You require immense computing power to tackle your organization’s most complex problems, yet on-premises high-performance computing has always seemed out of reach. Now, cloud-based HPC brings supercomputing capabilities within your grasp.

As you read this article, discover how leading enterprises have embraced HPC cloud services to achieve unprecedented simulation scales and solve challenges previously deemed impossible. With flexible access to vast computing resources in the cloud, you can push the boundaries of innovation and discovery across industries ranging from manufacturing to life sciences. The era of democratized supercomputing is here. Compute without limits and transform your R&D, engineering, and scientific initiatives by harnessing the power of HPC in the cloud.

What Is High-Performance Computing in the Cloud?

Massive Computing Power

• High-performance computing (HPC) in the cloud provides enterprises access to powerful computing resources to solve highly complex computational problems. HPC cloud solutions offer scalable computing, storage, and networking capabilities beyond what most companies can build and maintain independently.

Flexibility and Agility

• HPC in the cloud provides flexibility and agility. Enterprises can spin up and spin down HPC resources as needed for each project. They don’t have to invest heavily upfront in infrastructure that may sit idle when not in use. HPC cloud also enables enterprises to access new technologies quickly as they become available, without going through a lengthy acquisition and deployment process for new hardware.

Cost Efficiency

• With the HPC cloud, enterprises pay only for the resources they use. They can scale resources up and down to match workloads, optimizing costs. HPC cloud also eliminates the need for enterprises to continually invest in new hardware to keep up with technology improvements and stay ahead of competitors.

Advanced Computing Power

• HPC in the cloud gives enterprises access to the latest computing technologies, including powerful CPUs, high-speed networks, fast storage, and machine learning and AI tools. With HPC cloud, enterprises can run hugely complex simulations and models that provide insights into critical questions. HPC cloud makes advanced computing power available to enterprises of any size.

Focus on Innovation

• HPC in the cloud allows enterprises to focus their resources on innovative work rather than on routine tasks like operating and maintaining an HPC infrastructure. With the infrastructure handled by the HPC cloud, enterprises can apply HPC to their most pressing challenges and opportunities.

Benefits of Cloud-Based HPC for Enterprises

i.                    Scalability and Flexibility

• Cloud-based HPC offers nearly unlimited computational power that can be scaled up or down as needed. This allows enterprises to avoid the large capital investments required for on-premises HPC systems and only pay for the resources they consume. Workloads can also be scaled dynamically to meet variable or peak demand.

ii.                 Reduced Costs

• By outsourcing HPC to the cloud, enterprises can convert what were once capital expenses into operating expenses, reducing costs. They no longer need to purchase, operate, or maintain expensive HPC infrastructure. Cloud providers can also use economies of scale to offer HPC resources at lower costs than most organizations could achieve independently.

iii.               Access to Specialized Resources

• Public cloud providers offer specialized HPC hardware, such as GPUs, that provide massively parallel processing power for running complex simulations or training machine learning models. They also provide software, tools, and pre-built environments optimized for HPC workloads. Obtaining these specialized resources on their own would be challenging and expensive for most enterprises.

iv.                Enhanced Collaboration

• Cloud-based HPC facilitates collaboration across organizations by providing a centralized platform where partners can access and share data, workloads, and results. Research teams, for example, could leverage the cloud to run experiments and simulations at a massive scale, gain insights faster, and speed up time to discovery.

v.                  Improved Security and Reliability

• Leading public cloud providers offer a secure, resilient environment for running HPC workloads. They provide capabilities like encryption, identity and access management, DDoS protection, and disaster recovery that would be difficult and costly for most enterprises to match on-premises. Private cloud options are also available for sensitive workloads.

In summary, cloud-based HPC gives enterprises a simple way to harness advanced computing resources and run complex workloads at unprecedented scale without significant upfront investments. Organizations can focus on business outcomes by outsourcing HPC to the cloud instead of managing infrastructure.

Use Cases: How Enterprises Leverage Cloud HPC

i.                    Complex Simulations

Enterprises are increasingly leveraging cloud-based HPC to run complex simulations that would be impossible using on-premises infrastructure. Running simulations at massive scales allows companies to gain insights that drive innovation. For example, a biopharmaceutical company can run molecular dynamics simulations to gain insights into protein interactions and aid drug discovery. An automotive company can simulate how minor design changes impact vehicle performance, safety, and efficiency.

ii.                 Rendering and Visualization

The cloud’s elastic computing and storage resources are ideal for rendering and visualizing substantial 3D models and datasets. Architectural and engineering firms can render highly detailed building models. Media and entertainment companies can render scenes with cinematic quality. Researchers can visualize massive scientific datasets to uncover insights and patterns. The cloud provides computing power that renders and visualizes at scales previously unimaginable.

iii.               Seismic Data Processing

Energy companies rely on seismic data processing to locate oil and gas reserves. Processing vast amounts of raw seismic data requires enormous amounts of computing power. Cloud HPC provides the resources to run the complex algorithms and applications that are necessary for seismic data processing at a massive scale. By leveraging the cloud, energy companies can complete seismic data processing jobs in days rather than months and uncover new reserves faster.

iv.                Genomics

Genomics research generates enormous amounts of data that require significant computational power. Cloud HPC gives researchers the resources to run workflows that analyze entire genomes better to understand genetic variations and their relationship to human health. At the cloud scale, researchers can analyze population-level genomic data to uncover insights that would be impossible with on-premises HPC alone. Advancements in genomics rely on access to enormous computing resources, which the cloud provides.

