Research Computation Services

 Photo of Iridis 3 computer cluster 

In today's world, computation has become a vital tool for scientific discovery. In many cases computational needs of researchers go far beyond individual workstation and require use of computing clusters.

The University Major High Performance Computing (HPC) facility is Iridis with more then 8000 processing cores. Iridis was ranked 74th in the world in the semi-annual independent ranking of the TOP 500 Supercomputers in November 2009. In addition, Iridis cluster is among the most energy-efficient machines in the world.  This service enables larger, broader and more complex computation than ever before - work that could have taken months or years now can be done in hours or days.

In 2009 the University launched a dedicated Computational Modelling Group which brings together University researchers and students united through the use of computational methods in their research. A reach spectrum of research projects in this group is based on Iridis computational power.

High Performance Computing technologies continue to change at a very rapid pace. As a result, it is critical to ensure that the right set of skills and expertise are available and aligned with growing demand. The Linux cluster Lyceum is dedicated for use by undergraduate and MSc students, to enable the next generation of computational scientists to make full use of this important technology.

For detailed information follow the links to the following major services:

  • Iridis 
    This facility is intended for faculty members. Any researcher who is limited by the computing capability of their desktop PC may find HPC beneficial. These limits may be for processing power, memory size or data storage. Members of the University who wish to make use of Iridis cluster should fill out the Iridis Account Application Form.
  • Lyceum 
    A smaller but very capable Linux cluster intended mainly for undergraduate and MSc project work. It has a powerful head node for interactive work and 16 beefy compute nodes for longer batch jobs.
    Individual MSc & undergraduate students who require access to Lyceum will need to get their course tutor to email Serviceline. Alternatively course tutors can email Serviceline with a list of students who require access to the cluster.

In addition to this centrally hosted and managed systems, there is a Windows Condor Service based on pool of Windows PC. It is maintained for legacy reasons and is not recommended for new users.