New research computing services available
Dear principal investigators,
We’re pleased to announce that additional computing services are now available from the Office of Research Computing and Data (ORCD). These fee-based services provide PIs the opportunity to run longer, more resource-intensive, high-performance computing jobs for research. This new service offering helps meet the need for access to more GPUs and CPUs at a price point lower than comparable commercial offerings. While the new services mark a significant expansion to our offerings, ORCD will continue to offer a base level of computing services, including capacity on GPUs and CPUs, to all MIT researchers at no cost.
The new services, and our existing campus-wide research computing services, are made possible by our participation over many years in the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC). Over the summer, ORCD deployed an additional 308 GPUs, 10,992 CPUs, and 8 PB of storage for MIT researchers’ general use at MGHPCC. Another 384 PI-owned GPUs are located in the Engaging cluster and provide a shared resource when the PI’s group is not using its own hardware. In addition to the significant resources we’ve added to our space at the MGHPCC, MIT researchers will have shared access to the state’s recently announced Artificial Intelligence Compute Resources (AICR) environment. The AICR will consist of hundreds of NVIDIA B200 and RTX GPUs with hardware and software built to support AI workloads. Notably, the MGHPCC consumes 100 percent carbon-free power, with the majority coming from local hydroelectric and solar generation.
With these long-term investments in computing resources, including ORCD’s ongoing attention to sourcing emerging HPC technologies, we remain committed to providing MIT researchers with direct access to world-class research computing infrastructure.
New computing offerings
Through a tiered pricing model, ORCD’s new offerings allow researchers to upgrade their base-level computing service to support their individual research needs. Options include storage rentals, additional compute access with a monthly account maintenance fee, and advance rentals for compute equipment. To request services for your research group, contact orcd-help@mit.edu.
The fees associated with these new services are based on the costs of operating the equipment and periodic replacement costs. This will ensure that ORCD can continue to provide the most up-to-date technology to the research community.
Coming soon: Access to more GPUs through Google—In coordination with IS&T, we will soon be able to provide researchers another avenue to rent additional GPUs if larger-scale service is required or if MIT’s GPUs are fully booked. More information about this service and the timeline for availability will be posted to the ORCD website in the coming months.
No-cost services available to the MIT community
Part of ORCD’s mission is to provide a basic level of high-performance research computing resources for all members of the research community at no cost. These offerings include storage and compute services. All MIT researchers are given a base-level of disk-based and flash-based storage servers. Access to some GPUs and CPUs is also available with limits on the length of job time and on the number of simultaneous pieces of equipment that can be run on each job.
ORCD resources
If you have computing questions, want to find out about training classes, or need help with computing purchases, stop by our office hours or email us at orcd-help@mit.edu. Stay up-to-date with ORCD news by signing up for our monthly newsletter.
Finally, ORCD awards computing resources to complete AI-related projects through its AI Seed Fund Awards. ORCD will launch applications for a third round of funding for “shovel-ready” AI projects this spring.
We’re looking forward to working with you to support your research needs.
Sincerely,
Peter Fisher
Associate Vice President for Research Computing and Data
Head, ORCD; Thomas A. Frank (1977) Professor of Physics
Chris Hill
Executive Director, ORCD