High-Performance Computing

San Diego Supercomputer Center Updates Cloud Storage

• By Leila Meyer
• 09/30/15

The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, has updated its cloud storage service, the SDSC Cloud, to support science-based researchers with large data requirements.

Since the SDSC Cloud debuted in late 2011, it has been serving a growing number of researchers with its object-based storage system. According to a news release from UC San Diego, the SDSC Cloud "provides a highly scalable solution with flexible access methods and enhanced durability, while providing exceptional performance using high-speed 10 gigabit (Gb) connectivity at a fraction of the costs of other service providers."

In addition to the increasing number of researchers using the SDSC Cloud, the National Data Service (NDS), the National Science Foundation's Big Data Innovation Hub and other data science projects will also use the service. To support these projects, the SDSC has enhanced its service and support.

New features of the SDSC Cloud include:

• A new computing facility to the storage environment, so researchers can access computing resources on-demand without the need to acquire their own hardware;
• The OpenStack suite of open-source cloud products, including the identity management, software-defined networking and orchestration components to enable unified identity management, integration capabilities with third-party and external authentication services, APIs compatible with other computing platforms and the ability to transfer computing images to and from other cloud-based platforms;
• OpenStack Sahara for instantiating Hadoop and Spark clusters;
• A cloud dashboard environment, so researchers can view their storage and computing from a single interface; and
• An expanded cloud consulting and integration team to help researchers on-board, integrate and use cloud resources.

Further information about the SDSC Cloud can be found on the San Diego Supercomputer Center's site.