Poster by: David Green, The University of Queensland.

The University of Queensland has, with support from Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, embarked on a project to deploy the Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server (CCS) product at UQ. This initiative is part the High Performance Computing Group’s ongoing strategy to make central high performance computing resources a more mainstream option for UQ researchers.

Traditionally, HPC has meant command line linux/unix and batch-mode computing. Usability issues for researchers, and the affordability of powerful multi-core desktop computers, has seen them voting with their feet. For some researchers, their need is for convenient “high throughput computing” as they run their familiar commercial applications multiple times (e.g. in a parameter sweep mode or for statistical sampling). For others, their problem sizes exceed what can be done with standard desktop computers. For others, their codes are only available for Windows platforms. This project aims to better serve their needs and so has sought use cases where high volume, package-based computing is what gets the job done. Whether they find the linux environment a disincentive or, not an option for their software, we are now able to assist those researchers.

In this poster, three aspects are explored. The first is the deployment scenarios undertaken with the product and our experiences to date with it. The second is the experience of users drawn from a range of disciplines including economics, genetics, engineering and social sciences. The third is an update on our progress to make the cluster accessible via the Australian Access Federation and, ultimately, to be a resource that could be made available nationally.