ACADEMIA

Firstly, it took OCF just 1 week to get the HPC system live, operational and accepting code from the date of kit delivery. 

Second, test results submitted to the June 2009, Top 500 List found the HPC system ranked as the fastest academic HPC system in England and the fastest Windows based HPC in Europe.  Separately, it ranked as the UK’s ‘greenest’ academic HPC system in the 2009 Green500 List.

Third, because of the technology in use – IBM’s iDataPlex servers – Oz found that he did not need to have a massive cooling infrastructure around the HPC system.  In fact, traditionally Oz banked on 30 per cent of capital expenditure being put towards data centre cooling and other enhancements, but in practice, it was less than 10 per cent. 

The HPC system is already in use by around 180 academics and 500 users from a range of departments. 

Research projects now include the design of quieter, cleaner aircraft, and advanced wind turbines, to drug discovery, tackling climate change, finding the origins of the universe, understanding new communication technologies and developing the next generation of nanotechnology.  

Research problems which could take months or even years when processed previously can now be completed in significantly less time. For example Dr Graeme Earl, senior lecturer in archaeology at the University is using the new HPC system to render visualizations of ancient artifacts – such as a glass Roman bottle.  Using the previous HPC system such a visualization would take around 48 hours to render; it is now taking just 2-3 minutes.