Big Data at the Texas Advanced Computing Center

Look around and you'll notice data-collecting devices everywhere. From smartphones to thermostats, from car alarms to Twitter feeds, we're generating and collecting more data than ever before. This is the case in science, too, where ever-more-powerful instruments—supercomputers, telescopes, gene sequencers—create more, and more detailed, data about our natural world.

This explosion of information has led some to announce the arrival of a new kind of science: driven by data, rather than theory or equations. "The quest for knowledge used to begin with grand theories," Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired wrote in July 2008. "Now it begins with massive amounts of data. Welcome to the Petabyte Age."

Research centers like the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) now dedicate expert staff and systems to exploring data-driven science with the goal of finding needles of insight in digital haystacks. In December, we highlight several projects that illustrate the breadth of data-driven science enabled by TACC systems, as well as the improvements to the systems and cyberinfrastructure that will facilitate scientific discoveries. Enjoy reading about these groundbreaking projects.

Make Way for Stampede: TACC expands data center for new supercomputer TACC is expanding its high-performance computing data center to approximately 15,000-square-feet to make room for the new Stampede supercomputer, which will be deployed in January 2013. The University of Texas at Austin is funding the project in support of TACC's ongoing leadership in advanced computing for the national open science community. The project includes the expansion of the machine room, a separate building to include the transformer yard, a location to house the chillers, compressors and cooling towers, a tank for thermal energy storage, and an additional seminar room for training. After upgrades, the total power of Stampede and other systems in the data center will be approximately 12 megawatts.	Expanded Data Repository at Austin and Arlington Campuses to Improve Research Capacity for Entire UT System TACC is working with The University of Texas at Arlington to deploy a data repository to increase connectivity, computing capacity and collaboration among all 15 institutions in The University of Texas System. This project is part of the System's cyberinfrastructure initiative, a $23 million project announced in December 2010. The expansion of TACC's existing Corral storage facility will provide 10 petabytes of storage for scientific data, replicated for protection at both sites, along with data collection management software for open science and clinical research data. The repository will greatly enhance researchers' capabilities to share valuable scientific data in important research projects.
Finding Meaning in Massive Datasets Projects in traditional computational fields like astrophysics, and in emerging applications like utility planning and biology, are applying advanced computing to find patterns and insights in massive datasets. Learn how scientists are using TACC resources to understand dark matter, predict energy usage, and compare plant genomes.	TACC's Ranger supercomputer assists Guatemalan human rights effort In December 2011, The University of Texas at Austin launched a digital archive of 10 million pages of records from the Guatemalan Historical National Police Archive (known as Archivo Histórico de la Policía Nacional or AHPN). The documents are now publicly accessible to researchers, human rights activists, prosecutors and ordinary citizens online through a UT library website.
Attention Researchers: Protect Your Data! Our ability to create data has fast outstripped our capacity to preserve and organize it properly. This could lead to bottlenecks in the research process, data loss and wasted resources. To promote data stewardship and sustainability, funding agencies like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health require data management plans with every proposal. In response, TACC, the General Libraries at The University of Texas at Austin, and UT's Information Technology Services have joined forces to help researchers develop plans that comply with best practices in data management and promote easy access and sharing of data.	Data Center Heat Meets Its Match in Mineral Oil Submersion System With energy costs rising, and society requiring more and more compute power and data services, Green Revolution Cooling — an Austin, Texas-based startup — saw an opportunity for liquid cooling technology as a cost-effective solution for data centers. After a two-year collaboration, TACC and GRC report dramatic cooling and overall energy savings with their CarnotJet™ dielectric fluid submersion cooling system.

December 2011

The Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin is one of the leading centers of computational excellence in the United States. The center's mission is to enable discoveries that advance science and society through the application of advanced computing technologies. To fulfill this mission, TACC identifies, evaluates, deploys, and supports powerful computing, visualization, and storage systems and software. TACC's staff experts help researchers and educators use these technologies effectively, and conduct research and development to make these technologies more powerful, more reliable, and easier to use. TACC staff also help encourage, educate, and train the next generation of researchers, empowering them to make discoveries that change the world.