Advanced Computing in
Environmental Sciences
ACES
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Vanda Grubišić
Desert Research Institute
Division of Atmospheric Sciences
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ACES
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• State-wide research infrastructure development program
funded by the NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research (EPSCoR)
• $3.4M ($1M/yr) in support of computational science activities in
environmental research
• A collaboration between environmental scientists, computer
scientists, and applied mathematicians at all three NSHE
research campuses
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Why environmental sciences?
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• The area in which Nevada scientists have traditionally
been the most competitive in securing funding
• Starting with an existing large community that supports
excellent graduate level programs
• Environmental science disciplines are“data-intensive”
(large observational data sets, intensive modeling
application, need for advanced visualization tools)
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ACES Main Objectives
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• To create a core of computational science expertise and
capability in environmental science research
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• Foster application of Information Technology (IT)
advances in environmental scientific disciplines
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• Stimulate new multidisciplinary research centered on
computer modeling and scientific data visualization
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ACES Strategy
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• Creation of the Nevada Environmental Computing
Grid (NECG) - research infrastructure that is more than just a sum of
individual components dispersed throughout the state
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• Fostering scientific collaboration and growth of the
Application Community at NSHE
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Funding Opportunities for the
Application Community
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• Competitive postdoctoral (5) and graduate fellowships (14) in AY
2003/4 and 2004/5 - Congratulations Glenn!
• Summer 2005 graduate research program (13 fellows)
• Seed grants for development of new collaborative proposals and
course development (4) - Congratulations Laurel!
• Matching funds for startup packages for new faculty in computer
science and applied mathematics
• New faculty program for this fall
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INFRASTRUCTURE
Nevada Environmental Computing Grid (NECG)
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Three grid nodes (DRI, UNR,
UNLV) with the main node and the
core facility at DRI NNSC in Reno
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Utilizes the high-bandwidth network
communication infrastructure of the
Nevada Research Network (NRN)
connected to Internet2
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Two parts of NECG:
– Computational Grid
– Collaboration Grid (Access Grid)
ACES Web Portal
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• The main entry point to all ACES resources
• Simple and unified access to technical documentation
and job submission (using Globus Toolkit and Sun Grid
Engine)
• Equally accessible from within or outside of DRI
• Expertise in using the grid portal future-proof
• Beta testing started in December
• ACES Survey questionnaire on the ACES web page!
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ACES Web Site and Grid Portal
http://www.aces.dri.edu
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Grid Portal:
Login
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A grid certificate is required to login
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ACES High-performance Computer
(ACE)
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SGI Altix 3000
40 Itanium2 CPUS
80 GigaBytes of RAM
3 TeraBytes of fast disk
storage
• 166.7 Gflops/sec
(LINPACK)
• Linux operating system
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ACES CORE FACILITY
• Located at DRI NNSC in Reno
• Hardware investment only of more than $1M
• Support personnel: System Administrator (Kathy SmithMiller) and Scientific Applications Programmer (Shulan Liu)
• ACES Computing:
High-performance SMP computer (ACE)
Linux-based high-end visualization cluster (VisCluster)
• ACES Visualization:
State-of-the-art multi-use scientific visualization laboratory (VisLab)
with an Access Grid node
ACES VisLab
Collaborative Environment
• Tiled back-projection system with a
17’ x 4.5’ flat-wall screen and 3 DLP
projectors for collaborative
visualization (Panoram, Christie)
• Front-projection stereoscopic system
with polarization multiplexing
(Panoram, Christie)
• Access Grid node for group-to-group
interaction over the Internet
(inSORS)
ACES VisLab
Computing Environment
• VisCluster: 10 64-bit Opteron
processors, Myrinet
interconnect, Framelock video
synchronization
• OS X and Linux-based
advanced graphics workstations
supporting time multiplexing
stereo for individual work and
content preparation
ACES at DRI
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Established a new thrust in scientific computing and
visualization at DRI
Brought DRI to a new level of competitiveness in
environmental modeling and scientific visualization
More than $6M in competitive proposals from DRI
since the beginning of this year that plan on using
the ACES facilities
Co-initiator of the new project for immersive
visualization in the CAVETM environment
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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ACES WEBSITE
http://www.aces.dri.edu
VISLAB WEBSITE
http://www.aces.dri.edu/vislab
CONTACT
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Dr. Vanda Grubišić
ACES Coordinator and VisLab Director
Vanda.Grubisic@dri.edu
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Advanced Computing in Environmental Sciences
3D Stereoscopic
Projection
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Flat-Wall Back-Projection
Access Grid Node
•World-wide collaborative network
with 6 nodes in Nevada
•Group-to-group interaction and
real-time collaboration utilizing
Internet2 resources
State-Of-The-Art
Visualization Laboratory
Tiled back-projection system utilizing
17’ x
4.5’ flat-wall screen
3D front-projection stereoscopic system
Numerous video sources from the Linux-based
10-processor VisCluster, Mac OS X and
Windows XP computers
Individual Linux and Mac OS X workstations for
content preparation
AG Node in Session
Located at
DRI NNSC
Contact
grubisic@dri.edu
More Info
http://www.aces.dri.edu/vislab