Introduction

About the Easley Cluster

The Easley Cluster, launched in 2020 is a system for high-performance and parallel computing. It is designed to accelerate research in a wide variety of fields by providing high-end computing resources. These resources include centrally managed cluster resources, storage, software and technical user support.

The Easley Cluster is a collaborative, campus-wide effort of Auburn University funded by:

  • The National Science Foundation

  • Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development

  • Office of Information Technology

  • Office of the Provost

  • College of Sciences and Mathematics

  • Samuel Ginn College of Engineering

Easley Namesake

Annie Easley

Auburn has named this supercomputer “Easley” in honor of Annie J. Easley, an extraordinary woman whose contributions to computer science, mathematics, and rocket science helped lay the technological foundations for space shuttle launches and launches of communication, military and weather satellites.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Easley embarked on a 34-year career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) where she developed and implemented computer code that analyzed alternative power technologies, supported the Centaur high-energy upper rocket stage, determined solar, wind and energy projects, and identified energy conversion systems and alternative systems to solve energy problems. Her energy assignments included studies to determine the life use of storage batteries, such as those used in electric utility vehicles. Her computer applications have been used to identify energy conversion systems that offer the improvement over commercially available technologies.

About this Manual

This manual is the primary reference document for Auburn University’s Easley High Performance Computing Cluster. It is not intended to be an exhaustive reference, but rather a concise guide to the basics of the system and a starting point for users.

This manual will be revised on an ongoing basis. It is important that users refer to the latest version.

Acceptable Use

Policies outlined in OIT’s Appropriate Use of Information Technology, and well as any other applicable policies, apply to use of the Easley cluster. Easley also has its own guidelines and restrictions for acceptable use, described throughout this document.

Citations and Acknowledgements

Please help show the importance of computational resources and OIT support staff in research at Auburn University by acknowledging such in any publication or presentation that are made possible using the Easley Cluster.

Acceptable citations are below:

  • This work was completed in part with resources provided by the Auburn University Easley Cluster.

  • We are grateful for the support of the Auburn University Easley Cluster for assistance with this work.

  • We acknowledge the Auburn University Easley Cluster for support of this work.

If an acknowledgement is included your work, please send a brief email to hpcadmin@auburn.edu.

Please note that the Easley Cluster is distinct and in no way related to the Alabama Supercomputer Authority.

System Overview

Easley is a Dell PowerEdge-based HPC Cluster with approximately 9424 Cores, 46TB RAM, 3PB Disk, and +500 TFlops*. For details, please visit the AU HPC website.

*as of the document version and date