The University of Queensland Deploys SGI Technical Computing Solution

Silicon Graphics International announced that The University of Queensland, one of Australia’s largest and most renowned universities, has commissioned a high performance computing (HPC) solution consisting of SGI Rackable half-depth servers to support a broad range of research applications.

The HPC system is one of the largest in Australia with 3,144 processor cores built with Intel Xeon processors 5500 and 7500 series, 11.52 TB memory and 249 TB of disk storage. It will be used for technical computing research applications, including bioinformatics, computational chemistry, finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, earth sciences, market economics and image processing. Researchers from universities in Queensland and partner organizations across Australia will leverage the SGI Rackable half-depth servers to accelerate their scientific discoveries.

"Key research areas such as bioinformatics, engineering such as computational fluid dynamics, and some image-processing demand high-performance, big-memory computing capacity," said Professor Max Lu, deputy vice-chancellor (Research) at The University of Queensland. "These computers will strengthen an important part of the University’s research capacity. Tasks such as processing enormous amounts of biological data generated through techniques such as genome-sequencing, micro-arrays and imaging cannot be done on standard desktop computers."

The SGI Rackable half-depth servers use DC-based racks and cooling techniques to minimize power usage and deliver a range of configurations to suit the University’s current and future requirements. The system includes an InfiniBand QDR high-performance interconnect using Voltaire Grid Director 4700 switches and the Unified Fabric Manager software switching technology. The Panasas file system using PAS-8 technology is architected to accelerate data-intensive applications that require high performance I/O with minimal administrative overheads. SGI Professional Services are providing project management, installation services, datacenter services, training, ongoing consultation and maintenance.

"The University of Queensland is a recognized leader in scientific research in Australia, and understands the necessity of partnering with a trusted technology provider to deploy the very best technologies and architectures for faster world-leading discoveries," said Philip Chua, managing director and vice president of Asia Pacific and Japan at SGI. "This HPC system and SGI service capabilities will bring greater productivity to the University with minimal overhead and administration."

The University of Queensland has teamed with the Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation (QCIF), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Bioplatforms Australia to implement the HPC system to deliver improved performance, service and value through a cooperative approach. The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) Specialised Facility in Bioinformatics and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Australia, European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) Mirror project will be hosted using the system’s infrastructure.

"We are pleased to support the increasingly complex research and data needs of the scientists and researchers at The University of Queensland," said Rajeeb Hazra, general manager of High Performance Computing at Intel. "By combining the power of Intel Xeon 5500 and 7500 series processors with SGI’s high-performance technical computing solution, we can help the University chart new paths for scientific discovery in Australia and greatly strengthen its research capacity."