Shared high performance computing and advanced scientific research

Shared high performance computing and advanced scientific research

Editor’s Note: The NY Times reported today on how the concept of shared; low cost supercomputers are being paired with high performance computers from companies with strong Wisconsin Roots including as Cray and Silicon Graphics. The story revealed how users and developers of supercomputers are using cloud and grid computing as a resource to share data and computing power for advanced scientific research. Previously these resources were scare and costly. Regionally, The Milwaukee Institute, an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing scientific research, education and economic development through is making progress in a more effective use of available scientific and technical resources in the SE Wisconsin region. The goals of the Institute include promoting advanced technology development by offering collaboration and high-performance computing systems and services that encourage and enable cooperation among regional public and private research and development organizations, businesses, educational institutions and government agencies.
Shared Supercomputing and Everyday Research
By ASHLEE VANCE, NY Times
PORTLAND, Ore. — For decades, the world’s supercomputers have been the tightly guarded property of universities and governments. But what would happen if regular folks could get their hands on one?
The price of supercomputers is dropping quickly, in part because they are often built with the same off-the-shelf parts found in PCs, as a supercomputing conference here last week made clear. Just about any organization with a few million dollars can now buy or assemble a top-flight machine.
Meanwhile, research groups and companies like I.B.M., Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Intel are finding ways to make vast stores of information available online through so-called cloud computing
These advances are pulling down the high walls around computing-intensive research. A result could be a democratization that gives ordinary people with a novel idea a chance to explore their curiosity with heavy computing firepower — and maybe find something unexpected.
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