The future of the cloud
Cloud platforms have helped to address some of international businesses ’ most pressing challenges. The ability to access hosted resources and pay for them as they are used has radically changed the way we now approach infrastructure.
The ability to scale, at will, without massive investment in redundant capacity, means that we can better manage peaks (and falls) in demand. This increased operational flexibility is invaluable, particularly as part of a longer-term strategy to overcome the limitations of your existing on-premise HPC data centers.
High Performance Computing as a Service (HPCaaS) takes a similar approach as you will see below.
The shortcomings of traditional HPC
As businesses become increasingly ambitious in their use of data, machine learning and artificial intelligence, demands for processing power are increasing exponentially. Traditionally, these high-performance computing (HPC) demands would be met with clusters of high-performance servers installed on premise – not least because of the lack of available cloud resources with specifications worthy of an HPC cluster.
This power comes at a cost and is also very inflexible Premium hardware is not cheap and licensing increases costs further still, as do the overheads of installing, configuring and managing an HPC cluster. And that’s assuming you can source and retain employees with the correct skillset to maintain the system.
Using cloud concepts to simplify high performance computing
As cloud technologies have matured and internet bandwidth has increased, HPC as a Service (HPCaaS) is now a viable proposition. Under this model, your business can acquire HPC clusters from a central pool in a hosted data center.
Far from being another general cloud platform, true HPC as a Service is built on compute-optimized GPU and CPU servers, crafted to meet the unique demands of your application. HPC Flow from atNorth is a one-stop solution, combining the benefits of the cloud environment the familiarity, and the customizability of your original on-premise data center. And this is with the option to draw upon additional compute resources to manage occasional spikes in demand.
With the HPCaaS model, you have access to a bare-metal HPC platform on which to build resource-intensive applications with the option to expand your footprint in the future if required. Your provider will help to specify and configure an HPC cluster that balances your computational needs within budget to ensure the highest levels of performance you can afford.
HPCaaS from atNorth has the advantage of unparalleled sustainability. Built to deliver maximum power efficiency, our data centers can help businesses maximize their HPC potential and minimize their carbon footprint at the same time.
In addition to raw computing power, HPCaaS also includes administration and optimization. Your service partner provides the skills, expertise, and human resources to not only keep your HPC clusters running, but to ensure they are fully optimized to deliver maximum performance.
Making HPC available for all
The huge barriers to entry – particularly cost and skills – mean that HPC is often out of reach for any but the largest companies. HPCaaS lowers those barriers, allowing more businesses to process vast data sets and solve real-world challenges.
HPCaaS also offers a clear pathway for progression to existing HPC users. Businesses can better scale their computational needs and reduce their capital spending for greater return on investment. They can also rely on atNorths sustainable HPC data centers to reduce their carbon footprint to meet their corporate social responsibility objectives.
HPCaaS can potentially save capital spend and allow your business to realize its data-driven goals. With the management of the HPC environment handled by your service provider, you can focus all your resources on the computational outcomes from your applications, ensuring maximum value from your investment.
To learn more about High Performance Computing as a Service and atNorth can help your business do more with its data, please contact sales@atnorth.com.