OCF seals HPC double deal

Space saver: Scientists at UCLan will use a new storage system to help analyse NASA images

VAR OCF has bagged a brace of high-performance computing (HPC) contracts from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

Scientists at the Preston-based university have been supplied with a centralised HPC system that OCF claims is 100 times faster than its predecessor. The system is based on Sun hardware and is designed to expedite the processing of research data in areas including astrophysics and fluid dynamics.

UCLan's HPC manager Steven Chapman said: “Not everyone at UCLan has a super powerful workstation to create their own simulations. Using the new HPC, scientists can run simulation code on a more powerful, shared machine and view the resulting simulations via their local workstations."

OCF has also installed a new storage system for the university. Based on Sun technology, its aim is to help solar scientists analyse large amounts of NASA images. OCF managing director Julian Fielden claimed organisations' need for storage is increasing exponentially.

“Data generated and stored by organisations around the world is growing at an alarming rate; IDC puts the total worldwide data figure at 281 billion GB," he said. "The need for expertly configured, infinitely scalable and easily manageable storage systems is now increasingly essential for organisations of any size and in any sector.”