Cloud Computing Comes to HPC
 

Cloud computing is inching into the HPC market.
• CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is developing a mega computing cloud to distribute data to scientists around the world (the LHC churns out 1 petabyte of data per second when it’s running).
• NASA is building a cloud to run climate models on remote HPC systems.
• Boeing accesses Tata’s big supercomputer in Pune, India, for research on high lift aerodynamics that could substantially boost aircraft fuel efficiency.

Most of the action today is in private clouds, such as the CERN and NASA examples, where sites can exploit existing HPC resources and enforce data privacy, policies and directives. But Boeing and others are starting to use public clouds for advanced R&D and overload work, and public clouds may be a boon for SMBs not wanting to buy or operate their own HPC servers.

A spate of new cloud offerings from HPC vendors could ignite this early-adopter market.