POLSKI
Research and development infrastructure
Computing grids
WCSS has been involved in research and development of computing infrastructures and grids since 2002. In the course of successive projects, advanced algorithms for managing computational tasks have been developed to support researchers conducting large-scale computing. Services have also been provided that allow work with large amounts of distributed data. WCSS computers are part of the Polish and European grid computing infrastructure PL Grid and EGI (European Grid Infrastructure).
Cloud applications
In addition to computing infrastructures, WCSS participated, as part of the PLATON platform, in the development and implementation of the PLATON U3 campus computing service. The cluster purchased for this purpose and the developed software enabled access to scientific applications and on-demand software licenses, primarily for remote work. The campus cluster at WCSS was part of the national PLATON U3 science service platform. At present, the cluster's functionality has been replaced by cloud services in the PIONIER network, which were provided together with the implementation of the MAN-HA project.
Data storage
As part of the KMD and KMD2 projects (National Data Warehouse, 2007-2009), a number of tools were developed to offer a distributed and fault-tolerant data repository. WCSS participated in the analysis of user requirements, in the development of the system architecture and of the access methods, and in the implementation of mechanisms ensuring the security of data stored in the system. Disk resources and a tape library are part of the Polish KMD distributed data repository.
Currently, works on the above aspects have been restarted in the National Data Warehouse project, which is a continuation of the previous activities. It is an answer to the changing user needs by constructing an open, modular and scalable data warehouse. It will allow the processing of very complex data on the basis of distributed infrastructure.
HPC
WCSS also participates in projects aimed at the development of HPC (High Performance Computing) services. They are aimed at implementing European-scale computing services with performance on the order of PetaFlop/s.
The purpose of the PRACE initiative to support European science by providing advanced computing services, and by thus enabling researchers to benefit from the best high-performance computing infrastructure and services.
WCSS has participated in these activities since 2008 as one of the 6 Polish computing centers, and performed conceptual, operational and research work on the optimization and testing of scientific applications using new software and hardware technologies. In mid-2022, the last 6th phase of the PRACE-6IP project was completed.
WCSS computers (the Bem 2 cluster) are part of the European PRACE-RI research infrastructure as the Tier-1 resource.
The EUROHPC PL project is the Polish phase of the construction of the European system of exascale-class supercomputers, implemented by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU). Within the project, WCSS is the leader of the HPC software energy and computational efficiency laboratory. Ultimately, the initiative is expected to enable the construction of supercomputing systems with a total computing performance of at least 32 petaflops.
The center is also participating in the PRACELAB and PRACELAB2 projects, which provide specialized computer architectures and high-performance computing servers designed to work with large volumes of data, including for applications using elements of artificial intelligence, machine learning or quantum computing simulations.
In turn, the EUROCC project, an initiative of 33 European countries and the European Commission, in which WCSS is also involved, envisages the creation of National HPC Competence Centers. They bring together the potential of all the computing centers in a given country and mediate the provision of their services to consumers.