PRACE - Second Implementation Phase Project

Project Reference: 283493
Activity Code: INFRA-2011-2.3.5
Coordinator:Forschungszentrum Jülich

Description:

PRACE-2IP supports the accelerated implementation of the pan-European HPC Research Infrastructure created in April 2010 as the result of the preparatory phase PRACE project. It complements and extends the work of the PRACE-1IP project that was started in July 2010.
PRACE-2IP addresses the computational and simulation needs of European scientific communities to keep them at the forefront of discovery. Our vision is the formation of an integrated HPC ecosystem of facilities and services enabling researchers to realise the full potential of computational science within the supportive environment of the European Research Area.
Building on the implementation work of the preceding PRACE and DEISA projects, PRACE-2IP will enable seamless access to HPC systems and services at the Tier-0 and Tier-1 level to users, regardless of their country of work. This provides the means and motivation to undertake ambitious, ground-breaking computational science. In particular, DEISA-like services will be integrated into the ecosystem.

Applications enabling expertise will support researchers in code development, optimisation and peta-scaling to help them make effective use of the Tier-0 and Tier-1 systems. Training and dissemination activities will ensure that European scientists have the knowledge and the skills enabling them to take full advantage of the facilities on offer. Through collaboration with technology providers and vendors, novel architectures, systems and technologies will be evaluated to ensure that Europe remains at the forefront of HPC and that the future needs of the research community are understood and met. Targeted research activities will investigate possible solutions to challenges in programmability and scalability of future multi-petaflop systems.
PRACE-2IP will considerably strengthen and deepen the co-operation between HPC centres, funding bodies and research communities in a mutually beneficial partnership to enhance European scientific competitiveness.

Project Details:

Start Date: 2011-09-01
End Date: 2013-08-31
EU Contribution: 18 000 000 Euro
Total Costs: 35 414 209 Euro 
Contract Type: CPCSA
Programme Acronym: FP7-Infrastructures
Subprogramme Area: INFRA-2011-2.3.5 Second implementation phase of the European High-Performance Computing (HPC) service PRACE
Administrative Contact Person: Volker MARX (Mr)

Partners:

• BARCELONA SUPERCOMPUTING CENTER - CENTRO NACIONAL DE SUPERCOMPUTACION – Spain
• UNIVERSITAET LINZ – Austria
• UNINETT SIGMA AS – Norway
• STICHTING NATIONALE COMPUTERFACILITEITEN – Netherlands
• THE CYPRUS RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION – Cyprus
• THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH – United Kingdom
• NATIONAL CENTRE FOR SUPERCOMPUTING APPLICATIONS – Bulgaria
• GRAND EQUIPEMENT NATIONAL DE CALCUL INTENSIF –France
• VETENSKAPSRADET - SWEDISH RESEARCH COUNCIL – Sweden
• NEMZETI INFORMACIOS INFRASTRUKTURA FEJLESZTESI IRODA – Hungary
• INSTYTUT CHEMII BIOORGANICZNEJ PAN – Poland
• EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZURICH – Switzerland
• VYSOKA SKOLA BANSKA - TECHNICKA UNIVERZITA OSTRAVA – Czech Republic
• GREEK RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY NETWORK S.A. – Greece
• INSTITUT ZA FIZIKU – Serbia
• NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, GALWAY – Republic of Ireland
• UNIVERSIDADE DE COIMBRA – Portugal
• ISTANBUL TEKNIK UNIVERSITESI – Turkey
• CSC-TIETEEN TIETOTEKNIIKAN KESKUS OY – Finland
• CONSORZIO INTERUNIVERSITARIO CINECA – Italia
• GAUSS CENTRE FOR SUPERCOMPUTING (GCS) E.V. – Germany