Award #2346589. The Pennsylvania Science DMZ (PA Science DMZ) project addresses critical infrastructure and connectivity gaps in five participating institutions: Pennsylvania State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), Lafayette College, The Digital Foundry at New Kensington (DFNK), and Swarthmore College.
Contact [email protected] for more information or call 717. 963.7490 Ext. 2 to speak with a KeystoneREN network sales support specialist about how the PA Science DMZ connectivity can help your organization’s strategic infrastructure goals.
KeystoneREN 