Macquarie Telecom to host Intersect supercomputer

Macquarie Telecom (ASX: MAQ) has signed a deal to host Intersect’s high performance computing (HPC) system called Orange in its Intellicentre 2 (IC2) data centre in Sydney.

The data centre vendor will provide co-location and hosting services for the 30-plus teraflops of processing power generated by Orange.

Intersect plans to offer time-sharing of the HPC between 11 Australian universities, including the University of Sydney and University of New South Wales. Researchers will use the supercomputer for big data research in fields such as genetic sequencing, green energy and simulation of tropical cyclones.

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NSW chief scientist and engineer Professor Mary O’Kane said that hosting super computer resources in Australia was essential if local research was to thrive in a competitive global landscape.

“While we’re among the leaders of scientific discovery in several fields globally, we need to escalate our commitment if we want to ensure valuable discoveries continue in the ensuing years,” she said in a statement.

“This deal represents a best-case situation where all elements of computing, infrastructure and funding have combined to move that commitment forward.”

Intersect Australia CEO Doctor Ian Gibson added that the company wanted to boost “home-grown” science and research.

“We’re convinced that Macquarie Telecom’s data centre architecture and expertise can support the research priorities of Australian universities for many years to come,” he said.

Macquarie Telecom has been contacted for more information by CIO Australia.

Follow Hamish Barwick on Twitter: @HamishBarwick

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