New Models for Research Computing, Part I

By Jay Etchings

March 9, 2015

In the first of a four-part series, Jay Etchings, director of operations for research computing and senior HPC architect at Arizona State University, lays out the concept of the next-generation cyberinfrastructure, a set of integrated technology components working together to support the diverse needs of the research community across disciplines and across scale.

Where does high-performance computing go from here?

Over the past several years, high performance computing has undergone sweeping change unbalancing expectation and resources to meet them. Probabilistic nuances in linear scaling measured purely in cores and nodes have been unkind to their masters and in many ways has contributed to disparate silos vaguely familiar to the mainframes we all once knew.

“Little islands are all large prisons: one cannot look at the sea without wishing for the wings of a swallow.”

Richard Burton

In response to a charge from Arizona State University (ASU) senior leadership to articulate a cyberinfrastructure necessary to successfully execute future-looking, large scale, transdisciplinary research projects, ASU has designed and built a Next Generation Cyber Capability (NGCC). The effort is being spearheaded by Dr. Kenneth Buetow, director of Computational Sciences and Informatics program for Complex Adaptive Systems at Arizona State University. Conceptually, this NGCC is composed of standing capabilities and dynamic, on-demand, virtual resources that grow and contract as efforts require. It is a synergistic, systems “whole” that uniquely synthesizes physical and logical infrastructure which is fulfilled through dedicated resources working in unison. The NGCC is executed through a construct that utilizes resources instantiated locally, virtual, and “cloud-based” resources. Central to the NGCC concept is the capacity to leverage a portfolio of virtual capabilities “on-demand” for short term engagements. ASU’s NGCC has adopted a novel approach that extends the norms of traditional high performance computing. The rich collection of assets represents a “First Generation Data Science Research Instrument” through choreography of a diverse collection of physical and logical capabilities that perform as an integrated whole.

A Whole More than the Sum of Its Parts.

The NGCC physical infrastructure integrates differing hardware platforms configured to support transactional/utility computing, high performance computing, and big data problems. Each of these elements utilizes alternative hardware configurations optimized to support the unique characteristics of the computational problems they address. The transactional component supports day-to-day utility computing and is composed of a cluster of cost-efficient commodity hardware. Its unique characteristic is a very large data storage reservoir. A high performance computing component supports computationally intensive efforts in two alternative configurations, both with high speed connectivity to the transactional storage reservoir. The first configuration is composed of a large cluster of fast processors with modest memory. The second configuration is a smaller cluster of fast processors which access to a common, shared large memory resource. The final configuration, which supports big data problems, is composed of a cluster of fast processor nodes interconnected with high speed links with each node having large memory and large data storage. This cluster similarly is connected at high speed to the transactional data storage reservoir. To support access to outside virtual capacity all components are connected to the Internet by high speed connections.

The biomedical research community faces major challenges in addressing the integration and analysis of the rapidly growing volumes of highly diverse data and their application to discovery, translation and support for improved patient care. The challenge presented by this revolution is the need to develop and implement hardware and software that can store, retrieve, and analyze mountains of complex data, transform it into knowledge to improve our understanding of the human condition. Boundaries in this arena have not only impacted research sciences but also inter-intra university collaboration. Addressing the current challenges required a novel resolution path; although disruptive to the traditional university high performance computing model; a sustainable, collaborative, elastic, distributed, model that promises to overcome legacy barriers and open new avenues into research sciences.

This model embraces the following foundational components:

  • Research centers without walls that meet not only NIST compliance but are collaboration-centric. (Hybrid Cloud)
  • Open Big Data frameworks that support global meta-data management for digital curation of omics data.
  • Dedicated bandwidth, free of policy or capacity restrictions supporting research collaboration. (Friction-Free Science DMZ)
  • OpenFlow based software-defined networking, dedicated bandwidth supporting research collaboration. (Internet2 Innovation Platform)
  • Programmable, pluggable architectures for the next generation of research computing. (NGCC Architecture)
  • Efficient and effective touch-less network management free from the bottlenecks of legacy hardware-defined networking.
  • Research as a Service workload based provisioning for holistically defined scientific challenges.

The NGCC provides a novel synergism integrating big data platforms such as Hadoop and traditional supercomputing technologies, software defined networking, inter-intra-university high-speed 10G/40G/100G interconnects via the Internet2 Innovation Platform, workload virtualization, coprocessors, and cloud bursting capacity empowering life sciences research organizations to consume research compute on demand as a service enabling the next major wave of analytics innovation.

