HPC in the Cloud: Blue Waters Supercomputer to Use Grid-Based File Service

Dedicated to covering high-end cloud computing
in science, industry and the datacenter

Translation Disclaimer

Subscribe | Sign In

January 25, 2012

Blue Waters Supercomputer to Use Grid-Based File Service

Michael Feldman

Who said grid computing and big iron supercomputers don't mix? On Monday it was announced that the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) has selected Globus Online as its file transfer solution for the center's upcoming Blue Waters supercomputer.

Globus used GridFTP, a de facto standard for high-performance data movement across large-scale distributed systems. Globus has wrapped a cloud-based interface around it so that users can easily manage file transfers to and fro without having to become experts at Linux and file management commands.

NSCA is not alone in signing up Globus for it supercomputing needs. Other HPC centers including NERSC, Brookhaven National Lab, and facilities at the University of Colorado and University of Chicago have also adopted the grid-based file transfer service.

An article this week in HPC in the Cloud, digs deeper into the whys and wherefores of the selection of Globus for Blue Waters. In the report, Michelle Butler, NCSA's technical program manager, outlines the responsibilities that the center has handed over to Globus:

Butler explains that Globus Online will be used for transferring data into and out of the Blue Waters machine. The SaaS-based tool will also be tasked with moving data within NCSA, and into both the Blue Waters and NCSA archives. "Anywhere data needs to be transferred within NCSA or Blue Waters, it will be transferred across the Globus Online mechanism," says Butler.

She goes on to praise the selection of Globus, saying that while there are solutions available that can transfer and manage data, they don't possess the ease of use, reliability and security of Globus.

Needless to say, the team at Globus is excited to have its solution deployed on what will soon be one of the most high-profile supercomputers in the world. Ian Foster, Globus Online co-founder and Director of the Computation Institute at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, noted that the new system will be running some of the most important science codes in existence, adding "We are thrilled to be a foundational service for such an important project."

Share Options

Subscribe

Subscribe to HPC in the Cloud

Discussion

There are 0 discussion items posted.

Join the Discussion

Become a Registered User Today!

Registered Users Log in join the Discussion

RSS Feeds

Feeds by Topic

Feeds by Content Type

Subscribe to All Content

All

May 16, 2012

May 15, 2012

May 14, 2012

May 11, 2012

AWS, SAP Announce Certification of AWS Infrastructure for SAP Business All-in-One Solutions

May 10, 2012

May 09, 2012

May 08, 2012

May 07, 2012

Feature Articles

Cloud Services Satisfy a Higher Calling

Higher education involves many collaborative projects that lend themselves to cloud services, however often those services are not tailored to the uniqueness of an academic environment. That's where the Internet2 NET+ project comes in. By partnering with 16 major cloud providers, the networking consortium is seeking to expedite the delivery of cloud services and by doing so advance research and innovation in the United States.
Read more...

Univa CEO Gary Tyreman on the Evolution of HPC, Big Data and Cloud

It's been a little over a year since Univa took over stewardship of the open source workload manager and acquired the founding Sun Grid Engine team from Oracle, and the company just announced its third production release. CEO Gary Tyreman discusses the latest enhancements as well as the company's plans around cloud, big data and the enterprise.
Read more...

Read more HPC in the Cloud features...

Appro White Paper: Enabling Performance-per-Watt Gains in HPC

04/05/2012 | Appro | Designed to meet the growing global demand for HPC solutions, Appro's Xtreme-X™ Supercomputer delivers superior performance-per-watt and reduced I/O latency while bringing significant flexibility to HPC workload configurations including capacity, hybrid, data intensive and capability computing.

Exploring the Potential of Heterogeneous Computing

04/02/2012 | AMD | Developers today are just beginning to explore the potential of heterogeneous computing, but the potential for this new paradigm is huge. This brief article reviews how the technology might impact a range of application development areas, including client experiences and cloud-based data management. As platforms like OpenCL continue to evolve, the benefits of heterogeneous computing will become even more accessible. Use this quick article to jump-start your own thinking on heterogeneous computing.