ACADEMIA
First Annual Moab Conference Attracts Top Users
Cluster Resources, Inc., a leading provider of workload and resource management software, held their first annual user conference last month. 
Attendees of Moab-Con 2008 included the top five HPC vendors; leading providers in the network, storage, OS and application spaces; and representatives from government, academic and commercial sectors. The group assembled for four days of open discussions about common issues and concerns, and idea exchanges on how to advance computing intelligence. Keynotes by representatives from Yahoo!, IBM and Cluster Resources opened each day of the event. “Moab-Con was a great opportunity to network and hear ideas about the direction of HPC,” said Jim Skirvin, president of the Holland Computing Center, one of the largest HPC facilities in the nation. The Holland Computing Center hosts Firefly, a 1,154-node cluster capable of sustained computing at 21.5 teraflops and a theoretical sustainability of 33 teraflops with a recent system upgrade. “The session topics were all well thought-out, and we came back with some great ideas to implement on our system.” More than 40 session topics, including green computing, multi-OS computing, mixed workloads, and cloud computing, were presented by Cluster Resources developers, leading hardware and software providers, and experts from some of the world’s largest HPC sites. Sessions ranged in scope from tutorials on Moab and TORQUE for admins new to the applications to in-depth panel discussions and breakout sessions with data center and HPC authorities and developers. Sessions centering on data center computing included discussions about how HPC solutions and techniques are being implemented into the data center; leveraging Moab’s intelligent policy engine for effective green computing solutions; and how, through a joint solution with HP, Moab automates data center scheduling, processing and provisioning. Panel discussions covered such relevant topics as cloud computing, the next generation in workload management, and how to effectively view and manage leadership-scale clusters. Attendees were given the opportunity to describe feature-enhancing requirements that will help them meet their needs now and in the future. “We were pleased with the level of interaction at the conference,” said David Jackson, CTO of Cluster Resources. “Typically, events of this sort are one-directional—from the presenters to the audience. At Moab-Con’08, we saw attendees join in presentations, offer ideas and experiences pertinent to the subject matter, and debate the merits of varying options and alternatives. There was more interaction between sites than I’ve seen at any other event.” “We have big plans for future Moab conferences,” added Jackson. “We want to help facilitate more of the sort of site-to-site interaction that Moab-Con facilitated, and encourage this level of industry cooperation in driving the future of computing intelligence. Next year, attendees will see an expanded level of networking time to share concepts and best practices.” Plans are under way for Moab-Con 2009, and a 2008 post-conference report, including presentation materials, abstracts, PowerPoint decks and event highlight photos, will be posted at its Web site. “This has been one of the best conferences I have attended in the last years,” stated Andre Kerstens, solutions architect at SGI. “I am already looking forward to Moab-Con 2009!”
Attendees of Moab-Con 2008 included the top five HPC vendors; leading providers in the network, storage, OS and application spaces; and representatives from government, academic and commercial sectors. The group assembled for four days of open discussions about common issues and concerns, and idea exchanges on how to advance computing intelligence. Keynotes by representatives from Yahoo!, IBM and Cluster Resources opened each day of the event. “Moab-Con was a great opportunity to network and hear ideas about the direction of HPC,” said Jim Skirvin, president of the Holland Computing Center, one of the largest HPC facilities in the nation. The Holland Computing Center hosts Firefly, a 1,154-node cluster capable of sustained computing at 21.5 teraflops and a theoretical sustainability of 33 teraflops with a recent system upgrade. “The session topics were all well thought-out, and we came back with some great ideas to implement on our system.” More than 40 session topics, including green computing, multi-OS computing, mixed workloads, and cloud computing, were presented by Cluster Resources developers, leading hardware and software providers, and experts from some of the world’s largest HPC sites. Sessions ranged in scope from tutorials on Moab and TORQUE for admins new to the applications to in-depth panel discussions and breakout sessions with data center and HPC authorities and developers. Sessions centering on data center computing included discussions about how HPC solutions and techniques are being implemented into the data center; leveraging Moab’s intelligent policy engine for effective green computing solutions; and how, through a joint solution with HP, Moab automates data center scheduling, processing and provisioning. Panel discussions covered such relevant topics as cloud computing, the next generation in workload management, and how to effectively view and manage leadership-scale clusters. Attendees were given the opportunity to describe feature-enhancing requirements that will help them meet their needs now and in the future. “We were pleased with the level of interaction at the conference,” said David Jackson, CTO of Cluster Resources. “Typically, events of this sort are one-directional—from the presenters to the audience. At Moab-Con’08, we saw attendees join in presentations, offer ideas and experiences pertinent to the subject matter, and debate the merits of varying options and alternatives. There was more interaction between sites than I’ve seen at any other event.” “We have big plans for future Moab conferences,” added Jackson. “We want to help facilitate more of the sort of site-to-site interaction that Moab-Con facilitated, and encourage this level of industry cooperation in driving the future of computing intelligence. Next year, attendees will see an expanded level of networking time to share concepts and best practices.” Plans are under way for Moab-Con 2009, and a 2008 post-conference report, including presentation materials, abstracts, PowerPoint decks and event highlight photos, will be posted at its Web site. “This has been one of the best conferences I have attended in the last years,” stated Andre Kerstens, solutions architect at SGI. “I am already looking forward to Moab-Con 2009!”