Computing Resources

CNSI Computing Resources

High Performance Computing

CNSI is the home to the largest High Performance Computing (HPC) clusters on campus (our Dell cluster was one of the Top500 computers in the world). We provide a variety of systems for your computational needs, from the occasional to the heavy-duty user. Our most recent service solves the problem for groups who need a handful of computers for calculations but don't have the time or desire to do the systems administration.

If your research requires larger scale computational needs than you can accomplish on our public systems, we offer a service to stretch your equipment budget and save you the hassle of running your own servers. The CNSI Shared Cluster is currently a 132 core cluster where researchers buy single nodes. CNSI has paid for the main infrastructure (power, network, home disk system) and we maintain the software, hardware, and backups for you. You simply buy compute nodes; as many or as few as you feel you need, and we do the rest!

While our public systems are mainly used by CNSI researchers (90% of the CPU time is used for CNSI research), anyone on campus is able to use these systems to test out ideas or start a computational project. Researchers from most of the physical sciences and engineering disciplines make use of it, as well as fields as diverse as Psychology and Economics. A number of undergraduates have been able to try out simulations firsthand with our systems, and even high school students have learned about HPC and enjoyed tours of our machine room.

Through CNSI, UCSB was the second campus to join the UC Grid, which provides a universal web interface to any cluster in the UC system that you may have an account on.

If you need assistance in compiling or optimizing your code, we can help with that too. Please contact Paul Weakliem (weakliem@cnsi.ucsb.edu) with questions.

How To Make Use of the Computing Resources

For complete information on what is available and how to get access the CNSI computing resources, visit the High Performance Computing website.

(High Performance Computing Website)

Printing Resources

Large-Format Poster Printer

CNSI has a large format poster printer available for use 24 hours a day by CNSI researchers. The printer is housed in Elings Hall, room 2403 and is accessible with your access card (if you've filled out a modified building access form). The Institute charges a nominal fee of $10/linear foot for general users and $7/linear foot for CNSI members. We have recently upgraded the ink system to a more fade-resistant product.

How to Access the Printer

For complete information on how to use and get access to the CNSI Large Format Printer, visit the printer page.

(Large Format Printer Webpage)