DICE: Data Intensive Computing Environment

Real Testing * Real Data * Real Results

Test Environment

Location of Nodes • Hardware & Software Configuration • Site Architecture & Equipment • Expertise

DICE offers the capability to independently evaluate existing and emerging technologies by providing an integrated, geographically distributed test environment.  DICE supports the transformation of innovations into trusted products and services, thus reducing the time-to-solution of complex, data intensive, scientific and engineering problems.

The DICE program, administered by Avetec, is a multi-location test bed using real-world, wide area networks (WANs).  The environment provides anonymity which in turn, encourages creative risk-taking and problem solving. Today, vendors and government agencies are using DICE to evaluate technologies and address critical data center issues. The DICE test bed locations are situated in traditional data centers with typical network services, rather than at pristine locations, with extremely high speed network services.

This environment forms a foundation for all users (high performance computing (HPC) and information technology (IT) centers or vendors) to collaborate in moving emerging technologies from the theoretical to the operational environment, as well as evaluate the capabilities of existing products within data centers.

Location of Nodes

The DICE sites are dispersed geographically throughout the U.S. with high-speed connectivity among sites. Sites feature representative data center architecture using high-speed, real-world, wide area networks. The DICE test environment links three self-contained facilities:

Avetec
National Center for Modeling and Simulation
Springfield, Ohio

Department of Defense (DoD) 
Air Force Research Laboratory
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio

Department of Energy-Office of Science
Pacific Northwest National Lab
Richland, Washington

The DICE program continues to expand with new sites, new participants and new or updated technology.

Hardware & Software Configuration

DICE is comprised of representative technologies found in a production data center and is isolated in a development environment composed of secure compute, networking and storage technologies. The environment utilizes the wide area network as well as other network connectivity already existing at participating sites.

Each site location consists of equipment and software that mirrors data center environments and typically include the following components:

  • Compute cluster  
  • Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) and data archive
  • High performance storage
  • Project servers
  • Support  servers for domain name services (DNS), Mail, network time protocol (NTP) and  Gateway
  • Batch scheduler
  • Compiler libraries
  • Two-factor authentication to maintain a secure environment for testing and users

Because DICE connects to non-DoD systems, only publicly releasable data is used. This data is representative of the current research activities occurring at the different agencies. This allows projects to evaluate various security policies and approaches.

Site Architecture & Equipment

Typical DICE Site Architecture

Figure 1. Typical DICE Site Architecture. Download full-page diagram.

The typical architecture at each of the DICE sites includes the following:

  • Compute (HPC) – A modestly configured and stable 64-bit capable cluster. The compute clusters vary at each site to evaluate diverse technologies.  
  • Scratch File System – A high performance file system operating on a storage device to provide elevated levels of I/O throughput to support cluster applications and testing.
  • Cluster Interconnect –Configured with a high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnects.
  • Cluster System Memory – Configured with a minimum of 1 gigabyte (GB) of memory per processor.
  • HSM Software – Utilizing the SUN SAM-QFS application as a baseline HSM Software application.  
  • Storage Technologies – Utilizing various disk, tape and library technologies to represent different tiers of storage in a data center environment.  
  • Network – A diverse network vendor topology with support of 1 Gigabit (Gb) and 10 Gb speeds for internal connections and a 1 Gb Ethernet external connectivity for user access and connectivity between sites.  The network provides support for the IPv4 and the new IPv6 network protocol.
  • Security – Kerberos and key distribution center (KDC) Server for providing two-factor authentication to the environment.
  • Infrastructure Services – Additional hardware and software to support domain name services (DNS), mail, network time protocol (NTP) and Gateway services.
  • Project Servers – Additional servers and hardware are provided to supplement projects in the environment for testing non-cluster related technologies.

Expertise

Site facilities, technology and equipment are not enough. The DICE program provides access to a network of experts focused on both IT and HPC and an integrated environment dedicated to the advancement of innovations and discoveries. Avetec and its DICE management, technical experts and integration contractor, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), oversee the DICE test bed.

In addition, the DICE Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), consisting of a group of senior technical experts, provides technical advice to the DICE program on projects, testing methodology and the baseline infrastructure that comprises DICE.

DICE Resource Partners are investigating emerging hardware and software data accessibility solutions and their application to real-world problems.