In this special guest feature from Scientific Computing World, Laurence Horrocks-Barlow from OCF predicts that containerization, cloud, and GPU-based workloads are all going to dominate the HPC environment in 2020. “Over the last year, we’ve seen a strong shift towards the use of cloud in HPC, particularly in the case of storage. Many research institutions are working towards a ‘cloud first’ policy, looking for cost savings in using the cloud rather than expanding their data centres with overheads, such as cooling, data and cluster management and certification requirements.”
RJM International deploys HPC cluster for reducing power plant emissions
January 23, 2020 by
RJM International, a provider of emissions reduction and combustion improvement solutions, has deployed its first HPC cluster. The move supports the growth of the company’s business in the EU and the UK, particularly in the biomass and Energy from Waste segments of the market. The new HPC environment is designed, integrated and supported by HPC, storage and data analytics integrator, OCF.
Technologies for Energy Efficient Supercomputing
January 9, 2020 by
In this special guest feature, Robert Roe from Scientific Computing World writes that it is not always clear which HPC technology provides the most energy-efficient solution for a given application. “You need to understand your application as somebody that is coming into this from a greenfield perspective. If your application doesn’t parallelize well, or if it needs higher frequency processors, then the best thing you can do is pick the right processor and the right number of them so you are not wasting power on CPU cycles that are not being used.”
Use Cases for HPC in the Cloud
October 5, 2019 by
In this special guest feature, Robert Roe from Scientific Computing World looks at use cases for cloud technology in HPC. “In previous years there have been some concerns around security or the cost of moving data to and from the cloud, but these reservations are slowly being eroded as more users see value in developing a cloud infrastructure as part of their HPC resource.”
Is Ubiquitous Cloud Bursting on the Horizon for Universities?
April 27, 2019 by
In this special guest feature from Scientific Computing World, Mahesh Pancholi from OCF writes a growing number of universities are taking advantage of public cloud infrastructures that are widely available from large companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft. “Public cloud providers are surveying the market and partnering with companies, like OCF, for their pedigree in providing solutions to the UK Research Computing community. In order to help Universities take advantage of their products by integrating them with the existing infrastructure such as HPC clusters.”
OCF Deploys Largest IBM POWER9 Machine Learning Cluster in the UK
December 10, 2018 by
With a new upgrade, the University of Birmingham is set to benefit from the largest IBM POWER9 machine learning cluster in the UK, delivering unprecedented performance for AI workloads. Working with OCF, the high-performance compute, the University will integrate a total of 11 IBM POWER9-based IBM Power Systems servers into its existing HPC infrastructure. “With our early deployment of the two IBM POWER9 servers we have seen what is possible. By scaling up, we can keep-pace with the escalating demand and offer the computational capacity and capability to attract leading researchers to the University.”
New Rocket Supercomputer Powers HPC at Newcastle University
July 6, 2018 by
Researchers at Newcastle University are benefitting from a new HPC machine, called Rocket. “Workloads are driving an ever-growing set of data intensive challenges that can only be met with accelerated infrastructure,” said Werner Hofer, Dean of Research & Innovation at Newcastle University. ”Rocket provides the significant memory and fast processing we need for bulky, complex numerical computation. My post-doctoral researcher was able to process half a million CPU hours’ worth of calculations which was not at all possible with our previous processing power.”
Iridis 5 Supercomputer to Simplify Use of HPC
May 3, 2018 by
In this special guest feature from Scientific Computing World, Robert Roe talks to Southampton University’s Oz Parchment about the decision-making behind installing the latest HPC system at the University. “Iridis 4 was based On Sandy Bridge and the current one we have got now is based on Sky Lake so you can see we have jumped four generations of development. Four years is a long time in HPC performance,” stated Oz Parchment, director of i-solutions at the University of Southampton.
Universities step up to Cloud Bursting
April 19, 2018 by
In this special guest feature, Mahesh Pancholi from OCF writes that many of universities are now engaging in cloud bursting and are regularly taking advantage of public cloud infrastructures that are widely available from large companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft. “By bursting into the public cloud, the university can offer the latest and greatest technologies as part of its Research Computing Service for all its researchers.”
OCF deploys first IBM POWER9 systems in UK Academia
March 5, 2018 by
Queen Mary University of London and Newcastle University are the first UK academic institutions to install POWER9 systems. Deployed by OCF, both Universities have already integrated the machines into their existing HPC infrastructures. “Modern AI, HPC and Analytics workloads are driving an ever-growing set of data intensive challenges,” comments Julian Fielden, Managing Director of OCF. “These challenges can only be met with accelerated infrastructure, such as IBM’s POWER9. In such a highly competitive field as academic research, providing superior HPC services to compute large quantities of data quickly, can help to attract world-class researchers, as well as grants and funding.”
