Reserve your Amarel research computing resources now

The Office of Advanced Research Computing (OARC) is preparing to purchase its annual hardware, compute node, and storage assets for Amarel, a high-performance research computing cluster serving the university research community. To ensure that there’s enough Amarel inventory to satisfy demand, OARC is asking university researchers, schools, and departments to let it know what they plan to buy as part of Amarel Phase V.

IN PARTICULAR, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU IF YOU HAVE SPECIAL EQUIPMENT NEEDS INCLUDING GPU’S OR HIGH MEMORY NODES.

More computing power, more storage

Phase V’s exact node pricing is still approximate, but anticipated costs per recent vendor negotiations indicate they will be approximately:
* $7,600 per standard node
* $12,500 per 1TB high memory node
* $26,000 per 2x PCI-e A100 GPU or $46,000 per 4x PCI-e A100 GPU

Node ownership includes a four-year warranty, and new owners receive one complimentary terabyte of storage with their first purchase. Storage costs will remain $150 per terabyte.

Why use Amarel?

The Amarel computing cluster — which is named for former Rutgers professor and artificial intelligence pioneer Saul Amarel — allows Rutgers researchers to access world-class computing power without the need to buy and maintain their own hardware.

The architectural approach followed by OARC assures the continuity of each new phase with earlier Amarel phases, but it also allows new phases to take advantage of increased core counts, improved energy efficiency, and reduced cost per unit of compute.

Why buy Amarel?

While general-access Amarel use is free to the entire Rutgers community, owners have the highest priority and are guaranteed access commensurate with their investment. Free access is available on a first-come, first-served basis to the Rutgers community, but jobs undertaken by owners immediately bump non-owner jobs that are underway at any given time. Owner allocations are designed to feel as close to a locally maintained and managed system as possible. Unused cycles are available to the general pool, benefitting the entire user community.

Questions?

Contact Kristin Lepping at klepping@rutgers.edu to indicate your intent to buy Amarel Phase V or for further information.

Kristin Lepping, MLIS
Director, Business Operations, Grants, & Workforce Development
Office of Advanced Research Computing