A powerful new hardware suite will enhance the ability of University of Nebraska researchers to conduct cutting-edge science, particularly research related to artificial intelligence and machine learning.
With a nearly $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, the Netherlands Computing Center recently introduced PLUMAGE, a flexible graphics processing unit-based cyberinfrastructure. This will benefit researchers across disciplines, from computer scientists and engineers to academics in business, architecture, social sciences, and more.
PLUMAGE (Facilitating Learning Using Mixed Advanced GPU Environments) adds to the Netherlands’ already comprehensive suite of computing and storage resources and expands the cyberinfrastructure systems that researchers across the university system have relied on for years. The new implementation will help NU researchers address the explosion in AI and other data-intensive research by providing state-of-the-art GPUs, specialized computer chips that process vast numbers of calculations in parallel.
“All of these new AI and machine learning services rely on GPU technology to be able to perform their work in an efficient manner, otherwise models would take hundreds or thousands of years to generate,” said Adam Caprez, Principal Investigator and Associate Director of Research, Development and Engagement at HCC.
Supercomputing has traditionally been associated with fields such as computer science, physics, chemistry, and bioinformatics, but it is now gaining traction in all fields, creating a need for additional cyberinfrastructure.
“You may have areas where you used to have very little need for computing and you were doing everything on your desktop, and now all of a sudden you find that you need huge resources to do things with AI, so there’s a land rush,” Caprez said. “Having resources like PLUMAGE is very important, but so is the people and the expertise to help people take advantage of them. We have this complete ecosystem in the Netherlands.”
The research team also includes HCC director and computing professor Hongfeng Yu. Derek Weitzel, Associate Professor of Computing Research. Gahan Atteberry, Associate Director for Research Cyber Infrastructure, Netherlands;
PLUMAGE is currently available free of charge to NU researchers, and access can also be arranged for collaborators and users outside the NU system. If you are interested, please register for an account on the Netherlands Computing Center website or contact the Center for additional information. To receive general information about news, workshops and trainings offered by the Netherlands, NU researchers are encouraged to join the Center’s mailing list.
PLUMAGE features some of NVIDIA’s most advanced accelerators for AI and high-performance computing, including 6 NVIDIA H200 GPUs and 52 NVIDIA L40S GPUs. This new hardware strengthens Holland’s position as Nebraska’s premier academic supercomputing resource and differentiates it nationally by linking local cluster resources to cyberinfrastructure networks across the United States through dual access paths.
One access mode is through Swan, the Netherlands’ flagship computing cluster, which uses a traditional scheduler-based batch system where jobs are assigned at fixed times or when resources are available. The other route is through the National Research Platform, an NSF initiative that uses a dynamic, interactive approach called Kubernetes to provide high-performance computing resources and continuously manage workloads across clusters.
PLUMAGE’s flexibility to shift GPUs between these two systems is a unique setup that allows researchers to use the method that works best for their particular project.
“One of the reasons NSF funded this project is because it is a novel idea. PLUMAGE’s design bridges our local computing environment with the broader national cyberinfrastructure. This is important as modern research increasingly relies on connected ecosystems,” Yu said.
Caprez said he and other Dutch officials are focused on spreading the word about PLUMAGE and the center’s other resources, including customized training and support. Although the center was founded in 2007, some researchers on campus are still unaware of its extensive tools. Increased visibility is critical in the evolving research environment, where scholars across disciplines need to take advantage of the capabilities of supercomputing and AI. The center is dedicated to paving the way for these new users.
“We understand that people can be threatened when using supercomputers,” Caprez said. “But the Holland Computing Center is more than just the hardware; it’s also the people, expertise, and the whole package available to support and enable researchers. We’re happy to meet with people, learn about their research, and provide them with the support they need so they can effectively leverage their resources to accelerate research.”
PLUMAGE is funded through the National Science Foundation’s Campus Cyberinfrastructure Program under NSF Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Award No. 2430234.
