Penguin Computing Launches New HPC Cloud Appliance
Penguin Computing, experts in high performance and enterprise computing solutions, today announced the immediate availability of Scyld HCA™, its new HPC Cloud Appliance. This appliance turns any HPC Linux cluster into a fully managed HPC hybrid cloud environment, which adds the ease of use and automation of a public cloud to an existing HPC cluster and has the added benefit of seamless hybrid access to Penguin Computing on Demand (“POD”) to support burst out compute and storage capability.
Scyld HCA is a fully integrated solution (software, hardware and managed service) that combines the flexibility and ease-of-access typically associated with a cloud based solution with the performance of “bare-metal” computing. Built on open standards including OpenStack and Ceph, Scyld HCA provides virtual login host lifecycle management, object and data storage, user and group administration, metering and reporting, authentication, a Web-based portal, and an interactive Web GUI for hardware and workflow management.
“We are looking forward to the release of Penguin’s Scyld HCA to deliver our vision of a ‘Research Cloud’ for the university,” said Jason Byars, Senior Research Specialist at University of New Mexico. “A turn-key high-performance computing cloud solution like this, supported and maintained by Penguin Computing, means that we can focus on solving pressing bioinformatics problems that our colleagues require without worrying about managing the computing infrastructure.” Scyld HCA comes with the Scyld Cloud Management software integrated with Penguin’s Intel-based Relion servers, IceBreaker storage systems and new Arctica GigE and 10Gig high-performance, low cost networks. The appliance can be attached to an existing cluster or provided as part of a complete HPC cloud refresh. Other key elements include:
- Simple connection to an HPC cluster through a virtual head node and job scheduler.
- Self service, branded Web portal – minimizing system administration requirements and IT costs.
- A variety of virtual machine host configurations – providing the latest computing solutions using Intel processors up to 512GB RAM and a variety of optional accelerator cards from Intel and NVIDIA.
- Real-time feedback on usage as well as ad hoc report generation – giving users and group owners flexible report generation capability for bill back.
- Remote, secure access from anywhere, including the upcoming capability for high-performance, low-latency 3D accelerated remote desktops.
- Remote managed services and support provided by Penguin Computing with regular software updates.