{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"UCT HPC","provider_url":"https:\/\/ucthpc.uct.ac.za","author_name":"Andrew Lewis","author_url":"https:\/\/ucthpc.uct.ac.za\/index.php\/author\/andrew-lewis\/","title":"Comparative shopping - UCT HPC","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"qWKcw4o7gk\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ucthpc.uct.ac.za\/index.php\/2011\/01\/20\/comparative-shopping\/\">Comparative shopping<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/ucthpc.uct.ac.za\/index.php\/2011\/01\/20\/comparative-shopping\/embed\/#?secret=qWKcw4o7gk\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Comparative shopping&#8221; &#8212; UCT HPC\" data-secret=\"qWKcw4o7gk\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(c,d){\"use strict\";var e=!1,o=!1;if(d.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage);else if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(!t);else if(!(t.secret||t.message||t.value));else if(\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret));else{for(var r,s,a,i=d.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),n=d.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),l=0;l<n.length;l++)n[l].style.display=\"none\";for(l=0;l<i.length;l++)if(r=i[l],e.source!==r.contentWindow);else{if(r.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message){if(1e3<(s=parseInt(t.value,10)))s=1e3;else if(~~s<200)s=200;r.height=s}if(\"link\"===t.message)if(s=d.createElement(\"a\"),a=d.createElement(\"a\"),s.href=r.getAttribute(\"src\"),a.href=t.value,!o.test(a.protocol));else if(a.host===s.host)if(d.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener(\"message\",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),d.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",t,!1),c.addEventListener(\"load\",t,!1);function t(){if(o);else{o=!0;for(var e,t,r,s=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf(\"MSIE 10\"),a=!!navigator.userAgent.match(\/Trident.*rv:11\\.\/),i=d.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),n=0;n<i.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=i[n]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+=\"#?secret=\"+r,t.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",r);if(s||a)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute(\"security\"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:r},\"*\")}}}}(window,document);\n<\/script>\n","description":"UCT-ICTS offers BL460 dual quad core CPUs with 2.4 GHz Xeon processors.&nbsp; The  blades come with either 16 or 32 GB of RAM, fiber channel HBAs and dual NICs.&nbsp; Compared to Amazon each CPU gives approximately 2 EC2  compute units.&nbsp; This equates to 16 EC2 compute units per blade. Assume that a fully running blade will consume R20 electricity in  operational power and cooling power a day.&nbsp; Additionally add 1 hour support a day at R100.&nbsp; This last is probably an overestimate on a per  user basis, however it includes general maintenance for both HPC and the Grid. Factoring in 500GB of SAN storage the cost of a BL460 blade is about R50,000 and  over its expected 3 year life span can can be broken down to R45 per day.&nbsp; To run a 30 day compute job on the UCT cluster fully  utilizing one blade would therefore cost approximately R5,000.&nbsp; A job that consumed only 1 CPU however would cost only 1\/8, i.e. R625. This last number is however not strictly accurate, as the server  consumes a base level of power and requires a minimum of cooling regardless of whether it is running jobs.&nbsp; Additionally a job requiring  only 1 CPU may or may not require more or less administrative support, and also may require more or less space on the SAN.Additionally cost of bandwidth inside the ICTS cluster is essentially  free as it's LAN traffic.&nbsp; 50 GB traffic in and out of the Amazon cloud a month would cost approximately R80, and this does not take the  additional cost of the SANREN bandwidth into account, although this would be fairly minimal.&nbsp; Currently however ICTS is not charging for use of its HPC cluster. One EC2 Compute Unit provides the equivalent CPU capacity of a 1.2  GHz Xeon processor.&nbsp; There is no Amazon instance that compares directly to ICTS's system which  would slot in somewhere between Amazon options 1 and 2.&nbsp; The prices quoted below assume a R$ exchange rate of 7, as well as access to the US-East Amazon compute region.&nbsp; The three Amazon options most similar to UCT's resources are:  1) High-CPU Extra Large Instance 7 GB of memory, 20 EC2 Compute Units, 1690 GB of local instance storage.&nbsp; A 30 day compute job would cost R3,486 2) High-Memory Double Extra Large Instance 34 GB of memory, 13 EC2  Compute Units, 850 GB of local instance storage.&nbsp; A 30 day compute job would cost R5,124 3) Cluster Compute Quadruple Extra Large 23 GB memory, 33 EC2 Compute Units, 1690 GB of local instance storage.&nbsp; A 30 day compute job would cost R8,197 An equivalent server from Rack Space; 16GB RAM, 2.8GHz Dual quad core, 620GB disk space and RHEL would cost about R6820 per month at a R&pound; exchange rate of 11.Please note that UCT costs are approximate.&nbsp; No comparison of quality of service as well as stability of infrastructure has been taken into account."}