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High Performance Computing in The Cloud

Whether you are at the start of your HPC journey, or looking at On-Premises v Cloud, our experienced team of skilled and knowledgeable HPC experts ensures that your business benefits from our proven HPC services.

As certified Cloud Solutions Architects with proficiency in Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud, we can help you:

Audit, benchmark and assess your current and future requirements
Create a strategic plan and business case – including consumption models, cost monitoring and controls
Determine the optimum deployment model for your organisation – i.e. on-premises, cloud or hybrid
Choose the right cloud provider(s) for your needs
Map the data lifecycle and identify the most appropriate storage management solution
Optimise your existing setup

To dispel any doubts and provide you with the necessary insights to determine whether Cloud Computing aligns with your business, Red Oak Consulting offers a “Cloud Computing Taster.”

We worked closely with Red Oak during our first steps in our cloud-HPC journey at Johnson Matthey. Starting from our proof-of concept evaluating the offering of cloud providers to the Pilot phase and roll-out, Red Oak worked with JM to navigate technical challenges and deliver a solution with Microsoft Azure that now enables our scientist to leverage HPC and simulate sustainable materials for the future.”

Johnson Matthey

Red Oak’s expert knowledge of the Microsoft Azure Ecosystem, as well as their expertise in HPC and specific choice of VMs, enabled us to successfully transition all our on-premises HPC workflows to the cloud. The use of CycleCoud, to implement our batch files dependent workflows was particularly valuable.”

Renewable Energy Systems

Data Centre Selection

The choices for hosting High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems are diverse and abundant. At Red Oak, our extensive knowledge and experience in HPC hosting enable us to offer impartial recommendations across all aspects of data centre and HPC hosting needs.

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HPC Procurement

We can help manage the complex process of HPC technical specifications to deliver the right solution, on time and in budget.

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Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

For years, HPC has traditionally been an on-premises affair. Many focus on the upfront costs, neglecting the broader picture. Prioritising the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is essential for informed decision-making.

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We are dedicated to HPC, with a strong commitment to providing our customers with the most efficient and cost-effective HPC solution. Our team of skilled professionals cover all facets of HPC and are ready to support you.

Our track record includes assisting numerous organisations across diverse sectors, both within the UK and internationally, in navigating the intricacies of cloud solutions.

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High-Performance Computing Projects Delivered

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HPC projects delivered on time

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HPC procurement ranging from £100K to £45 million

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Proven track record of customer satisfaction

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HPC in the Cloud Projects

FAQs

What are the biggest differences between an on-premises cluster and a cloud HPC?

The main differences between an on-premises cluster and a cloud High-Performance Computing (HPC) are:

Ownership: on-premises clusters are owned and managed by the organization, while the cloud service provider owns and manages all underlying infrastructure and your organisation only has to manage the implementation of the cluster.
Costs: on-premises requires upfront investment; cloud HPC operates on a pay-as-you-go model.
Scalability: on-premises has fixed capacity; cloud HPC is easily scalable.
Maintenance: on-premises requires self-maintenance for all aspects of a cluster and its infrastructure; The underlying infrastructure for cloud HPC is maintained by the cloud service provider and you are only responsible for updates and patching or your environment.
Performance: on-premises systems are typically optimised at procurement for specific workloads; cloud HPC offers the ability to flex and accommodate new workloads as new hardware becomes available without any further infrastructure or procurement.
Resource Allocation: on-premises resources are fixed; cloud HPC resources are elastic and dynamic.
Procurement and capacity planning: on-premises clusters continually going though the lengthy process of the planning and procurement cycle.

Is cloud HPC expensive?

Comparing on-premises and cloud costs is not a straight forward task. Why, because you need to take into account a wide range of costs. These are not just the hardware purchase cost, of any resources eg cooling, people, and power. This task is highly dependent on each organisation and requires a full TCO model to be developed.

Cloud can be a cost saving for most organisations if utilised in the proper manner eg by making the most of spot nodes and their reduced pricing.

I already have an on-premises cluster can a cloud system work with it?

Cloud and on-premises clusters can work together; there are multiple ways to do this.

One common work pattern is to use the existing on-premises cluster to provide a baseline of resources and then use cloud HPC as a burst resource. This method allows an organisation to meet time-sensitive deadlines without having to push other jobs off of the on-premises HPC.

There are many ways to configure a hybrid HPC system and each organisation has unique needs and requirements.

What workloads work or do not work on the cloud?

Any workloads that you run on-premises can be run in the cloud. A major benefit of cloud HPC is being able to try out new technologies as soon as they come out and without a costly procurement process.

For example, if you want to explore AI and ML workloads and do not currently have GPUs in your on-premises resources cloud provides the ability to quickly deploy a GPU-enabled VM and run those workloads and only be charged while using it.

What HPC technologies are available in the cloud?

The choice of cloud provider does change what common technologies are available. However, common technologies such as Lustre, NetApp, SLURM, PBS, and InfiniBand are available. Determining what technologies work best for you is a key part of the requirements gathering stage of any cloud HPC project and will help to drive your selection of a cloud provider. A Proof of Concept (PoC) can be easily implemented in the cloud for benchmarking and analysis of the technologies suited to your workflows.

High Performance Computing in The Cloud