Submission Number: 14
Submission ID: 31
Submission UUID: 5ebd9200-9792-4fd9-8ad7-faf593436e22
Submission URI: /form/project

Created: Tue, 09/03/2019 - 13:02
Completed: Tue, 09/03/2019 - 13:02
Changed: Sat, 05/01/2021 - 19:44

Remote IP address: 130.215.55.243
Submitted by: Scott Valcourt
Language: English

Is draft: No
Webform: Project
Project Title Student-Developed HPC Cluster for Active Learning
Program Northeast
Project Leader Scott Valcourt
Email sav@unh.edu
Mobile Phone
Work Phone 6038624489
Mentor(s) Scott Valcourt
Student-facilitator(s) Cristiano Bianchi
Mentee(s)
Project Description This project will involve the recommissioning of used computing hardware to craft a basic HPC cluster. Students will be solely responsible for the design, construction, configuration, and maintenance of a recommissioned collection of used computing hardware to craft a basic HPC cluster. The experiment will offer students practical experience in the administration and use of a HPC cluster, something not typically made available in the regular curriculum. Additionally, this project will serve as a potential cookbook to encourage other small and medium-sized institutions to reconsider scrapping old computing hardware for the purpose of teaching students HPC on a shoestring budget.
Project Deliverables Operating HPC cluster designed and built by students
Project Deliverables
Student Research Computing Facilitator Profile Ideally the students involved in this project are undergraduate or graduate students with experience in system administration of Linux/UNIX computers and have thought about HPC as a potential tool to be used in computing.
Mentee Research Computing Profile
Student Facilitator Programming Skill Level Some hands-on experience
Mentee Programming Skill Level
Project Institution University of New Hampshire
Project Address 268 Mast Road
NHPBS
Durham, New Hampshire. 03824
Anchor Institution NE-University of New Hampshire
Preferred Start Date 07/09/2018
Start as soon as possible. No
Project Urgency Already behind3Start date is flexible
Expected Project Duration (in months)
Launch Presentation
Launch Presentation Date
Wrap Presentation
Wrap Presentation Date
Project Milestones
Github Contributions
Planned Portal Contributions (if any) Paper and/or documentation on how to configure a HPC using recommissioned hardware and the design decisions required along the way as a workflow of sorts.
Planned Publications (if any) Paper on how a small institution can use recommissioned hardware to built a student-available HPC for real computation.
What will the student learn? HPC configuration decisions, system administration, cluster management
What will the mentee learn?
What will the Cyberteam program learn from this project? How to inexpensively provide assistance to small institutions in getting into HPC without having to spend a lot of money to try it out in-house.
HPC resources needed to complete this project? Old computing hardware, Science DMZ network access to connect to external resources
Notes
What is the impact on the development of the principal discipline(s) of the project? The development of a HPC asset that is part of the Eastern Regional Network (ERN) Proof of Concept National Research Platform (NRP) allowed for UNH to participate in something not available on campus, gave a student the chance to learn about HPC development which is not part of the standard curriculum, and connected HPC researchers to the regional community and envision a future asset that could benefit even more users over time.
What is the impact on other disciplines? Other disciplines have used the ERN environment to field test code and seek results.
Is there an impact physical resources that form infrastructure? The HPC was connected to the Eastern Regional Network (ERN) Proof of Concept asset across 14 institutions in the Northeast.
Is there an impact on the development of human resources for research computing? The opportunity for a student to learn about HPC system development and configuration was unique.
Is there an impact on institutional resources that form infrastructure? The asset created in this project is available for university researcher use and becomes another computing tool in computer science.
Is there an impact on information resources that form infrastructure? The outcomes report from this project will become a resource for future teams of students looking to build HPC resources and integrate them into the ERN or operate them in a stand-alone environment.
Is there an impact on technology transfer? There is no impact on technology transfer at this time.
Is there an impact on society beyond science and technology? Other than saving old hardware from the scrap yard, there isn't a large impact on society beyond science and technology.
Lessons Learned The student involved in this project learned that there are many aspects to developing HPC resources, but that there is a network of people already doing this work that are readily available to help answer questions and troubleshoot problems encountered.
Overall results The development of a HPC asset that is part of the Eastern Regional Network (ERN) Proof of Concept National Research Platform (NRP) allowed for UNH to participate in something not available on campus, gave a student the chance to learn about HPC development which is not part of the standard curriculum, and connected HPC researchers to the regional community and envision a future asset that could benefit even more users over time.