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Supercomputer ncar wyoming supercomputing center
The NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC) is a high-performance computing (HPC) and data archival facility located in Cheyenne, Wyoming that provides advanced computing services to researchers in the Earth system sciences.
Contents
- Supercomputer ncar wyoming supercomputing center
- Ncar wyoming supercomputing center nwsc and ncar yellowstone supercomputer
- History
- Sustainability and energy efficiency
- Educational projects
- References
NWSC provides researchers’ needs for computing, data analysis, and scientific visualization resources combined with powerful data management capabilities to support finer Earth system model resolution, increased model complexity, better statistics, more predictive power, and longer simulation times. The data storage and archival facility at NWSC holds unique historical climate records and a wealth of other scientific data. Scientists at U.S. universities and research institutions access NWSC resources remotely via the Internet from desktop or laptop computers.
Ncar wyoming supercomputing center nwsc and ncar yellowstone supercomputer
History
The NWSC data center is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the State of Wyoming, and is operated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It was created through a partnership between the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), the State of Wyoming, the University of Wyoming, Cheyenne LEADS, the Wyoming Business Council, and Cheyenne Light Fuel and Power Company (now named Black Hills Corporation). Consistent with NCAR’s mission, this supercomputing center is a leader in energy efficiency, incorporating the newest and most efficient designs and technologies available. Planning for this data center began in 2003, groundbreaking at the North Range Business Park in Cheyenne took place in June 2010, and computing operations began in October 2012.
Sustainability and energy efficiency
The facility design is based on modular and expandable spaces that can be adapted for computing system upgrades. Its sustainable design makes it 89% more efficient than a typical data center and up to 10% more efficient than state-of-the-art data centers operating in 2010. Almost 92% of the energy it uses goes directly to its core purpose of powering supercomputers to enable scientific discovery. Part of its efficiency comes from the regionally integrated design that uses Wyoming’s climate to provide natural cooling during 96% of the year and local wind energy that supplies at least 10% of its power. The NWSC achieved LEED Gold certification for its sustainable design and construction. In 2013 it won first place for Facility Design Implementation in the Uptime Institute’s Green Enterprise IT awards. This award recognizes pioneering projects and innovations that significantly improve energy productivity and resource use in information technology. In June 2013, the NWSC won the Datacenter Dynamics North American ‘Green’ Data Center award for demonstrated sustainability in the design and operation of facilities.
The center currently has a total of 153,000 square feet with 24,000 square feet of raised floor modules for supercomputing systems in its expandable design. It incorporates numerous resource conservation features to reduce its environmental impact. Water consumption at the NWSC is reduced by about 40% compared to traditional designs by using innovative technologies, specialized cooling tower equipment, and low-flow plumbing fixtures. Waste heat from the systems is recycled to pre-heat components in the power plant, to heat the office spaces, and to melt snow and ice on outdoor walkways and rooftops. Windows supply natural light; combined with room occupancy sensors, the building saves 20-30% in lighting and electricity compared to typical office buildings. A building automation system saves energy by continuously optimizing pumps, fans, and controls that heat or cool only occupied areas of the facility. During construction, sustainable practices were used with emphasis on recycled and locally sourced materials.
Educational projects
The NWSC also serves an educational role. Its public outreach program features the NWSC visitor center that explains the science goals and the technology of NCAR and the University of Wyoming. NCAR's higher education internship program places two engineering interns at the NWSC each summer.
The facilities at NWSC are being used in a research collaboration with Colorado State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lagrange Systems, and NCAR to produce resilient resource management strategies for HPC environments, increase the number of researchers and scientific problems that can use HPC, and help achieve sustainable computing at extreme scales within realistic power budgets.