PPI4HPC launches its joint procurement process

14 May 2018

Any interested HPC vendor or stakeholder can ask to participate in the PPI4HPC competitive dialogue

BSC’s solution is focused on computing and storage infrastructure

Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), together with four other leading European HPC centres (CINECA, Juelich Supercomputing Centre and GENCI/CEA), is participating in the PPI4HPC joint procurement process, which has just been launched.

Following the market consultation for the purchase of innovative HPC systems, the PPI4HPC contract notice has now been published. This document specifies the criteria for candidates to participate in the next phase of the competitive dialogue. In its role as lead procurer, GENCI initiated this new phase in the name of and on behalf of four leading European supercomputing centres. Each of these centres will act as public procurers for each of the four lots within this joint procurement.

BSC’s solution is to acquire a computing and storage infrastructure for high performance data analytics (HPDA), to be installed during the first half of 2019. Such infrastructure will combine compute nodes with innovative storage technologies, such as NVRAM, in conjunction with storage technologies already in place at BSC, such as standard hard drives and tape infrastructure, configured in a tiered storage solution to store hundreds of petabytes of scientific data. On the other hand, a high performance for data analytics infrastructure will be acquired to complement HPC production clusters currently at BSC, which will pre-process simulation data with new big data or analytics paradigms and algorithms.

“This joint procurement once again demonstrates BSC’s status as a leading supercomputing centre. BSC’s solution is expected to provide innovative technologies for massive data storage and tiering,” states Sergi Girona, BSC Operations Director and PPI4HPC project lead at BSC.

Further information about the PPI4HPC joint procurement: https://ppi4hpc.eu/news/ppi4hpc-starts-its-joint-procurement-process

About PPI4HPC

A group of leading European supercomputing centres decided to form a buyers’ group to execute a joint Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI) for the first time in the area of high-performance computing (HPC). The co-funding by the European Commission (EC) will allow for a significant enhancement of the planned pre-exascale HPC infrastructure from 2019 and pave the way for future joint investments in Europe. The total investment planned will be about € 73 million. The HPC centres involved, - BSC, CEA/ GENCI, CINECA and JUELICH- have a strong track record in providing supercomputing resources at European level.