National Capability Service
Overview
The National Capability Service provides researchers access to Capability Computing systems available in the form of a local IBM Blue Gene/P system and additional Blue Gene facilities abroad. It is intended to support the strategic development of Capability Computing, i.e. using massively parallel computation to tackle Grand Challenge problems. Hence this service is reserved for projects which will (a) exploit the advantages offered by the Blue Gene architecture, and (b) produce internationally competitive science.
Please read the information provided below then apply using the online application link at the end of the page:
Eligibility
In order to be granted a National Capability Service project the applicant must comply with the ICHEC eligibility criteria. Access to the National Capability Service is subject to the ICHEC Acceptable Usage Policy.
Access Policy
Technical Considerations
The National Capability Service provides access to a local Blue Gene/P system at the beginning of a project. While the Blue Gene architecture incorporates CPUs with relatively modest performance (compared to those found in commodity clusters), it provides high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnect and support for massive parallelism. Blue Gene systems are ideal for production jobs that scale up to hundreds and thousands of CPUs/cores. For this reason, only a handful of jobs are able to run on a system at any one time (see the Blue Gene's Scheduling Policy). This also means that the number of concurrent projects allowed on the system is be limited.
The key principle here is that jobs which could be run on a cluster should be run on a cluster (i.e. using the Full National Service); the National Capability Service should cater for jobs that are especially suited for the Blue Gene architecture.
The Blue Gene/P system (BG/P) should be used for porting, to demonstrate scalability ("showcase") and to carry out "production" runs.
Having demonstrated sufficient scalability on the BG/P, access to more powerful Blue Gene systems abroad may be requested. Project principal investigators (PIs) should contact ICHEC staff for more details.
Scientific Considerations
As the number of concurrent projects is limited (see reason above), access to the infrastructure is prioritised for projects which are based on research of the highest quality that will lead to significant publications in high impact journals or equivalent measures of scientific importance. This scientific requirement is the same as that of a Class A project in the Full National Service, therefore the application procedure, guidelines and review process for National Capability Service projects are essentially the same as those for Class A projects, apart from some minor differences (see below).
Maintenance Day
Each Monday (9am-6pm) is considered "at risk", with the understanding that ICHEC may suspend the service in part or in full to carry out maintenance work (hardware and software). This approach follows best practice from other production Blue Gene infrastructures.
Application Requirements
All of the Full National Service application requirements (for a Class A project) also apply here, with the following exceptions:
- Technical support:
You may request technical support from ICHEC and IBM to assist you with the porting and optimisation of your application. Tick the box if interested, and specify the main focus of this support (e.g., code porting, parallelisation, algorithmic developments, developing parallel I/O, etc.) - Resources requested:
Note that no CPU allocation will be in operation. Instead, we will give all PIs unlimited CPU resources, letting the fair share mechanism and scheduling system manage resources. This approach will ensure that utilisation of the resources is maximised while also ensuring all PIs ready for production get access to their fair share of resources. A limit of 6 jobs will be enforced on the BG/P.
Application Evaluation
All National Capability Service applications go through the ICHEC review process as Class A applications.
Application Form
To apply please fill out the online application form:
Funding Acknowledgment
The purchase of the Blue Genes has been supported by funding from the HEA under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions along with committments from all seven universities, RCSI, DIT and the Tyndall National Institute. The Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions is a component of the National Development Plan, supported by the European Regional Development Fund.