JayEtchingsASUAbout the Author

Director of Operations, Research Computing, and Senior HPC Architect at Arizona State University, Jay Etchings is a well-known industry professional with 20 years of progressively versatile, cross-platform experience in management of open systems architecture. With the bulk of a 10 year technical consulting career spent in gaming and connected lotteries, data relationship analysis has been a longtime passion for Etchings. He is well versed in all phases of cutting edge analytics and research computing. A former recovery audit contractor for the centers for Medicaid/ Medicare (CMS-RAC) positions him in alignment with the new ‘precision medicine’ healthcare field that is currently emerging.

Additional contribution provided by…

Dr. Kenneth Buetow also contributed to this article series. Buetow serves as director of Computational Sciences and Informatics program for Complex Adaptive Systems at Arizona State University (CAS@ASU) and is a professor in the School of Life Sciences in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. CAS@ASU is creating a Next Generation Cyber Capability (NGCC) to address the challenges and opportunities afforded by “Big Data” and the emergence of 4th Paradigm Data Science. This capability brings state-of-the-art computational approaches to CAS@ASU’s trans-disciplinary, use-inspired research efforts.

Subscribe to HPCwire's Weekly Update!

Be the most informed person in the room! Stay ahead of the tech trends with industry updates delivered to you every week!

Nvidia’s New Blackwell GPU Can Train AI Models with Trillions of Parameters

March 18, 2024

Nvidia's latest and fastest GPU, code-named Blackwell, is here and will underpin the company's AI plans this year. The chip offers performance improvements from its predecessors, including the red-hot H100 and A100 GPUs. Read more…

Nvidia Showcases Quantum Cloud, Expanding Quantum Portfolio at GTC24

March 18, 2024

Nvidia’s barrage of quantum news at GTC24 this week includes new products, signature collaborations, and a new Nvidia Quantum Cloud for quantum developers. While Nvidia may not spring to mind when thinking of the quant Read more…

2024 Winter Classic: Meet the HPE Mentors

March 18, 2024

The latest installment of the 2024 Winter Classic Studio Update Show features our interview with the HPE mentor team who introduced our student teams to the joys (and potential sorrows) of the HPL (LINPACK) and accompany Read more…

Houston We Have a Solution: Addressing the HPC and Tech Talent Gap

March 15, 2024

Generations of Houstonian teachers, counselors, and parents have either worked in the aerospace industry or know people who do - the prospect of entering the field was normalized for boys in 1969 when the Apollo 11 missi Read more…

Apple Buys DarwinAI Deepening its AI Push According to Report

March 14, 2024

Apple has purchased Canadian AI startup DarwinAI according to a Bloomberg report today. Apparently the deal was done early this year but still hasn’t been publicly announced according to the report. Apple is preparing Read more…

Survey of Rapid Training Methods for Neural Networks

March 14, 2024

Artificial neural networks are computing systems with interconnected layers that process and learn from data. During training, neural networks utilize optimization algorithms to iteratively refine their parameters until Read more…

Nvidia’s New Blackwell GPU Can Train AI Models with Trillions of Parameters

March 18, 2024

Nvidia's latest and fastest GPU, code-named Blackwell, is here and will underpin the company's AI plans this year. The chip offers performance improvements from Read more…

Nvidia Showcases Quantum Cloud, Expanding Quantum Portfolio at GTC24

March 18, 2024

Nvidia’s barrage of quantum news at GTC24 this week includes new products, signature collaborations, and a new Nvidia Quantum Cloud for quantum developers. Wh Read more…

Houston We Have a Solution: Addressing the HPC and Tech Talent Gap

March 15, 2024

Generations of Houstonian teachers, counselors, and parents have either worked in the aerospace industry or know people who do - the prospect of entering the fi Read more…

Survey of Rapid Training Methods for Neural Networks

March 14, 2024

Artificial neural networks are computing systems with interconnected layers that process and learn from data. During training, neural networks utilize optimizat Read more…

PASQAL Issues Roadmap to 10,000 Qubits in 2026 and Fault Tolerance in 2028

March 13, 2024

Paris-based PASQAL, a developer of neutral atom-based quantum computers, yesterday issued a roadmap for delivering systems with 10,000 physical qubits in 2026 a Read more…

India Is an AI Powerhouse Waiting to Happen, but Challenges Await

March 12, 2024

The Indian government is pushing full speed ahead to make the country an attractive technology base, especially in the hot fields of AI and semiconductors, but Read more…

Charles Tahan Exits National Quantum Coordination Office

March 12, 2024

(March 1, 2024) My first official day at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was June 15, 2020, during the depths of the COVID-19 loc Read more…

AI Bias In the Spotlight On International Women’s Day

March 11, 2024

What impact does AI bias have on women and girls? What can people do to increase female participation in the AI field? These are some of the questions the tech Read more…

Alibaba Shuts Down its Quantum Computing Effort

November 30, 2023

In case you missed it, China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba has shut down its quantum computing research effort. It’s not entirely clear what drove the change. Read more…

Nvidia H100: Are 550,000 GPUs Enough for This Year?

