What is Cyberinfrastructure?

Abstract

Cyberinfrastructure is a word commonly used but lacking a single, precise definition. One recognizes intuitively the analogy with infrastructure, and the use of cyber to refer to thinking or computing – but what exactly is cyberinfrastructure as opposed to information technology infrastructure? Indiana University has developed one of the more widely cited definitions of cyberinfrastructure: "Cyberinfrastructure consists of computing systems, data storage systems, advanced instruments and data repositories, visualization environments, and people, all linked together by software and high performance networks to improve research productivity and enable breakthroughs not otherwise possible." A second definition, more inclusive of scholarship generally and educational activities, has also been published and is useful in describing cyberinfrastructure: "Cyberinfrastructure consists of systems, data and information management, advanced instruments, visualization environments, and people, all linked together by software and advanced networks to improve scholarly productivity and enable knowledge breakthroughs and discoveries not otherwise possible." In this paper, we describe the origin of the term cyberinfrastructure based on the history of the root word infrastructure, discuss several terms related to cyberinfrastructure, and provide several examples of cyberinfrastructure.