CSC and Dell implement cutting-edge distributed computing infrastructure for FGCI
By the end of 2015, Finland will have new state-of-the-art distributed computing infrastructure for research use. Dell technology is utilised in the implementation of the Finnish Grid and Cloud Infrastructure (FGCI).
FGCI is a cooperative consortium funded by the Academy of Finland and 13 Finnish research organisations. There is no consortium of comparable scope in the Finnish university sector – it includes almost all Finnish research universities, representing a very broad range of fields of science, from cosmology to linguistics.
"Coordinating such a complex consortium might seem like a daunting task -- but, in fact, cooperation has run very smoothly thanks to the trust between the partners and the respect in which CSC is widely held. When selecting the consortium technology partner, the deciding factors were Dell's experience as a supplier of high-performance computing environments and the quality of their technological solutions, coupled with competitive pricing," says the head of the consortium, Professor Kai Nordlund from the University of Helsinki.
Managing Director Mika Enberg from Dell and Managing Director Kimmo Koski from CSC signed the contract on 19.8.2015. Photo: Tiina Leiponen / CSC
"Dell has a long track record in working with CSC and universities. We are delighted to be able to participate in the implementation of this unique research environment serving many fields of science in Finland. Dell has made substantial investments in developing technological solutions for high-performance and cloud computing. The FGCI computing environment will be implemented using our new Dell PowerEdge C series products, which are optimised for demanding computing," says Mika Enberg, Managing Director of Dell Finland.
FGCI provides distributed computing services to a broad user base, supplementing Finnish supercomputers (intended for use by expert groups to solve great challenges) and researchers' local workstations (used for code development and simple numerical analyses). FGCI also provides Finnish researchers with access to European grid resources.
"CSC wants to contribute to the development of a uniform grid and cloud computing infrastructure in Finland. Our expertise helps universities and researchers to efficiently harness this uniform distributed computing capacity. The FGCI project opens the doors to an efficient new computing environment for Finnish research and serves to promote nationwide cooperation," says Kimmo Koski, CSC's Managing Director.
Additional information
CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd
Kimmo Koski
Managing Director
kimmo.koski@csc.fi, tel. +358 9 457 2293
Oy Dell Ab
Managing Director Mika Enberg
Mika_enberg@dell.com, tel. +358 50 542 3730
CSC - IT Center for Science Ltd offers the Finnish scientific community the most powerful computational environment in the Nordic countries, super-fast and reliable data connections, and Finland's best IT experts and services for science. CSC is a non-profit, state-owned company administered by Finland's Ministry of Education and Culture. www.csc.fi
Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. www.dell.fi