Press Release 3/2024 from 25.07.2024

GWDG announces Scalable Storage Competition for 2024/2025

The Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen (GWDG) in coordination with the University of Göttingen is thrilled to announce the launch of the Scalable Storage Competition (SSC), a unique opportunity for teams to demonstrate their expertise in high-performance com-puting (HPC) and storage solutions.

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The competition, which will take place from summer 2024 to May 2025, will culminate with the announcement of the winners at a special Birds of a Feather (BoF) session during the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) 2025. Interested teams can register until 31 August 2024. Sponsors who would like to support the competition or teams but do not yet have their own team also have the opportunity to apply by the end of August.

Participating teams will have access to a real cluster hardware consisting of 24 nodes with Intel Xeon Gold 6148 CPUs, 8 Storage Servers and supporting infrastructure, provided within the context of the Future Technology Platform for the contest. Teams will have full access to the underlying systems, allowing them to set up their own software solution and optimize their performance.

The goal of the competition is to enable I/O for various HPC application scenarios, outperforming other teams and claiming victory. To achieve this, participants will research, select, install and configure different storage solutions and systems to optimize the performance for specified benchmarks, applications, and scenarios to push the limits of scalable storage solutions.

Beyond the technical challenges, the Scalable Storage Competition offers participants a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a realistic HPC environment, improve their skills, and expand their professional network. By working together to overcome complex technical challenges, teams will develop valuable expertise and connections that will benefit their future careers. The SSC is proudly steered by a distinguished steering board, comprising representatives from leading academic institutions – the University of Göttingen, the RWTH Aachen, and the GWDG – alongside industry leaders DDN, Huawei, and VAST. This diverse collaboration ensures a comprehensive perspective, uniting academic rigor with real-world expertise in the realm of scalable storage solutions.

Voices from the steering board

“We are thrilled to unveil the SSC competition, a global platform that will unite brilliant minds to challenge and redefine the limits of scalable storage solutions. This marks the realization of a long-held vision to create a premier gathering bringing together newcomers, storage experts and pioneers, dedicated to showcasing and commemorating breakthroughs in high-performance input/output for the HPC community. It’s a new era for the storage community, and we couldn’t be more exhilarated to see this vision come to life.” – Prof. Dr. Julian Kunkel (Computer Science Department, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen).

“As a leading AI data platform provider, we eagerly anticipate witnessing the inventive strategies and pioneering solutions that the participants will engineer. This is not just a competition; it’s a vibrant display of creativity and technical prowess that can push the envelope in the realm of scalable storage systems.” – Sven Breuner (VAST Data).

“With a strong commitment to education and skill development in the storage industry, we eagerly anticipate the SSC competition. This event serves as a dynamic learning platform, encouraging participants to deepen their expertise, share insights, and collaborate on advanced storage solu-tions. We’re looking forward to seeing the growth and development of talent in the storage industry, fostering a community of learning and innovation in scalable storage systems.” – Jean-Thomas Aquaviva (DDN).

Get in touch

Teams interested in participating in the Scalable Storage Competition are encouraged to register to our mailing list listed below and learn more about the competition rules, guidelines, and requirements on the website listed below.

About the GWDG

The Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen (GWDG) is a leading provider of high-performance computing and data management solutions for research and science. With its expertise in HPC, storage, and data management, GWDG supports researchers and scientists in their quest for scientific discovery and innovation.

Contact

Prof. Dr. Julian Kunkel | Deputy Head GWDG – High-Performance Computing | Division Head of the working group “Computing” | Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen | Burckhardtweg 4, 37077 Göttingen | Phone: +49 551 39-30144

E-Mail: julian.kunkel@gwdg.de, Internet: https://gwdg.de

Further information