Flexential Partners with University of Pennsylvania to Enhance Research Computing Infrastructure
In a groundbreaking collaboration, Flexential and the University of Pennsylvania have come together to launch the Penn Advanced Research Computing Center (PARCC), aimed at advancing the university's research computing infrastructure. This partnership highlights a significant investment in AI and high-performance computing, further solidifying Penn's status as a leader in academic research.
The deployment of the PARCC infrastructure features an impressive NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD equipped with DGX B200 systems and NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking. This cutting-edge setup, housed in Flexential's Philadelphia-Collegeville data center, is tailored to meet the high-density infrastructure needs of the university, allowing it to efficiently handle large-scale AI workloads. Flexential's data center, strategically located just 25 miles from Penn's campus, provides low-latency access and logistical ease for on-site support, making it an optimal location for this advanced research center.
Patrick Doherty, Flexential's Chief Revenue Officer, emphasized the importance of this collaboration by stating, "When Penn outlined its requirements for PARCC, it became clear that it needed a partner that could offer capacity and the operational maturity to manage a high-performance deployment on an aggressive timeline." This partnership showcases Flexential's capability to support complex academic environments, ensuring reliability and performance akin to that seen in sectors such as healthcare and finance.
The first phase of the PARCC deployment doubles the university's processing capacity, offering robust high-performance computing (HPC) resources and additional options for faculty who wish to manage their hardware. The sophisticated infrastructure includes innovative hot data storage colocation, which enhances both data transfer speeds and cost efficiency, crucial for handling peak usage periods.
Kenneth Chaney, the Associate Director of AI and Technology at PARCC, shared his insights on the initiative by commenting, "Flexential has been instrumental in making that possible by delivering the technical capabilities we require and enabling us to prepare for future growth." He acknowledges that the collaboration has not only met the immediate technical needs but has also laid the groundwork for sustainable development in research computing, marking a crucial advancement for the university's research community.
The state-of-the-art Collegeville facility is designed to deliver high-density workloads and maintains impressive service-level agreements regarding power, cooling, network, and bandwidth. The facility's design incorporates advanced liquid cooling capabilities, which not only saves costs in compute-intensive environments but also sets a solid foundation for future expansion in alignment with PARCC's evolving computational demands.
Moreover, seamless integration management was handled by AHEAD, a long-standing provider of enterprise IT services for Penn. They efficiently managed off-site rack integration and on-site cabling, which helped to streamline the overall deployment process, highlighting the collaborative efforts involved in this significant project.
Jack Wells, Director at NVIDIA, commented on the transformative nature of this project by stating, "This collaboration between Flexential, Penn, AHEAD, and NVIDIA showcases how research computing is being reshaped with flexible, high-performance infrastructure." By leveraging NVIDIA's advanced systems, organizations like Penn can dynamically scale their compute resources and maintain technological agility across various AI workloads ranging from academic research to commercial innovations.
As Penn continues to advance its research initiatives, this partnership with Flexential represents not only a pivotal development in its computational capabilities but also serves as a benchmark for other Ivy League institutions aiming to enhance their research infrastructure. The new center will empower researchers across Penn's twelve schools to push boundaries in numerous fields including healthcare, science, and societal studies, fortifying the university's legacy as a pioneering institution in the digital age.
For more details on the PARCC initiative and its implications for research at the University of Pennsylvania, interested parties can visit the PARCC official website at https://parcc.upenn.edu/. This initiative is also responsive to the findings presented in the Flexential State of AI Infrastructure Report, which revealed that nearly half of organizations face infrastructure constraints as primary barriers to expanding AI initiatives. Flexential aims to alleviate such challenges by providing tailored high-density environments that are purpose-built for modern computing workloads. To learn more about Flexential, visit www.flexential.com.