Inspiring the Next Generation of HPC Engineers with Reconfigurable, Multi-Tenant Resources for Teaching and Research

Taha Al-Jody, Hamza Aagela and Violeta Holmes
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Taha Al-Jody: School of Computing and Engineering, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK
Hamza Aagela: School of Computing and Engineering, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK
Violeta Holmes: School of Computing and Engineering, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: There is a tradition at our university for teaching and research in High Performance Computing (HPC) systems engineering. With exascale computing on the horizon and a shortage of HPC talent, there is a need for new specialists to secure the future of research computing. Whilst many institutions provide research computing training for users within their particular domain, few offer HPC engineering and infrastructure-related courses, making it difficult for students to acquire these skills. This paper outlines how and why we are training students in HPC systems engineering, including the technologies used in delivering this goal. We demonstrate the potential for a multi-tenant HPC system for education and research, using novel container and cloud-based architecture. This work is supported by our previously published work that uses the latest open-source technologies to create sustainable, fast and flexible turn-key HPC environments with secure access via an HPC portal. The proposed multi-tenant HPC resources can be deployed on a “bare metal” infrastructure or in the cloud. An evaluation of our activities over the last five years is given in terms of recruitment metrics, skills audit feedback from students, and research outputs enabled by the multi-tenant usage of the resource.

Keywords: HPC course structure; HPC cluster and cloud resources for teaching; advanced HPC teaching materials; sustainable education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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