NEWS Umeå University’s supercomputer Kebnekaise has been upgraded and is now more powerful than ever. The infrastructure, managed by HPC2N, is available for both educational and research purposes.
The supercomputer Kebnekaise has become both more powerful and tailored to the needs of its users.
ImageMattias PetterssonHPC2N (High Performance Computing Center North) has supported advanced computing at Umeå University and across Sweden for over 25 years. The center offers a wide range of computing and storage solutions for researchers, teachers, and doctoral students at all faculties. In the basement of the MIT building, HPC2N houses one of the University's most powerful resources: the supercomputer Kebnekaise.
At the end of 2022, Kebnekaise transitioned from being a national resource to being a regional one. This change made the computer much more accessible to users from Umeå University and HPC2N’s partner institutions. Furthermore, use of Kebnekaise is no longer limited to research; it can also be used for educational purposes.
Besides computing, HPC2N provides a range of services, including data backup and large-scale storage for quick access or long-term archival.
“It’s important that the center becomes more visible within the University, as our resources are not yet utilised to their full potential”, says Paolo Bientinesi, director of HPC2N.
He describes the former Kebnekaise as a “dinosaur” compared to what it has become today. When it became clear that the Swedish Research Council’s reorganisation of the national infrastructure would lead to a consolidation of resources, Vice-Chancellor Hans Adolfsson and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Katrine Riklund at Umeå University decided to support the upgrade of Kebnekaise. The renewed Kebnekaise is significantly more powerful, and, most importantly, tailored to the specific needs of its users. As an example, it is now possible to use it interactively, a feature especially relevant to less advanced users. Yet, the work is far from finished.
Paolo Bientinesi, director of HPC2N.
ImageMattias Pettersson“Instead of setting up a brand-new computer every five years or so, the University management approved the suggestion to make a recurring yearly investment to gradually decommission the oldest parts of Kebnekaise and replace them in a rolling manner. Doing so gives us the opportunity to discuss with the heads of departments and with researchers across faculties, enabling us to make targeted investments based on their specific requirements,” says Paolo Bientinesi and continues:
“HPC2N is more than just hardware. It’s a competence center where we offer all levels of user support, as well as training, courses and individual dialogues. We want everyone to realise that state-of-the-art solutions for large-scale computing and for storage are just a few steps away, and are not exclusively for experts!” says Paolo Bientinesi.
For more information, visit the HPC2N website or contact support@hpc2n.umu.se.
