Completed Physics & Astronomy Computing & AI

Proposal to Extend the Research Data Facility at the University of Edinburgh

Funder EPSRC (part of UKRI)
Recipient organisation University of Edinburgh
Funding £8.1M
Period Jan 2014 — Mar 2015

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

Edinburgh’s Advanced Computing Facility is getting a 500-square-metre extension and 3 megawatts of extra power to house ARCHER, the UK’s next-generation supercomputer, with completion scheduled for March 2013. The existing facility, refurbished in 2004, already hosts the national HECToR service and a DiRAC BlueGene/Q system, but the next wave of high-performance computers demands far more energy and space. Without this extension, the UK would lack the physical infrastructure to run the powerful machines needed for cutting-edge computational research. The new building aims for a power usage effectiveness of less than 1.1—meaning nearly all electricity goes to computing, not cooling or overheads—making it among the most efficient facilities of its kind. If successful, ARCHER will enable fundamental science across physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering that requires massive simulation power: modelling climate systems, designing new materials, or simulating drug interactions. The facility itself is an engineering and infrastructure project—it does not directly produce scientific results, but without it, the computers that do cannot run. The same public-private partnership that built the original facility is managing the extension, ensuring proven expertise.

View original technical description
This proposal aims to construct a highly energy-efficient extension to the University of Edinburgh's Advanced Computing Facility (ACF) to house the next generation High Performance Computer (HPC), ARCHER. The ACF, which is situated on a science park to the south of the city of Edinburgh, was completely refurbished in 2004 to house all present and planned HPC systems operated by the University. From 2007 it has been the home for the HECToR service and currently we are installing the DiRAC BlueGene/Q there. It is a free-standing non-public-access building offering excellent security. The specification, design and implementation of the new facility are being carried out by the same University/private enterprise partnership who undertook the original refurbishment, the extension and upgrades required for HECToR in 2007, and the upgrade for BlueGene/Q in 2011. The extension will add 500 square metres of floor space and 3MW of electrical power capacity, achieving power usage effectiveness (power used by the centre/power used by ARCHER) less than 1.1, the current state-of-the-art. The project is proceeding on a timetable to complete the building extension, and mechanical and electrical installations, by March 2013, so that the first phase of ARCHER can be installed and service begun as soon as the hardware procurement is completed and the computer ready.

View the original record at the funder ↗

Researchers

Arthur Trew (Principal Investigator)Michael William Brown (Co-Investigator)Richard Kenway (Co-Investigator)

Related Research

Grants with similar aims, by meaning.

Proposal to Extend the Edinburgh Advanced Computing Facility to House ARCHER
EPCC Tier 2 HPC Service
Research Data Facility As A Service
RDFaaS: Research Data Facility as a Service Phase 3
EPSRC Core Capital University of York

Original classification

Research Grant

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.