[Crib-list] SPEAKER: James Cuff (Harvard) -- Computational Research in Boston and Beyond Seminar (CRIBB) -- Friday, September 3, 2010 -- 12:30 PM in Room 32-124 (Stata)

[Shirley Entzminger]

	COMPUTATIONAL RESEARCH in BOSTON and BEYOND SEMINAR


DATE:		FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2010
TIME:		12:30 PM
LOCATION:	Building 32, Room 124  (Stata)

Pizza and beverages will be provided at 12:15 PM outside Room 32-124


TITLE:		"I think we are going to need a bigger boat" 
		(Federating University Research Computing Assets)

SPEAKER:	JAMES CUFF   (Harvard University)


ABSTRACT:

For the past four and a half years, we have been slowly coordinating and 
compiling existing and net new computing assets at Harvard University.  
Growth from 200 to over 12,000 processing cores has subsequently put 
significant strain on both the traditional data center and the requisite 
wide area networking infrastructure available within the Cambridge campus.  
In summary, the team had to get and continue to be rather "creative" to 
attempt meet the demands of the science.

I will discuss the tactics for building both the organizational and 
physical infrastructure which now supports over 2,000 researchers in 
fields such as astrophysical modeling of the early universe, modern high 
speed genomic sequencing, continuing our search for the Higgs boson and up 
to and including advanced economic and financial modeling algorithms.  
Each of the areas of research are now carried out at both a large scale, 
and on shared physical infrastructure operated by a core team of research 
computing associates and staff.

The research computing group have deployed approx. 2PB of assorted 
storage, alongside 40TF of GPGPU computing to support and compliment 
traditional 12,000 core x86_64 infiniband connected systems.  I will also 
explain the now very obvious need and requirement for Harvard's active 
involvement in the new multi institutional Massachusetts Green High 
Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC).

*****************************************************************************

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA  02139


For information, please contact...

			http://math.mit.edu/crib