SURE is operated by the Sax Institute on a cost-recovery basis. The population Health Research Network (PHRN) contributes a significant proportion of funding to SURE, with the remaining costs of operating the system being funded through user access fees.
The PHRN is an initiative of Australian government being conducted as part of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.
Fees for the use of SURE are charged for the establishment and maintenance of Workspaces. Each user also pays a fee for a virtual machine based on the computing resources assigned to that user. Users can opt to have power virtual machines available for as little as one month to help with large datasets or complex analysis.
The fees below relate to standard setup requirements and are effective 1 October 2024. We are usually able to accommodate special requests in the setup of a Workspace to meet specific requirements but additional fees may apply. Fees are exclusive of GST.
Workspace fees
| Workspace fees | Service Provided | Fee (p.a.) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Workspace | Workspace Storage and Operations | $2,940 |
| Workspace Suspension Fee A Workspace Suspension is where data is maintained on SURE servers, but all user access and associated virtual machines are deactivated. This can be pro-rated for a minimum period of 3 months. | $1,155 | |
| Project Model Workspace Project Model Workspaces are able to accommodate multiple research projects in the one Workspace by using folder permissions to separate data and users. The enforcement of data separation is less rigorous than using a separate Workspace and is normally used where a data custodian is the owner of the Workspace and manages approvals and data management within the Workspace. | Folder Establishment Fee (one-off) | $940 |
| Project Model Workspace Project Model Workspaces are able to accommodate multiple research projects in the one Workspace by using folder permissions to separate data and users. The enforcement of data separation is less rigorous than using a separate Workspace and is normally used where a data custodian is the owner of the Workspace and manages approvals and data management within the Workspace. | Folder Administration and Operations Fee (per Folder) When establishing a Project Model Workspace, two standard folders are setup free of charge to help administer the Workspace: “Data Manager” and “Common”. | $1,470 |
| Suspension Fee (per Folder) | $235 | |
| Workspace Archiving Fee for up to 10 years (one-off) | $550 one- off fee | |
Virtual machine fees
| Virtual machine type | Computing resources provided | Fee (p.a.) |
|---|---|---|
| Supervisor Typically, a senior researcher, possibly the chief investigator of a study, who does not need to do hands-on data analysis but requires access to the analysis results within SURE. | Resources allocated to one virtual machine: • 8GB RAM • One CPU core • Access to shared study file server • Access to SAS, Stata, SPSS, Stat/Transfer. | $1,540 |
| Standard Typically for small-to-medium sized data sets. A workstation with sufficient resources to provide excellent performance for most data analysts using data sets up to approximately 10GB in size. | Resources allocated to one virtual machine: • 16GB RAM • Two CPU cores • 250GB of fast "scratch" disc space (for SAS work files and other working or temporary files, not backed up) • Access to shared study file server • Access to SAS, Stata, SPSS, R, Stat/Transfer. | $3,075 |
| Standard Free software only. | Standard Virtual Machine with: • Access to free software only • “R” and R/Studio supplied as Standard. | $2,905 |
| Power For researchers analysing large or very large data sets, typically greater than 10GB in size, or with multiple smaller linked data sets. | Resources allocated to one virtual machine: • 32GB RAM • Two CPU cores • 500GB of fast "scratch" disc space (for SAS work files and other working or temporary files, not backed up) • Access to shared study file server • Access to SAS, Stata, SPSS, Stat/Transfer. | $3,920 |
| Power Free software only | Power Virtual Machine with: • Access to free software only “R” and R/Studio supplied as Standard. | $3,690 |
| Power X For researchers analysing large or very large data sets, typically greater than 10GB in size, or with multiple smaller linked data sets. | 2 x Power VM • 64GB RAM • 4 Cores • 500GB “scratch” storage • Access to SAS, Stata, SPSS, Stat/Transfer. | $5,535 |
| 4 x Power VM • 128GB RAM • 8 cores • 500GB “scratch” storage • Access to SAS, Stata, SPSS, Stat/Transfer. | $8,760 | |
| Virtual Machine Sharing For researchers sharing the same virtual machine (there is no limit to how many researchers can share a VM however only one can be logged on at any time) | $735 |
