Buy-In Period: Shared HPC Purchase Round Opportunity 2020

The Shared Research Computing Advisory Policy Committee(SRCPAC) is offering researchers an opportunity to purchase nodes in a new shared High-Performance Computing System.

TIMING
We are taking orders between Wednesday, April 29, 2020 and Monday, June 15, 2020. Please specify the number and type of nodes (servers), and amount of storage. All orders will require a Chart String account code. The system will launch in late Fall 2020.

​CONTACT
For any questions or to schedule an information session please contact ​George Garrett, Manager of Research Computing Services, at ​[email protected]​.

​​INFORMATION
A research group may purchase one or more compute servers and storage, all with a ​five-year lifetime. A research group can consist of one or more users.  

The number of servers purchased by a research group defines a share of the total system (expressed as a percentage) that will ​determine job priority. System policies that determine job priority are approved by a faculty operations committee consisting of representatives of ​the ​participating research groups and are implemented by CUIT staff.

The HPC Operating Committee is offering the Trial-with-Intent-to-Purchase (TIP) program. SRCPAC’s goal for the TIP program is to enable researchers with serious interest in purchasing to have a brief trial. Contact George Garrett ([email protected] or 212-854-​7898) if interested in a trial or if you have any questions.

​PURCHASE INSTRUCTIONS
Please fill out the Shared HPC Purchase form and send it to CUIT Research Computing Services at [email protected].

PURCHASE OPTIONS
The following options are available. Please note that this cluster has a lifetime of 5-years​. Prices include system administration and support. All prices are tentative, final costs will depend on the amounts and types of equipment ordered, and we believe them to be a close estimate.

  • Standard Server ($7,850): Dual Xeon Gold 6226R processors (2.9 GHz, 16 cores each, 32 cores per server), 192 GB memory, 100 Gb/s Infiniband, 480 GB SSD drive.
  • High Memory Server ($9,450): Dual Xeon Gold 6226R processors (2.9 GHz, 16 cores each, 32 cores per server), 768 GB memory, 100 Gb/s Infiniband, 480 GB SSD drive.
  • GPU Server with 2 x V100S ($17,500): Dual Xeon Gold 6226R processors (2.9 GHz, 16 cores each, 32 cores per server), 192 GB memory, 100 Gb/s Infiniband, 480 GB SSD drive, and two Nvidia V100S 32GB GPUs. 
  • GPU Server with 2 x RTX 8000 ($13,750): Dual Xeon Gold 6226R processors (2.9 GHz, 16 cores each, 32 cores per server), 192 GB memory, 100 Gb/s Infiniband, 480 GB SSD drive, and two Nvidia Quadro RTX 8000 48GB GPUs. 
  • GPU Server with 2 x RTX 6000 ($12,050): Dual Xeon Gold 6226R processors (2.9 GHz, 16 cores each, 32 cores per server), 192 GB memory, 100 Gb/s Infiniband, 480 GB SSD drive, and two Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000 24GB GPUs. 

Scratch Storage ($350 per Terabyte): The DDN ES7990X storage system uses a Lustre-based high-performance, scalable parallel file system.

 

​PURCHASE PROCESS AND TIMELINE

  1. Purchasers must fill out the Shared HPC Purchase form and email it to RCS at [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday, ​June 15​, 2020.
  2. The equipment in all the orders will be combined and a purchase order will be created.
  3. RCS will validate pricing and the exact purchase amount will be ​communicated and ​charged to the ​ARC chart string you provided.
  4. System launch is targeted for late Fall 2020.

FAQs

Q1:  Is the purchase of a server considered "major equipment"?
A1:  The Office of the Controller indicates that any purchase in the shared resource is considered "major equipment".  It means that Facilities and Administrative costs (F&A) is not charged.

Q2: I’m not ready to commit to purchase. When will be my next chance?
A2: SRCPAC polls its members and chairs every year to see if there is sufficient interest to make a purchase (often prompted by new recruits or research awards). Previous clusters offered a chance to augment the system a year to two years after the original purchase. You also can purchase a lower-priority rental share at any time.

Q3: A new recruit is interested in shared HPC, but won’t join Columbia until after July 1. Is there anything we can do?
A3: Contact Victoria Hamilton (212-854-1343 or [email protected]) to discuss options.