In December of 2019, the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program awarded funding to a multi-department project led by the UNH Department of Physics and Astronomy. Enterprise Technology & Services (ET&S) assisted the group by helping to create the hardware configuration specifics for a new high-performance computing (HPC) cluster to support project research.
The MRI Program serves to increase access to multi-user scientific and engineering instrumentation for research and research training at higher education institutions and not-for-profit scientific/engineering research organizations. According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), MRI awards support the acquisition or development of multi-user research instruments that are, in general, too costly and not appropriate for support through other NSF programs.
At UNH, the principal investigator selected HPE/Cray to provide a homogeneous, high-performance computing cluster for the simulation of fluids, heliophysics (the study of the effects of the sun on the solar system), and astrophysical plasmas. The fluid and plasma simulations performed at UNH share very similar hardware requirements, making it possible to design an instrument with a high expected usage rate and broad scientific applications.
The HPC cluster will play a critical role in introducing UNH graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to modern computational methods and parallel computing, and also will help with the recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce.
The HPC cluster was scheduled for deployment in May 2020 but was delayed by COVID-19 related events. Eventually, it will serve many of the same HPC users as Trillian, the first UNH Cray deployed in 2013. The Trillian XE6 Cray is still in use in 2020 and has provided many years of service for UNH researchers beyond the expiration of its support contract. Both of these Cray HPC systems received MRI funding supplemented by researcher startup funding and cost-share contributions from many UNH sources.
The new Cray supercomputer was built in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, during the early part of the national COVID-19 response. UNH had closed the Durham campus by the time the Cray arrived at 1 Leavitt Lane. Travel restrictions and adherence to small-group mandates resulted in an abbreviated installation by Cray employees from New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
At this time, many user-specific software packages need to be installed, but the hardware appears to be functional and acceptably configured.
ET&S was part of the team providing requirement specification and selection for the RFP procurement. Once on campus, Research Computing Center staff will be responsible for cluster administration, authorization and help to install software packages.
