New UQ supercomputer available for QCIF Member researchers’ use

QCIF Member researchers have access to the new supercomputer The University of Queensland launched late last year.

Bunya, UQ’s latest high-performance computer (HPC), can perform across a wide range of research domains, from the sciences to the humanities. 

Due to QCIF contributing funding towards Bunya, the HPC is available to research staff and higher-degree research students from QCIF’s Member institutions.

QCIF Shared Infrastructure Services Manager Stephen Bird said access to a range of compute capabilities is fundamental in supporting the research outcomes of QCIF’s Members. 

“Our investment into Bunya continues QCIF’s commitment to deliver these capabilities for the benefit of Queensland’s researchers,” said Stephen.

“We are delighted to be partnering with UQ to enable access to Bunya for all of QCIF’s Members, as we did with [UQ’s previous HPCs] Euramoo, Awoonga and FlashLite. It is fantastic to see researchers from across the state starting to make use of the new supercomputer, and we look forward to Bunya’s continued expansion and the new capabilities it enables.”

A few researchers from Griffith University and QUT have already used Bunya this year, alongside UQ users. 

Griffith University biophysicist Afshin Zamani Zakaria said Bunya was very efficient for his big data simulations.

“Overall, I benefitted from the high-performance and data transfer speed of Bunya,” said Afshin. “Most of my setup was ready to run and all I needed was a fast HPC. So, now I am able to submit my papers and PhD dissertation timely with higher quality.”

Bunya has been set up as a traditional central processing unit (CPU)-based supercomputer with a number of high-memory capacity nodes for special uses. Subsequent upgrades of Bunya will likely add different node types, such as high-performance accelerators, including graphics processing units (GPUs). 

UQ’s Research Computing Centre (RCC) is managing, operating and supporting Bunya with some assistance from QCIF. 

All potential users of Bunya need to visit RCC’s Bunya webpage and follow the instructions to apply for an account. 

Applications for Bunya are not merit based. Any application that is filled in completely and correctly will be processed and users will be given access.