Penguin Offers On-Demand HPC Access

Penguin Computing announces partnerships with multiple universities to allow on-demand access to scalable HPC compute resources for academic researchers.

Penguin has implemented three versions of academic HPC clouds. In the first model, hybrid clouds form an “on-site” cluster configured to support the use of Penguin-on-Demand (POD) cloud resources on a pay-as-you go basis. Thus, local compute resources can be provisioned for average demand, and utilization peaks can be offloaded transparently. According to the announcement, this model lowers the initial capital expense, and, for temporary workload peaks, excess cycles are provided by Penguin’s public HPC cloud. Examples of hybrid cloud deployments include the University of Delaware and Memphis University.

In the second model, educational institutions become distributors for POD compute cycles. University departments with limited access to compute resources can use Penguin’s virtual supercomputer on a pay-as-you-go basis. The announcement states that this model has been successfully implemented at the California Institute for Technology in conjunction with Penguin’s PODshell, a web-service based solution that supports the submission and monitoring of HPC cloud compute jobs from any Linux system with internet connectivity.

The third model includes benefits of the first two models. The combination hybrid/channel has been successfully implemented at Indiana University (IU) as a public-private partnership. According to the announcement, “Penguin leverages the university’s HPC facilities and human resources while IU benefits from fast access to local compute resources and Penguin’s HPC experience. IU can use POD resources and provide compute capacity to other academic institutions.” 

Visit Penguin Computing’s on demand HPC cloud service for more information.