Development of a National Information Directory for Academic Supercomputing Centers

该提案要求支持建立一种正式的方法，用于收集和存储关于美国大规模科学计算（超级计算）专用学术计算资源的性质和使用的信息。要求为工作人员支助进行资料收集活动、组织讲习班和有关费用提供经费。经常有人说，这种资料目录如果容易取得，并以目前的数据加以维持，就能够协助高性能计算领域的用户、管理人员和规划人员。这项工作是由俄亥俄超级计算机中心主任查尔斯·本德提出的，将在学术超级计算中心联盟（CASC）的赞助和参与下进行，CASC是一个由美国15个州和国家学术超级计算中心组成的联盟。CASC已经成为超级计算中心之间信息交换的成功媒介，随着高性能计算资源得到更广泛的部署，CASC可能会扩大其在这方面的作用。本提案的具体意图是为学术超级计算中心和高性能计算资源开发国家信息目录的概念和结构。作为第一步，将进行一项研究，征求有关用户如何看待其不断发展的计算需求和他们在现有高性能计算中心的体验的基线信息。研究材料将通过国家网络分发并收集答复。鉴于高性能计算资源的用户和提供者的广泛参与和参与，这项工作很可能产生有价值的信息和有用的产品。

This proposal requests support for establishing a formal means for collecting and storing information on the nature and use of academic computing resources dedicated to large scale scientific computing (supercomputing) in the United States. Funding is requested for staff support for conducting an information gathering activity, an organizational workshop, and related costs. It has been voiced on frequent occasions that such an information directory, if easily accessible, and maintained with current data, could ablely serve to assist the users, administrators and planners in the area of high performance computing. The effort, proposed by Charles Bender, director of the Ohio Supercomputer Center, would be carried out under the auspices and with the involvement of members of the Coalition of Academic Supercomputing Centers (CASC), a consortium of 15 state and national academic supercomputing centers in the United States. CASC has served as a successful medium of information exchange among supercomputing centers and is likely to enlarge its role in this regard as high performance computing resources become more widely deployed. The specific intent of this proposal is to develop the concept and structure of a National Information Directory for academic supercomputing centers and high performance computing resources. As a first step, a study would be conducted to solicit baseline information related to how users view their evolving computational requirements and their experiences at existing high performance computing centers. The study materials would be distributed and responses collected via the national network. Given broad participation and involvement of users and providers of high performance computing resources this effort is likely to produce valuable information and useful products.