A key aspect of the competence network’s further development is the technical coordination and optimization of operations. In the past, collaboration among HPC administrators has already demonstrated significant value, as it allows security issues to be communicated quickly and technical solutions to be aligned through the exchange of experiences. The Admintage meetings, which have been held twice a year since 2017, will continue under the HPC.nrw umbrella.
A central task of the competence network in Work Package 3 is the operation of state-wide shared Tier-3 systems. To this end, the hpcCluster.nrw are currently being established, which bundle HPC resources across multiple locations to make the best possible use of synergy and economies of scale. They consist of an hpcBasisCluster.nrw for the basic provision of computing capacity, as well as several hpcFachCluster.nrw with specialized focuses. The BasisCluster will be operated at the University of Cologne in the future and provides high-performance resources, particularly to universities without their own HPC infrastructure or with additional computing needs. The specialized clusters are operated at the University of Paderborn, RWTH Aachen University, and the University of Duisburg-Essen and offer state-wide specialized HPC capacities for various scientific disciplines. The operation and further development of the systems take place in close coordination within the HPC.nrw competence network.
The central objectives of the work package include:
- Connection to the HPC Admin Day & related activities
- Coordination of security-relevant operational information and configurations
- Coordination of the operation of shared Tier 3 systems
- Preparation of standardized annual overview reports on the use of HPC resources
- Increasing energy efficiency in both the infrastructure and HPC operations
- Coordination of information regarding procurement procedures
- Facilitating user migration between HPC systems in NRW