Agility, flexibility and security: The value of cloud in HPC

In
today’s
competitive
business
environment,
firms
are
confronted
with
complex,
computational
issues
that
demand
swift
resolution.
Such
problems
might
be
too
intricate
for
a
single
system
to
handle
or
might
require
an
extended
time
to
resolve.
For
companies
that
need
quick
answers,
every
minute
counts.
Allowing
problems
to
linger
for
weeks
or
months
is
not
feasible
for
businesses
determined
to
stay
ahead
of
the
competition.
To
address
these
challenges,
enterprises
across
various
industries,
such
as
those
in
the
semiconductor,
life
sciences,
healthcare,
financial
services
and
more,
have
embraced

high-performance
computing
(HPC).

With
HPC,
enterprises
are
taking
advantage
of
the
speed
and
performance
that
comes
with
powerful
computers
working
together.
This
can
be
especially
helpful
amid
a
steadily
growing
push
to
build
AI
on
a
larger
and
larger
scale.
While
analyzing
massive
amounts
of
data
might
feel
impossible,
HPC
enables
the
use
of
high-end
computational
resources
that
can
perform
many
computations
rapidly
and
in
parallel
to
help
businesses
get
insights
faster.
At
the
same
time,
HPC
is
used
to
help
businesses
bring
new
products
to
market.
It
is
also
used
to
better
manage
risks
and
more,
which
is
why
an
increasing
number
of
enterprises
are
adopting
it.

The
role
of
cloud
in
HPC

Most
commonly,
enterprises
that
run
workloads
with
surges
in
activity
are
finding
that
they
exceed
the

compute
capacity
available
on-premises.
This
is
an
example
of
where
cloud
computing
can
augment
on-premises
HPC
to
transform
the
business’s
approach
to
HPC
with
cloud
resources.
Cloud
can
help
address
peaks
in
demand
during
product
development
cycles,
which
might
last
from
a
short
duration
to
a
longer
duration,
and
enable
organizations
to
get
access
to
the
resources
and
capabilities
that
they
might
not
have
a
need
for
around
the
clock.
Businesses
using
HPC
from
the
cloud
can
take
advantage
of
the
benefits
of
greater
flexibility,
enhanced
scalability,
better
agility,
improved
cost
efficiencies
and
more.

Cadence
uses
IBM
Cloud
HPC

Cadence
is
a
global
innovator
in
electronic
design
automation
(EDA)
with
over
30
years
of
computational
software
experience.
It
has
helped
companies
across
the
world
design
electronic
products
that
drive
today’s
emerging
technology,
including
chips.
The
growing
demand
for
more
chips,
along
with
the
company’s
incorporation
of
AI
and

machine
learning
into
its
EDA
processes
means
that
their
need
for
compute
power
is
at
an
all-time
high.
For
organizations
in
the
EDA
industry
like
Cadence,
solutions
that
enable
workloads
to
seamlessly
shift
between
on
premises
and
the
cloud,
while
also
allowing
for
differentiation
from
project
to
project,
are
key.

Cadence
uses
IBM
Cloud®
HPC
with

IBM
Spectrum®
LSF
as
the
workload
scheduler
to
support
the
development
of
chip
and
system
design
software,
which
requires
innovative
solutions,
powerful
compute
resources
and
advanced
security
support.
By
using
IBM
Cloud
HPC,
Cadence
reports
improved
time-to-solution,
performance
enhancements,
cost
reductions
and
streamlined
workload
management.

Additionally,
Cadence
understands
firsthand
that
moving
to
the
cloud
can
require
new
knowledge
and
capabilities
that
not
every
company
possesses.
The
Cadence
Cloud
comprehensive
portfolio
aims
to
help
customers
across
the
world
use
the
possibilities
of
the
cloud
with
Cadence
Managed
Cloud
Service
as
a
turnkey
solution
ideal
for
start-ups
and
small
and
medium
customers,
and
with
the
customer-managed
cloud
option
known
as
Cloud
Passport
to
enable
Cadence
tools
for
large
enterprise
customers.
Cadence
is
dedicated
to
giving
its
customers
an
easy
path
to
the
cloud
by
connecting
them
with
knowledgeable
service
providers,
such
as
IBM®,
whose
platforms
can
be
used
to
deploy
Cadence
tools
in
cloud
environments.
For
enterprises
that
want
to
drive
innovation
at
scale,
the
Cadence
Cloud
Passport
model
can
deliver
access
to
cloud-ready
software
tools
for
use
on
IBM
Cloud.

Taking
a
hybrid
cloud
approach
to
HPC

Traditionally,
HPC
systems
were
built
on-premises.
However,
the
large
models
and
large
workloads
that
exist
today
are
often
not
compatible
with
the
hardware
that
most
companies
have
on
premises.
Given
the
high
up-front
costs
of
obtaining
GPUs,
CPUs
and
networking,
as
well
as
those
of
building
the
data
center
infrastructures
needed
to
efficiently
run
compute
at
scale,
many
companies
have
used
cloud
infrastructure
providers
that
have
already
made
massive
investments
in
their
hardware.
To
realize
the
full
value
of
public
cloud
and
on-premises
infrastructures,
many
organizations
are
adopting
a
hybrid
cloud
architecture
that
is
focused
on
the
mechanics
of
transforming
portions
of
a
company’s
on-premises
data
center
into
private
cloud
infrastructure.

By
adopting
a

hybrid
cloud
approach
to
HPC
where
cloud
and
on
premises
are
used
together,
organizations
can
use
the
strengths
of
both,
allowing
organizations
to
achieve
the
agility,
flexibility
and
security
required
to
meet
their
demands.
For
example,

IBM
Cloud®
HPC
can
help
organizations
flexibly
manage
compute-intensive
workloads
on-premises.
With
security
and
controls
built
into
the
platform,
IBM
Cloud
HPC
also
allows
organizations
to
consume
HPC
as
a
fully
managed
service
while
helping
them
address
third-
and
fourth-party
risks.

Looking
ahead

By
using
hybrid
cloud
services
through
platforms
like
IBM
Cloud
HPC,
enterprises
can
solve
many
of
their
most
difficult
challenges.
As
organizations
continue
to
embrace
HPC,
they
should
consider
how
a
hybrid
cloud
approach
can
complement
traditional
on-premises
HPC
infrastructure
deployments.

Learn
more
about
how
IBM
can
help
you
take
a
hybrid
cloud
approach
to
HPC