Infrastructure renewal
Major upgrade of our Advanced Research Computing infrastructure
Our Advanced Research Computing infrastructure is undergoing major changes to always provide better High Performance Computing (HPC) and Cloud services for Canadian researchers. This page will be regularly updated to keep you informed of the activities concerning the transition to the new equipment.
The infrastructure renewal will replace the nearly 80% of our current equipment that is approaching end-of-life. The new equipment will offer faster processing speeds, greater storage capacity, and improved reliability.
The systems involved are
- Arbutus, cloud
- Béluga, compute cluster only (not cloud)
- Cedar, compute cluster and cloud
- Graham, compute cluster and cloud
- Niagara, compute cluster
Technical specifications
Technical specifications for each new system will be provided further down this page in future updates. Generally, they will be similar in architecture to the current systems, but with considerably increased capacity and performance.
For example, we expect to have fewer compute nodes, but each node will have a significant increase in the number of its cores, for an overall increase in the total number of CPU cores.
Impacts
System outages
An intense period of work will be conducted in the winter of 2024-2025 and spring of 2025. During the installation and the transition to the new systems, outages will be unavoidable due to constraints on space and electrical power.
We recommend that you consider the possibility of outages when you plan research programs, graduate examinations, etc.
Resource Allocation Competition (RAC)
The Resource Allocation Competition will be impacted by this transition, but the application process remains the same. Application deadline this year is October 30, 2024.
2024/25 allocations will remain in effect on retiring clusters while each cluster remains in service. The 2025/26 allocations will be implemented everywhere once all new clusters are in service.
Because the old clusters will mostly be out of service before all new ones are available, if you hold both a 2024 and a 2025 RAC award you will experience a period when neither award is available to you. You will be able to compute with your default allocation (def-xxxxxx) on each new cluster as soon as it goes into service, but the 2025 RAC allocations will only become available when all new clusters are in service.
General progress updates
Oct 7, 2024 || Details for necessary infrastructure (power and cooling) upgrades are being worked out. Timelines are not yet available but we expect some outages of a day or more in November.| Sep 13, 2024 | The RFP processes for all sites except for Rorqual (replacing Béluga) have been completed, and purchase orders have been sent to vendors. The Rorqual storage Request for Proposals is still open and is scheduled to complete on September 18.
All sites are working on infrastructure design (power and cooling) and implementation. We are expecting some outages throughout the fall for cabling and plumbing upgrades. |
| Sep 3, 2024 | All sites have completed their Requests for Proposals, and are working with the vendors on deliverables and purchase orders. |
Activities by system
Arbutus, cloud
Arbutus coming soon
Béluga, compute cluster only (not cloud)
Béluga The cluster replacing Béluga will be named Rorqual. details coming soon
Cedar, compute cluster and cloud
Cedar coming soon
Graham, compute cluster and cloud
Graham coming soon
Niagara, compute cluster
Niagara coming soon
Frequently asked questions
Will my data be copied to its new system?
Data migration to the new systems is the responsibility of each National Host Site who will inform you of what you need to do.
When will outages occur?
Each National Host Site will have its own schedule for outages as the installation of and transition to new equipment proceeds. As usual, specific outages will be described on our system status web page. We will provide more general updates on this wiki page and you will periodically receive emails with updates and outage notices.
Who can I contact for questions about the transition?
Contact our technical support. They will try their best to answer any questions they can.
Will my jobs and applications still be able to run on the new system?
Generally yes, but the new CPUs and GPUs may require recompilation or reconfiguration of some applications. More details will be provided as the transition unfolds.
Will the software from the current systems still be available?
Yes, our standard software environment will be available on the new systems.
Will there be staggered outages?
We will do our best to limit overlapping outages, but because we are very constrained by delivery schedules and funding deadlines, there will probably be periods when several of our systems are simultaneously offline. Outages will be announced as early as possible.