Bare Metal Use Case – High Performance Computing (HPC)

Bandwidth and Data Transfer

HPC tasks often involve the processing of massive datasets, requiring servers to have high throughput capabilities to manage large volumes of data quickly and efficiently. This involves not only high-speed networking but also fast data storage solutions such as NVMe SSDs that can handle rapid read/write operations.

Homogeneity in Clusters

In an HPC environment, it’s important to have a standardized set of servers that match in terms of hardware configurations. This homogeneity simplifies the management of the cluster, improves load balancing, and ensures that all nodes can work together efficiently without bottlenecks. Also, matching servers make it easier to scale the HPC environment. As computational needs grow, additional servers can be added to the cluster without disrupting the existing setup or requiring significant reconfiguration.

Modern High Core Count CPUs

• Parallel Processing: HPC workloads typically involve tasks that can be broken down into smaller, parallel tasks. Modern CPUs with high core counts (such as AMD EPYC or Intel Xeon processors) allow for the simultaneous execution of many threads, significantly boosting performance for parallelizable workloads.
• Energy Efficiency: Despite their high core counts, modern CPUs are designed to be energy-efficient, which is crucial in HPC environments where power consumption is a significant operational cost. Advanced CPUs also support features like simultaneous multithreading (SMT), which improves throughput without a proportional increase in energy usage.