Researchers on all university campuses can now sign up for the U-M Research Computing Package, a new package of no-cost supercomputing resources provided by Information and Technology Services.

As of Sept. 1, university researchers have access to a base allocation for 80,000 CPU hours of high-performance computing and research storage services at no cost. This includes 10 terabytes of high-speed and 100 terabytes of archival storage.

These base allocations will meet the needs of approximately 75 percent of current high-performance-computing users and 90 percent of current research storage users. Researchers must sign up on ITS’s Advanced Research Computing website to receive the allocation.

“With support from President (Mark) Schlissel and executive leadership, this initiative provides a unified set of resources, both on campus and in the cloud, that meet the needs of the rich diversity of disciplines. Our goal is to encourage the use, support and availability of high-performance computing resources for the entire research community,” said Ravi Pendse, vice president for information technology and chief information officer.

The computing package was developed to meet needs across a diversity of disciplines and to provide options for long-term data management, sharing and protecting sensitive data, and more competitive cost structures that give faculty and research teams more flexibility to procure resources on short notice.

“It is incredibly important that we provide our research community with the tools necessary so they can use their experience and expertise to solve problems and drive innovation,” said Rebecca Cunningham, vice president for research and the William G. Barsan Collegiate Professor of Emergency Medicine. “The no-cost supercomputing resources provided by ITS and Vice President Pendse will greatly benefit our university community and the countless individuals who are positively impacted by their research.”

Ph.D. students may qualify for their own UMRCP resources depending on who is overseeing their research and their adviser relationship. Students should consult with their Ph.D. program administrator to determine their eligibility. ITS will confirm this status when a UMRCP request is submitted.

Undergraduate and master’s students do not currently qualify for their own UMRCP, but they can be added as users or administrators of another person’s UMRCP. Students can also access other ITS programs such as Great Lakes for Course Accounts, and Student Teams.

 “If you’re a researcher at Michigan, these resources are available to you without financial impact. We’re going to make sure you have what you need to do your research. We’re investing in you as a researcher because you are what makes Michigan Research successful,” Brock Palen, Advanced Research Computing director.

Services that are needed beyond the base allocation provided by the UMRCP are available at reduced rates and are automatically available for all researchers on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Flint and Michigan Medicine campuses.

Tags:

• Advanced Research Computing
• Information and Technology Services
• U-M Research Computing Package