Phase 3 Plans, Phase2a End Of Life 31 May 2011
As communicated at the HECToR town meeting in October, the next Phase of the HECToR service is scheduled to commence in Q4 2011.
Utilising further input from HECToR users in December 2010, EPSRC has worked with the HECToR service to develop a technical solution that broadly addresses the issues and requirements expressed at the town` and December user meetings. Following discussion with BBSRC and NERC, the `Councils have agreed that the Phase III system will be based on an extension and upgrade of the current Cray XE6 system (Phase 2b).
The solution supplied will be a 30 cabinet system utilising the next generation AMD Interlagos processor and Cray's Gemini interconnect. The machine will have a projected theoretical peak of 820TF and as such represents a greater than two-fold increase in capability over the current Phase 2b system.
Phase 2a Switch Off - 31st May 2011
As part of the upgrade, the Phase 2a system will be removed from service. Both the XT4 and X2 systems will be switched off on Tuesday 31st May 2011 at 0900hrs.
The physical works to remove these systems will commence on 1st June. Users are reminded that data is now all on one central filesystem, so you do not need to worry about moving any data prior to May 31st - your files will be unaffected.
Transitioning to Phase 2b
We would encourage any users who have not yet started using the Phase 2b system to do so as soon as possible. You will need to recompile your codes before running them on Phase 2b. Support documentation is available on the the HECToR website.
Training
Training is also available to help you make the transition to Phase 2b
Transitioning to the Cray XE6
April 6, 2011 NAG Manchester
April 13, 2011 NAG Oxford
This course will help users transition from using the XT4 of Phase 2a to the XE6 of Phase 2b including getting the most out of the Gemini interconnect. The course will cover the XE6 architecture, MPI on the XE6, advice and tips, languages, good practice and case studies. Full details are available here.
Full details of the Phase 3 upgrade plan will be released at a later date. If you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the helpdesk.
