Hosting & Housing
Hosting of large-scale IT-infrastructure of scientific departments of the MPG
The MPCDF offers a carefree hosting package for scientific departments of the Max-Planck-Society. Typically, this includes large compute clusters, multi-petabyte storage systems, a flexible batch system, a set of highly available virtual machines and also the integration of external data flows like data acquisition at high resolution microscopes. As of 2023, the MPCDF is hosting compute and storage systems for more than 20 Max-Planck-Institutes, comprising a total number of more than 150,000 CPU cores, about 2,000 GPUs and more than 100 PetaBytes of online disk storage.
The MPCDF is usually involved from the very beginning, prepares technical setups en detail, compares bids technically and commercially, supplies input for applications to the BAR and finally accompanies the tendering process together with the local purchasing department of the institute. Once a procurement decision has been made, MPCDF takes over the lead role in managing delivery and bringup of the systems, establishing operational readiness and the fulfilment of all acceptance criteria - always in close consultation with the procuring Max-Planck-Institute.
Finally, MPCDF takes care of the daily operation including software and hardware maintenance and user support to assure exceptional user experience. For example, owners of compute clusters can take advantage of a comprehensive stack of development tools and scientific application software (compilers, numerical and parallel libraries, debuggers, profiling tools, etc.), which is consistent with the software provided on the central high-performance systems of the MPG, as well as application support.
A number of specific guidelines (link to MPG-intranet MAX) apply to the use of this service.
In special cases, MPCDF also offers plain housing of IT infrastructure of Max-Planck-Institutes. Contrary to the hosting package described above, both, project management, and the responsibility of the daily operation remains in the hands and responsibility of the Max-Planck-Institute.
Contact: Ch. Guggenberger