Tim Danger Ramos
Photo Editor
The Department of Computing and Cybersecurity will soon unveil a high performance computing (HPC) lab in Room 222 of the Science and Technology Building.
“Currently, from a hardware and equipment perspective, everything is ready,” said Dr. Izzat Alsmadi, graduate coordinator and director of research computing.
The main differences between the HPC lab and an ordinary computer lab are processing speeds and memory. Rather than having computers with one CPU (central processing unit) and 8-16 gigabytes of RAM, the HPC lab will have machines able to use 64 or more gigabytes of RAM depending on the project. The machines in the HPC lab will also use GPUs (graphics processing units).
The increased computing power will allow students, faculty and staff to conduct experiments and projects that otherwise would not be possible on an ordinary desktop or laptop, such as analyzing and processing large data sets, or solving complex scientific problems.
Alsmadi said there’s still training that needs to get done for those who are going to work in the lab, as there is a “learning curve” to the equipment used.
“Those are not regular machines; you cannot use them just like you are using a typical laptop or desktop,” Alsmadi said.
Rather than operating on mainstream operating systems such as Mac OS or Windows, machines in the HPC lab will operate on Linux.
The lab, which has been paid for via a CRI grant of $750,000, will initially only be open to students, faculty and staff, with plans to open it up to the community in later stages.
Those planning to use the lab will have to fill out a form to request permission and upon approval can use their university ID to enter.
“Due to some security limitations, we have to keep it in that room, but we are working on the second stage to make it more available from TAMUSA and outside, and physically and remotely.”
The lab is expected to accommodate roughly 20 users at a time and will be open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information and updates on the HPC lab, click here.
