Zeus expands to fulfil researchers’ needs

Moving from a system designed for pre- and post- processing workloads, Zeus will become Pawsey’s new mid-range cluster in December 2017. The new cluster will target key science communities such as Bioinformatics, who have large compute requirements but aren’t ready to use a supercomputer such as Pawsey’s flagship system, Magnus.

The addition of an extra 92 nodes to its current configuration will increase Zeus’ capabilities by providing more than 20 million core hours per year to researchers. The mid-range cluster will be the stepping stone leading researchers on their journey to the superscale.

The system will run the latest generation enterprise class Linux Operating System, known as SLES 12, which gives researchers access to cutting edge software and support new technologies such as Shifter, making running software on Zeus even easier.

“This is another piece of the puzzle, ensuring that Pawsey provides the most suitable resources for Australian researchers,” said David Schibeci, Head of Supercomputing at Pawsey. “We’ve seen an unquenchable thirst for compute power in this country and we are happy to continue to support science outcomes that come from that thirst”.

Zeus’ new configuration will incorporate 128 GB of memory and a 100 GB p/s high speed, low latency interconnect on each of the 92 nodes.

Pawsey are currently calling for enthusiastic researchers to test the new Zeus expansion. Interested researchers are encouraged to contact Pawsey to gain early access to the system, especially if Zeus is currently being used in their workflows.

The procurement of this expansion was made possible through the funding of the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) and will enable Pawsey to continue to deliver big science outcomes for the advancement of Australia.

Find more information on how to access the Zeus Early Adopter Program.

Zeus Expansion Press Kit