ASD improves access to Cray HPC services

The Australian Signals Directorate is set to benefit from improved access to services for its ageing Cray supercomputer.

The Department of Defence last month entered a five-year standing offer with the vendor for the sole purpose of helping ASD better access HPC technical expertise.

“This is a new standing offer which replaces previous service contracts and will provide a more efficient and effective means of engaging these services through a single procurement arrangement,” a Defence spokesperson told iTnews.

ASD received its Cray supercomputer in March 2010 to provide more and faster intelligence for handling cyber incidents and threats.

The $14.5 million custom-built supercomputer was at the time said to be the first major intelligence capability delivered in response to the 2009 Defence White Paper.

The department has signed a number of contracts - worth in excess of $2.6 million - with Cray since last year for supercomputing upgrades and services to support the cluster.

Cray’s relationship with ASD – and DSD before it – began in 1986 when it provided Australia’s first supercomputer to DSD.

Cray also provides the Bureau of Meteorology with its supercomputer.