HLRS High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart: Supercomputing-Academy: HPC-Cluster

Prerequisites and content levels

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of processors, memory, networking, and their interactions within HPC clusters.
Familiarity with software, libraries, operating systems, batch systems, and licensing relevant to HPC environments.
Proficiency in working with working on complex Excel or Calc spreadsheets.

Content levels

Beginners: 24 hours
Intermediate: 16 hours
Advanced: 10 hours

Learn more about course curricula and content levels.

Target audience

This course is intended for, but is not limited to, the following groups:

Data center staff planning to take over or set up a new HPC cluster.
HPC users involved in the design and procurement of HPC clusters.
Administrative and management personnel seeking to understand the structure, costs, and cost models of HPC clusters.
Anyone interested in the design, procurement, and operation of HPC clusters
Anyone interested in sustainability in data centers and the HPC domain

Learning outcomes

After completing this course, participants will:

Gain essential business administration knowledge to evaluate offers and make purchasing decisions for HPC clusters.
Understand the economic and legal implications of on-premises and cloud operational models.
Learn to design HPC clusters based on specific requirements and calculate investment and operational costs.
Incorporate sustainability principles into decision-making processes effectively.

Instructor

Dr. Norbert Conrad (HLRS) norbert.conrad(at)hlrs.de
Dr. Brigitte-Maria Lorenz (University of Stuttgart) brigitte-maria.lorenz(at)rektorat.uni-stuttgart.de

Agenda

Week 1: Cost Accounting, Decision Theory, Investments
Week 2: Operational Models, Benchmarks, Licenses, and License Servers
Week 3: Cluster Design
Week 4: Sustainability, Data Center Sustainability, Sustainable Procurement, End-of-Life Management
Week 5: Management Systems (EMAS, ISO Standards), Blue Angel Certification, Change Management

Registration information

Register via the button at the top of this page.
We encourage you to register to the waiting list if the course is full. Places might become available.

Registration closes on January 24, 2025.

Fees

0 Euro: Employees of the HLRS, or the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), or the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ)
52,50 Euro: Students without master’s degree or equivalent
127,50 Euro: PhD students or employees at a German university or public research institute
255 Euro: PhD students or employees at a university or public research institute in an EU, EU-associated or PRACE country other than Germany
510 Euro: PhD students or employees at a university or public research institute outside of EU, EU-associated or PRACE countries
1410 Euro: Other participants, e.g., from industry, other public service providers, or government

Link to the EU and EU-associated (Horizon Europe), and PRACE countries.

HLRS concept for flexible learning

Flexible Learning

This course offers flexible learning, allowing you to learn at your own pace and access online course materials and cluster resources. Web-seminars are held weekly to discuss the learning modules and to answer your questions. We also provide forum channels that enable you to communicate with the lecturer and peers, as well as to share your experiences.

Learning Duration

The course is divided into multiple learning units of 10 hours each. Participants can learn the individual learning content on their own schedule. In addition, this course has fixed dates for virtual seminars and the exam.

Certificate & Attendance Confirmation

High-Performance Computing Center (HLRS) issues participants an attendance confirmation if they have attended all seminars, as well as a certificate if they have passed the exam at the end of the course.

Technical Requirement

Stable Internet connection so you can access and download the learning materials.
Access to video conferencing tool with camera and microphone for participation in regular seminars.

Contact

Junghwa Lee, phone 0711 685 87228, training(at)hlrs.de

HLRS training collaborations in HPC and AI

HLRS is part of the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (GCS), together with JSC in Jülich and LRZ in Garching near Munich. EuroCC@GCS is the German National Competence Centre (NCC) for High-Performance Computing. HLRS is also a member of the Baden-Württemberg initiative bwHPC. Since 2025, HLRS coordinates HammerHAI.

This course is provided within the framework of the bwHPC training program.

Further courses

See the training overview and the Supercomputing Academy pages.

Supercomputing-Academy: HPC-Cluster - Design, Cost, and Sustainability

Location