Establishing a University Grid for HPC Applications

Abstract

This thesis documents a project undertaken at the University of Huddersfield between October 2009 and August 2010 to setup a High Performance Computing (HPC) resource, which would serve the University’s research community by providing a robust computing solution. This thesis will look at all the various kinds of requirements different fields have, with regard to a computing solution, and the tools available to meet these specific needs. This report serves as a manual for any small to medium sized institution that considers setting up a local HPC resource. It looks at all considerations regarding hardware, software, licensing, infrastructure, HR etc for setting up a centralised computing resource with sustainability and robustness being the central aim of the proposed resource. The possibilities of cross-continent and cross-institution collaboration using Clusters and Grid technologies are explored and the method for connecting to the UK eScience community through the NGS is explained