Hybrid HPC Services Gather Momentum
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Add high-performance computing to the ever-growing list of enterprise (fill-in-the-blank) as-a-service offerings.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) and HPC partner Advania Data Centers (ADC) have put their own spin on HPC-as-a-service with a hybrid approach that underpins an HPC cloud platform. The goal of the new HPC is “hybrid delivery to HPC users,” the partners said.
The combination would for example allow local cloud providers to offer access to HPC services, demand for which is soaring among enterprise customers.
The partners claim their hybrid approach addresses traditional obstacles to accessing HPC resources via the cloud. Foremost among them is data location. “Traditionally, when customers have operated their HPC on site, there has been a certain barrier to moving out of their own region,” the partners noted in a blog post.
Data governance and other regulatory constrains actually strengthen the hand of “local service providers” that are literally in a position to address local data requirements as well as demand for HPC clusters accessible via the cloud.
In addition, the partners argue, proximity to HPC users usually translates to better technical support and customer engagement.
Then there are the overriding data security concerns that have driven hybrid cloud deployments for the past several years, with critical applications and data kept in-house while more processing takes place on private or public clouds.
Advania Data Centers’s cloud-based service dubbed HPCFLOW gives customers on-demand access to HPC resources. Earlier this year, the company announced that computational fluid dynamics specialist Numeca International was offering its design and analysis software via the HPC cloud service.
ADC and HPE have been collaborating on delivering hybrid HPC services for the last three years, including advanced modeling and simulations tools as part of an HPC effort called the Living Heart Project. The have since extended their partnership to HPC service providers.
The expanded partnership allows service providers to “fast track” their HPC service offerings with an emphasis on hybrid cloud deployments, the partners said.
