Long range plan recognizes growing demand for high performance computing

Canada’s high performance computing (HPC) collaboratory (C3.ca) has developed a comprehensive long range plan (LRP) to strengthen the country’s computing infrastructure and move Canada into the top 10 of HPC computing nations. Backers of the Plan say new investment is critical as computation becomes the tool of choice for an ever-expanding range of research disciplines, from chemistry and physics to biology, medical imaging, life sciences, climate change, nanotechnology, genomics and proteomics.

The LRP calls for an investment of public funding, starting at $76 million in 2006 and increasing to $97 million by 2012. That would allow for sustained support for mid-range facilities such as the six regional consortia (see box) as well as a pan-Canadian, high-end computing facility that would rank among the global top 10. The Plan is being positioned for the 2006 federal Budget cycle.

“Canada has an enviable computer network ... but it does not have a long-term strategy,” states the report, entitled The 21st Century Revolution: The Long Range Plan for High Performance Computing in Canada. “Without such a plan, known HPC initiatives in other countries pose a significant threat to Canada’s future economic competitiveness.”

C3.ca has been developing the LRP for two years through a specially constituted committee — the authors panel — headed up by Dr Kerry Rowe, VP research at Queen’s Univ. The document is now in final draft form and has been circulated to key agencies in the federal government, including Industry Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Science and Engineering Research Canada (NSERC) and the office of the National Science Advisor.

“The big issue is sustainability. These facilities last for about three of four years and several hundred million dollars have been put into this,” says Dr Brian Unger, outgoing president and CEO of iCORE (Informatics Circle of Research Excellence) and founding chair of C3.ca. “Chemists and physicists have been HPC dependent for a long time but it’s absolutely crucial for fields like emerging biology — bioinformatics, proteomics, genomics. Demand is getting massively bigger. The computer is now like the laboratory. We’re going from wet biology to computer models. It will get to the point where researchers can do drug screening and drug design without laboratory experiments, by just using proteomics methodologies.”

The authors panel conceived Canada’s future HPC capacity in three concentric rings. At the core are high-end, tera-scale computers, surrounded by mid-range computing facilities such as the regional HPC centres. The outer ring is comprised of the aggregated capacity of desktop computers that provide researchers with foundational computing and visualization tools. The recommendations contained in the LRP account for the funding of the inner two layers, while the outer ring would continue to receive funding through the granting councils.

SUSTAINED COMMITMENT

The LRP argues that mid-range facilities require sustained funding to capitalize on previous investments and ensure global competitiveness. To achieve top 10-ranking HPC capacity, the LRP calls for the creation of a national procurement group to “determine the acquisition, evolution, location and precise form of this high-end facility”.

In addition to enhancing HPC infrastructure, the LRP calls for a comprehensive training program to develop and sustain a pool of HPC support personnel. The Plan notes that other countries devote 25% of HPC expenditures towards support personnel and says Canada should adopt a similar funding approach.

The LRP also calls for a new mechanisms for the development and use of integrated intelligent infrastructure. It recommends $2 million annually to create and maintain IMPACT Canada (Innovation, Management, People, Applications, Communications and Technologies).

CANARIE Inc will provide the necessary linkages for an integrated, national HPC organization through its cutting-edge CA*net 4 optical network. The LRP is recommending continued support for CANARIE, as well as the regional networks and grid initiatives that are appearing across the country.

WESTGRID

On the regional front, WestGrid is taking steps to expand its network to include provinces that are currently without HPC capabilities — Manitoba and Saskatchewan. WestGrid is preparing a proposal to the CFI to support the expansion, which is estimated to cost about $50 million.

“If you look at researchers and faculty and graduate students in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, they have had very few (HPC) resources,” says Unger, who will be devoting much of his time to developing the proposal. “This is going to expand their reach and it will continue to expand facilities available in Alberta and British Columbia.”

If approved, the WestGrid expansion would include the Univ of Victoria for the first time and bring on facilities like the recently opened Canadian Light Source (CLS).

“The CLS has paid much attention to this whole area of data and data storage,” says Unger. “They’re really going to hit the wall in terms of getting the benefit out of all the money that has been invested.”

Unger says it’s not clear how the CFI will be handling the WestGrid proposal. CFI is currently reconsidering its funding programs and may launch a new program for enhancements to existing investments in areas including HPC.

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