In summary, cloud HPC allows enterprises across industries to solve problems of unprecedented scale and complexity. By providing nearly unlimited computing resources, the cloud enables a new era of innovation through high-performance computing.

Choosing the Right Cloud HPC Provider

When evaluating cloud HPC providers, there are several factors enterprises should consider to find the optimal solution for their needs.

Compute Resources

• For compute-intensive workloads, ensure the provider offers powerful compute instances tailored for HPC applications with high core counts, large memory footprints, and fast network interconnects. Some providers offer bare metal instances for maximum performance. Consider both CPU and GPU options for machine learning or other accelerated workloads.

Storage and I/O

• Look for high-performance, low-latency storage options optimized for HPC workloads. Fast local SSDs, large memory instances, and high-bandwidth network storage are ideal. For data-intensive applications, ensure adequate I/O throughput to storage. Some providers offer specialized high-performance file systems and object storage.

Networking

• A fast, low-latency network is essential for inter-node communication in HPC clusters. For the lowest possible latency, look for options like 100 Gbps networking or RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE). Some providers also offer direct access to research and education networks.

Management Tools

• Consider providers with robust tools for launching, monitoring, and managing HPC clusters to simplify deployment and optimize utilization. Capabilities like autoscaling, job scheduling, and resource orchestration benefit variable workloads. Some providers also integrate with popular open-source HPC management software like Slurm.

Specialized Services

• For more turnkey solutions, evaluate providers with HPC-specialised services like managed HPC clusters, JupyterHub, and interactive computing. Some providers offer industry-specific HPC solutions for manufacturing, life sciences, and finance sectors. These higher-level services can help accelerate time to results.

In summary, for enterprise HPC workloads in the cloud, look for providers delivering a combination of powerful, high-performance hardware, networking, and storage options, specialized tools for managing HPC resources, and value-added services to help you make the most of the cloud for your technical computing needs. With the right platform in place, the cloud can become a vital part of your enterprise HPC strategy.

FAQs on High-Performance Computing in the Cloud

i.                    What is High-Performance Computing (HPC) in the cloud?

High-performance computing (HPC) in the cloud refers to the delivery of robust computational capabilities via cloud computing infrastructure. Enterprises can leverage scalable, on-demand access to advanced computing resources over the Internet to solve complex problems that require high bandwidth, low latency networking, and powerful processors.

ii.                  What are the benefits of HPC in the cloud for enterprises?

HPC in the cloud provides several advantages for enterprises:

• Cost efficiency: By provisioning compute resources on demand, enterprises pay only for what they use. This eliminates the need for large capital expenditures on HPC infrastructure.
• Scalability: Enterprises have access to virtually unlimited compute resources that can scale up and down instantly based on workload requirements. This enables larger simulations and workloads to be run, which were previously impossible.
• Agility: HPC resources can be provisioned and de-provisioned quickly without long procurement cycles. This allows enterprises to respond rapidly to new opportunities or challenges.
• Productivity: By eliminating the complexity of managing on-premise HPC infrastructure, enterprises can focus on innovation rather than IT operations. Scientists and engineers have more time for value-added work.
• Collaboration: With HPC in the cloud, global teams can easily access and share data, workloads, and results. This facilitates collaborative innovation across organizations and geographies.
• Reliability: Leading cloud providers offer a secure, high-availability environment for running HPC workloads with service-level agreements for uptime and performance.

iii.               What applications are suitable for HPC in the cloud?

HPC in the cloud is well suited for computing and data-intensive applications like:

Molecular modeling and drug design for life sciences

Reservoir and seismic modeling for energy companies

Weather and climate modeling for environmental research

Aerodynamic modeling and simulation

Genomic analysis for precision medicine

Artificial intelligence and deep learning at a massive scale

The flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency of HPC in the cloud unlocks new potential for enterprises to solve complex problems and gain data-driven insights using advanced simulation, modeling, and AI. Compute without limits.

In A Nutshell…

The horizons of HPC have expanded beyond the confines of the enterprise data center with the emergence of cloud-based high-performance computing. HPC in the cloud brings the power of supercomputing within reach, enabling you to simulate, compute, and analyze at unprecedented scales without infrastructure limitations. Cloud-based HPC offers an agile, scalable, and cost-effective solution, whether tackling complex scientific problems, developing advanced designs through modeling, or gaining data-driven insights. By harnessing the convergence of cloud and HPC, you can push the boundaries of innovation and discovery. The future beckons – it’s time to compute without limits.