A key aspect of the EPOC project is the operations center and process pipeline for immediate help, referred to as Roadside Assistance and Consulting. This effort helps collaborators when data sharing failures occur. EPOC coordinates with the multiple domains and organizations involved to achieve resolution to any data transfer-related concerns.
Roadside assistance and consultations
2020 Roadside Assistance locations
Roadside Assistance and Consultation by the numbers
138%growth in consultation cases since 2019
46states with researchers in participation
17countries collaborating with EPOC
A Roadside Assistance Case can be submitted by email to epoc@iu.edu by anyone who is having difficulties transferring or receiving files from a collaborator at another site. The help request is then triaged within 24 hours. Cases can last hours or months, and can address issues as small as commenting on the settings of a router to as complex as debugging international data transfers that touch a dozen organizations.
Each Case is unique and some of the issues found during an investigation may require more than simple engineering fixes. Training, capital expenditure, network architecture redesign, or policy changes may be required to achieve effective file transfers. If longer term or larger scope issues are identified, we work collaboratively to understand possible next steps. This may include EPOC-led Deep Dives, managed service offerings, or larger scale interactions with other organizations.