Top three HPC roadblocks

Barriers

Article from ADMIN 08/2012

By Douglas Eadline

The HPC market has come a long way in the last decade, but some issues still impede the full potential of the market.

If you are a practitioner of HPC, you might ask, "Only three things?" Of course, there are more, but the problems I want to talk about here are what I judge to be some of the top issues facing the HPC market and community. Over the past 15 years, the HPC market has seen great growth because of low-cost commodity hardware and open software. These dramatic changes have expanded HPC to the point that true HPC computing can be had for several thousand dollars. This growth has not been without challenges, most of which are easily solved. Having been involved in the HPC market for close to 25 years, my frustration stems from the lack of progress with the following issues.

Solve The Last Mile Problem

The cable/Internet industry coined the phrase "the last mile" to indicate the issue of making the final cable/phone/Internet connection to customers. The problem is real because, although each customer wants the same thing, it almost always becomes a "custom" job at some point. From the classic console television to the Windows 98 computer to the latest flat screen or tablet, a complete solution takes some know-how that the customer often does not have.

Companies have addressed this problem by creating clear demarcation points where their responsibility ends and the customer's begins. It can be the cable modem or a phone box, but one side is the user's responsibility and the other is that of the service provider. In general, installers try to assist the customer with their specific situation, which can vary from simple to complex.

Setting up wireless is one good example. The situation has created a need for companies like the Best Buy Geek Squad, who offer integration services. Results vary, but at least people have someone to call other than a cousin who figured out how to get his Xbox working on the Internet. HPC has a huge "last mile" problem because

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