Assessing the Need for Supercomputing Resources Within the Pacific Area of Responsibility

Abstract

Abstract : Located in Kihei on the island of Maui, Hawaii, the Maui High Performance Computing Center(MHPCC) was established in 1993 as a center within the Department of Defenses (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP). As one of the five HPCMP centers, MHPCCs primary mission is to provide computing cycles and other high performance computing (HPC) capabilities to DoDs research, development, test and evaluation (RDT and E) community. DoD scientists and engineers from around the world utilize MHPCCs hardware, software, and technical talent to develop and support war-fighting capabilities. Currently, MHPCCs largest machine, Riptide, represents 3 percent of the total computing cycles across the HPCMP enterprise in support of this broader mission. MHPCC is managed by the Directed Energy Directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), which oversees the sites annual operating budget of $14 million and supports about 50 personnel. In the fall 2014, Congress asked DoD to begin considering ways to cut about $45 million from the HPCMP so future fiscal years could be supported entirely by the Armys programmed budget of $183 million. Findings within this report are designed to provide AFRLdecision makers with important context about potential future missions and use cases for MHPCC as Congress, the Army, and the HPCMP work toward a solution for resolving the budget gap. To help provide AFRL with this context, we sought to answer the following research questions: Which of MHPCCs capabilities are used most often by customers in the Pacific area of responsibility (AOR), notably U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM)? And, specifically, is there a demand for a supercomputing resource that is located within the AOR? What recommendations should AFRL consider when making decisions about the future of MHPCC? We adopted a three-step approach to gather the data necessary to address these questions.