Improving our research computing infrastructure
Delivering outstanding performance for AI model training, deep learning, and data analytics
The University’s Advanced Research Computing (ARC) service provides researchers with access to powerful, high-performance computing resources that enable complex data analysis, large-scale simulations, and cutting-edge AI research.
By offering a shared, centrally managed computing environment, ARC helps researchers accelerate their work and tackle problems that would be impossible on standard desktop systems.
Upgrading our infrastructure for researchers
Since our last update, our computing infrastructure has had some major upgrades. A brand-new compute island has been added to the ARC cluster, featuring 10 nodes, each packed with 288 CPU cores. This means we have added a huge amount of computing power which significantly increases overall processing power and enhances support for parallel workloads and large-scale simulations.
The technical stuff
Our new compute island also features an upgraded NDR InfiniBand interconnect, offering higher bandwidth and lower latency between these new nodes. This enhancement ensures optimal performance for data-intensive and tightly coupled applications running on the new hardware. Essentially, this means that data moves more efficiently across the system, resulting in smoother performance and quicker responses for applications that rely on intensive data exchange.
The GPU resources in the HTC cluster have been upgraded with 24 new GPU nodes, each equipped with four NVIDIA L40S GPUs. It sounds technical but in summary, these accelerators deliver outstanding performance for AI model training, deep learning, and data analytics, and complement our existing infrastructure. Together, they provide users with a diverse set of GPU options optimised for a wide range of tasks and activities.
Delivering great services for researchers
These additions represent a significant step forward in our computing capabilities, supporting faster turnaround times and expanding opportunities for innovation across research areas.
Visit www.arc.ox.ac.uk for more information about high performance computing at Oxford and how to sign up. You can also contact the ARC team by email.