August 17, 2023

The GPU Squeeze continues to place a premium on Nvidia H100 GPUs. In a recent Financial Times article, Nvidia reports that it expects to ship 550,000 of its lat Read more…

Analyst Panel Says Take the Quantum Computing Plunge Now…

November 27, 2023

Should you start exploring quantum computing? Yes, said a panel of analysts convened at Tabor Communications HPC and AI on Wall Street conference earlier this y Read more…

Shutterstock 1285747942

AMD’s Horsepower-packed MI300X GPU Beats Nvidia’s Upcoming H200

December 7, 2023

AMD and Nvidia are locked in an AI performance battle – much like the gaming GPU performance clash the companies have waged for decades. AMD has claimed it Read more…

DoD Takes a Long View of Quantum Computing

December 19, 2023

Given the large sums tied to expensive weapon systems – think $100-million-plus per F-35 fighter – it’s easy to forget the U.S. Department of Defense is a Read more…

Synopsys Eats Ansys: Does HPC Get Indigestion?

February 8, 2024

Recently, it was announced that Synopsys is buying HPC tool developer Ansys. Started in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1970 as Swanson Analysis Systems, Inc. (SASI) by John Swanson (and eventually renamed), Ansys serves the CAE (Computer Aided Engineering)/multiphysics engineering simulation market. Read more…

Intel’s Server and PC Chip Development Will Blur After 2025

January 15, 2024

Intel's dealing with much more than chip rivals breathing down its neck; it is simultaneously integrating a bevy of new technologies such as chiplets, artificia Read more…

Baidu Exits Quantum, Closely Following Alibaba’s Earlier Move

January 5, 2024

Reuters reported this week that Baidu, China’s giant e-commerce and services provider, is exiting the quantum computing development arena. Reuters reported � Read more…

Leading Solution Providers

Contributors

Choosing the Right GPU for LLM Inference and Training

December 11, 2023

Accelerating the training and inference processes of deep learning models is crucial for unleashing their true potential and NVIDIA GPUs have emerged as a game- Read more…

Training of 1-Trillion Parameter Scientific AI Begins

November 13, 2023

A US national lab has started training a massive AI brain that could ultimately become the must-have computing resource for scientific researchers. Argonne N Read more…

Shutterstock 1179408610

Google Addresses the Mysteries of Its Hypercomputer 

December 28, 2023

When Google launched its Hypercomputer earlier this month (December 2023), the first reaction was, "Say what?" It turns out that the Hypercomputer is Google's t Read more…

Comparing NVIDIA A100 and NVIDIA L40S: Which GPU is Ideal for AI and Graphics-Intensive Workloads?

October 30, 2023

With long lead times for the NVIDIA H100 and A100 GPUs, many organizations are looking at the new NVIDIA L40S GPU, which it’s a new GPU optimized for AI and g Read more…

AMD MI3000A

How AMD May Get Across the CUDA Moat

October 5, 2023

When discussing GenAI, the term "GPU" almost always enters the conversation and the topic often moves toward performance and access. Interestingly, the word "GPU" is assumed to mean "Nvidia" products. (As an aside, the popular Nvidia hardware used in GenAI are not technically... Read more…

Shutterstock 1606064203

Meta’s Zuckerberg Puts Its AI Future in the Hands of 600,000 GPUs

January 25, 2024

In under two minutes, Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, laid out the company's AI plans, which included a plan to build an artificial intelligence system with the eq Read more…

Google Introduces ‘Hypercomputer’ to Its AI Infrastructure

December 11, 2023

Google ran out of monikers to describe its new AI system released on December 7. Supercomputer perhaps wasn't an apt description, so it settled on Hypercomputer Read more…

China Is All In on a RISC-V Future

January 8, 2024

The state of RISC-V in China was discussed in a recent report released by the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The report, entitled "E Read more…

  • arrow
  • Click Here for More Headlines
  • arrow
HPCwire