Workshop: Cloud services for HPC users
A twinning workshop was organized on April 19th, 2022 with the aim of exchanging best practices and approaches to provide HPC cloud services to users from academia and industry. The workshop took place in Smolenice, Slovakia.
eINFRA and experience from the Czech Republic
Experts from CESNETwere invited to share their experiences with both NCCs in this area. CESNET is an association of universities of the Czech Republic and the Czech Academy of Sciences. It operates and develops the national e-infrastructure for science, research and education which encompasses a computer network, computational grids, data storage and collaborative environment. During the workshop, representatives of the CESNET presented such topics as:
M. Ruda: Introduction, CESNET and Metacentrum: large-scale distributed computing infrastructure and services.
D. Antoš: CESNET and Metacentrum: operation and development of data storage as a part of the national infrastructure for science and research.
Cloud services as an (un)necessary part of the HPC provider portfolio – is it profitable?
Branislav Jansík from IT4Innovations and the head of the Czech competence center Tomáš Karásek presented the requirements of users for access to cloud services. It is the motivation, requirements and expectations of users, as well as the benefits and barriers from the point of view of the HPC service provider, have been the subject of a longer discussion. Participants also debated alternative platforms, "easy-access" services, microservice, HPC "market".
Both National Competence Centers plan to integrate HPC cloud services into their portfolios using the open-source platforms OpenNebula and OpenStack. CESNET representatives who have experience with both tools shared their benefits and technical support options.
The more general debate concerned in particular the issue of systematic and long-term support for the development and operation of HPC systems as a necessary component of the national research infrastructure.
Artificial Intelligence and a Supercomputer as a New Weapon Against Environmental Disasters 26 Mar - Scientists from Nitra, Slovakia are teaching machines to predict industrial failures before they can cause damage. Thanks to collaboration with the European supercomputer LUMI, they have developed a digital “guardian” capable of detecting pipeline leaks or manufacturing faults with high accuracy—helping protect both the environment and companies’ budgets.
The Slovak Recipe for Fair Play and Happier Players 25 Mar - Do you play games on your phone and sometimes feel like the game just doesn’t understand you? Experts from Nitra, Slovakia, have used one of Europe’s most powerful supercomputers to change that. Thanks to the Italian giant named Leonardo, they discovered how to read between the lines of player behavior and make the gaming experience more personal and fair.
Apply for the EUMaster4HPC Summer School 2026 focused on High-Performance Computing. 23 Mar - From 5 to 14 July 2026, the EUMaster4HPC Summer School titled “High-Performance Computing and Emerging Trends” will take place in Luxembourg. The event will be held at the Marienthal Youth Center and the University of Luxembourg in Belval.