The ARCHER2 Service is a world class advanced computing resource for UK researchers. ARCHER2 is provided by UKRI, EPCC, the University of Edinburgh and Cray a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.
UKRI
UKRI is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
UKRI brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England, which is responsible for supporting research and knowledge exchange at higher education institutions in England, and the UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK.
EPCC
EPCC, part of the University of Edinburgh, is the UK's leading centre of Supercomputing and Data Science expertise. We provide world-class Supercomputing and data facilities and services for science and business. EPCC is guided by key goals and objectives that support our mission, to accelerate the effective exploitation of novel computing throughout industry, academia and commerce.
These objectives include:
- delivering world-class High Performance Computing (HPC) and data services to benefit our users and partners;
- leading data-driven innovation through the success of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal and its Data-Driven Innovation initiative;
- building and maintain collaborations and strong relationships with key organisations worldwide while undertaking globally-important computing research;
- promoting teaching excellence and maintaining our position as a major provider of HPC training in Europe.
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh is a world-leading University of academic excellence. Opened in 1583, it is one of the UK’s oldest Universities and boasts many notable alumini and scholars including Joseph Black and James Hume. More recent highlights include Dolly the Sheep (the first animal to cloned from an adult somatic cell) and Emeritus Professor Peter Higgs, who was jointly awarded the Nobel prize for predicting the Higgs Boson.
The University is home to the Advance Computing Facility, EPCC’s High performance Computing Data Centre. The facility hosts a range of HPC and Data equipment with associated plant rooms for the power and infrastructure.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
ARCHER2 is a Cray EX Supercomputer system that was procured from Cray. In late 2019 Cray was acquired by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). There are two teams directly involved in supporting the ARCHER2 Service.
On-site Support Team
This team is dedicated to the support of ARCHER2 and is based at the Advanced Compute Facility (ACF). The team manages hardware and system software support on a 7 x 24 basis, liaising closely with EPCC and the HPE Centre of Excellence team to provide comprehensive support for the user community. Activities such as the diagnosis and repair of hardware failures, proactive monitoring and the planning and execution of software updates are handled by this team. In addition to repair and maintenance activities, potential service enhancements are investigated and development activities undertaken as specific areas for improving the user experience are identified.
The ARCHER Centre of Excellence
The Centre of Excellence (CoE) supports the ARCHER2 service by providing, for example, deep support accessed through helpdesk channels, tailored training and specific community support. The CoE team has two members based in the Bayes Building hosted in EPCC, with other members working remotely.