SDSC RP Update
TeraGrid Roundtable
06-04-09
Changes in SDSC Allocated Resources
• We will decommission our IA-64 cluster June 30
(rather than March 2010)
– Users can move to Mercury with virtually no effort
– We have notified all users already
• We will deploy a new system called Dash this
summer, and operate through PY6 (2011)
– Pre-production, technology evaluation system
– Targeted initially to friendly users, with more formal
allocations as system stabilizes
• No additional funds needed
Introducing Dash
• Unique characteristics:
– Flash memory in memory hierarchy for fast file I/O or memory
swap space
– Virtual shared memory that aggregates memory across nodes
– First Nehalem processors within TeraGrid
• Integrating into TeraGrid:
– Add to TeraGrid Resource Catalog
– Available initially for start-up allocations
– Target friendly users interested in exploring unique
capabilities
– As it stabilizes and depending on user interest, evaluate more
routine allocations at TRAC level
– Appropriate CTSS kits will be installed
– Planned to support TeraGrid wide-area filesystem efforts
(GPFS-WAN, Lustre-WAN)
Comparing the Systems
System Component
IA-64
Node Characteristics (# sockets, cores, 2 sockets, 2 cores,
DRAM)
4 GB
Compute Nodes (#)
Processor Type
Clock Speed (GHz)
Peak Speed (Tflops)
DRAM (TB)
I/O Nodes (#)
I/O Controllers per Node
Flash (TB)
Total Memory: DRAM + flash (TB)
vSMP
Interconnect
240
Itanium® 2
1.5
3.1
0.9
N/A
N/A
0
0.9
No
Myrinet 2000
Dash
2 sockets, 8 cores,
48 GB
68
Nehalem
2.4
5.2
3.2
4
2 with 8 ports
4
7.2
Yes
InfiniBand DDR
Dash Deployment Schedule
• July - Sep 2009
– Set up system. Make system available to a few very friendly users for initial testing.
• Sep 2009
– List Dash in POPS by mid-September as available for startup requests.
– SDSC will evaluate whether the requests are appropriate for the flash/vSMP technologies
and the friendly-user environment of Dash.
• Oct 2009 – Mar 2010
– Dash would be allocated via startup requests by TeraGrid users.
• Dec 2009
– Depending on stability, change status to allocable system starting with the March 2010
TRAC proposal cycle.
– Preference given to applications that target the unique technologies of Dash.
• April 2010 - June 2011
– Operate Dash as an allocable TeraGrid resource, available thru the normal POPS/TRAC
cycles, with appropriate caveats about preferred applications and friendly-user status.
– Help fill the SMP gap created by Altix’s being retired in 2010
Visualization of Cosmological Reionization
• Visualization:
– Amit Chourasia, SDSC
• Simulation/Data:
– Renyue Cen, Princeton
• Compute Resource:
– Cobalt, NCSA
• Visualization Type:
– Volume rendering using Vista
software
• Sponsor:
– TeraGrid Advanced User
Support Program
Summer 2009 EOT Programs
• HPC Workshops and Tutorials at SDSC
– Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Tutorials - June 19, San
Diego, California
Tutorials will be offered in scientific data and workflow management, ultra scale
visualization techniques, optimizing and scaling parallel applications, distributed petascale
science and grid challenges. etc. For more information, please visit
https://outreach.scidac.gov/2009/tutorials/.
– Introduction to HPC for Undergraduates in the Biological Sciences – July 6-10, for
Undergraduate students from UC Merced. Instructors: Masa Watanabe, Michael Colvin,
and Ross Walker, SDSC.
– GEON Cyberinfrastructure Summer Institute for Geoscientists - August 10 – 14, San
Diego, California - Application Deadline, June 7
The institute will expose participants to emergent Geoinformatics approaches to 3D and
4D integration of geoscience data. For program information, including online registration,
please visit http://www.geongrid.org/csig09
– Workshop for digital humanities scholars – August 24-28, at NCSA with instructors
from NCSA, PSC, and SDSC.
– HPC seminar series - for graduate students and interested undergraduates from UCSD
and the region's other colleges and universities.
Summer 2009 EOT Programs
• TeacherTECH Science Workshops
• Audience: Elementary, Middle, High School, and Community College Educators
Professional development credit offered through UCSD Extension)
– Sensing the Environment: Information Technology,
Engineering and Environmental Educational Tools - June 22- 27
Collaboration with the SDSC and the Jacobs School of Engineering, UCSD.
Location: UCSD
– Teaching with New Geoscience Tools:
A Focus on GeoMapApp and our Oceans - June 24- 27
Collaboration with Oregon State, San Diego Mesa College and SDSC.
Location: UCSD
– National SMART Team Teacher Workshop: Students Modeling a
Research Topic - July 20-24
Collaboration with the U. Wisconsin School of Medicine, the Milwaukee School of
Engineering, The Scripps Research Institute, San Diego Miramar College and SDSC.
Location: Miramar College
– Conference on New Teachers in Genomics - July 27-31
Collaboration with The Scripps Research Institute, San Diego Miramar College and
SDSC. This workshop will take place at all three locations.
Summer 2009 EOT Programs
• TeacherTECH Tools Workshops
• Audience: Elementary, Middle, High, and College educators and
administrators
– Beginning Podcasting for Educators (Mac) - July 11, 2009
– Moodle I: Beginning Moodle for Educators - July 18, 2009
– Moodle II: Intermediate Moodle for Educators - July 25, 2009
– Moodle III: Advanced Moodle for Educators - August 1, 2009
– Beginning SMART™ Interactive White Board for Educators August 3, 2009
– Intermediate/Advanced SMART Interactive White Board for
Educators - August 4, 2009
– Digital Storytelling Using Apple iLife - August 5, 2009
– Beginning Podcasting for Educators (Windows) - August 8, 2009
Summer 2009 EOT Programs
• StudentTECH Workshops
• Audience: Middle and High School Students and
Undergraduates
– Structures in Action! - July 10
Presented by Dr. Lelli Van Den Einde, UCSD
– Introduction to Maya and 3D Modeling - July 6-10
Presented by Amit Chourasia, Director, Visualization, SDSC
– 2D-3D Insani-D! - July 13-15
Presented by Jeff Sale, SDSC
– Introduction to Creative Applications in Multimedia - July
16
Presented by Scott Flanders, Long Beach State University
– Creative Concepts in Digital Art & Design:
Character/Creature Design! - July 17
Presented by Scott Flanders, Long Beach State University