Serverschränke, die mit einer Folie mit der Aufschrift "Elysium" beklebt sind

The system comprises around 350 nodes containing tens of thousands of calculation engines and special hardware accelerators in the form of graphics cards.

High Performance Computing Cluster On Your Marks, Get Set, Do the Math!

A central high-performance computer is now available to all researchers at Ruhr-University Bochum.

Since autumn 2024, fifteen new server cabinets full of state-of-the-art technology have been in operation in Ruhr University Bochum's data center. They house a high-performance computer that has been acquired with millions in funding from the Major Research Instrumentation Programme of the federal states. The computing cluster can be used from scientists of all disciplines starting now. The official opening ceremony took place on December 9, 2024.

Get computing time on the high-performance computing cluster

Anyone wishing to use the high-performance computer can find the application form on the IT.SERVICES website. Applications are not reviewed with regard to the research plans; the application process rather serves to distribute the computing time fairly among the various research areas. A scientific advisory board supervises operations in order to guarantee the best possible service and to allocate computing times fairly across all faculties. Use of the high-performance computer is free of charge for researchers at Ruhr University.

“With the new high-performance computing cluster Elysium, computer-aided research at Ruhr University Bochum is getting a boost,” says Professor Günther Meschke, Vice-Rector for Research and Transfer. “Previous limits in terms of the size of problems to be solved will be pushed further, and new findings from high-resolution numerical simulations will be made possible. The specific configuration of the cluster supports highly complex numerical simulations in the engineering and natural sciences as well as machine learning methods in the neurosciences and humanities.”

The first projects at the High-Performance Computing Cluster are already on their way. For example, researchers from materials science are designing new materials here, while philologists are investigating rarely occurring linguistic phenomena. However, all other researchers at Ruhr University Bochum are also invited to register projects on the high-performance computer.

The new high-performance computing cluster is operated by the team of IT.SERVICES who also offer consulting services. Ruhr University Bochum is an active member of the HPC.NRW network – short for High Performance Computing. By acquiring the cluster, Bochum has gained the status of a so-called Tier 3 center.

Tier 3 Center

HPC centers are divided into levels 0 to 3 according to the available computing power and the degree of parallelization. Tier 0 high-performance centers are operated at European level, while the others are operated at national, supra-regional and regional level. The Tier 3 center in Bochum is specifically intended to supply Ruhr University Bochum.