How will virtual machines (VM) and containers be used?
For Interactive Compute Services as well as batch jobs, use of containers is planned. VMs will be used for deploying platform services like the HBP Collaboratory.
Do applications need 64-bit precision or could they leverage lower precision?
Simulators are currently foreseeing computations being done in 64-bit precision, but this may change in the future. Within the HBP there are also other applications, e.g. those related to deep learning, that can leverage the capability of devices offering lower-precision arithmetics.
Where is the coordination within the Fenix infrastructure happening? At the AAI level? For storage access?
Both AAI and storage access will rely on overall infrastructure-level services.
Are you planning to process personal data?
We plan to allow the processing of non-personal data, anonymous data and, tentatively, also pseudonymised personal data on the Fenix infrastructure.
What kind of synergies does BSC expect between the ICEI and the PPI4HPC project?
Within PPI4HPC BSC aims for capacity optimised solutions, while within ICEI BSC aims for improving performance and capabilities of the archival storage.
How do you ensure that the results of the development contracts are provided back to the relevant communities (e.g., the Swift or Lustre community) and that they are accepted by these communities?
We are looking for strong partners that can deliver this and plan to ask them for a sustainability plan that foresees bringing the results back to these communities. This can be expected to be part of the assessment of the bids.
Are you planning to schedule jobs, containers, etc.?
Yes, there will also be batch jobs on the interactive computing part. There will typically be no overbooking.
What is the range of scientific applications?
Within the HBP a broad set of applications is being used, which ranges from brain simulators to data analytics applications. We expect the set of applications to change in the future.
Will there be restrictions for joining different consortia or act as sub-contractor?
Within a single procurements, restrictions for joining multiple consortia will likely apply. We anticipate no such restrictions for consortia bidding for different bids as they will formally be launched and executed independently.
For R&D services contracts we anticipate restrictions on subcontracting to ensure that most of the services are provided by the contractors themselves.
Within the ICEI project no pre-commercial procurement (PCP) will be started, i.e. the rules of the HBP PCP do not apply here.
What will be the expected input from vendors? What additional information will be provided by the consortium at the RFI events?
The project plans to provide additional goals, objectives, requirements and desired features for the solutions, which are planned to be realised on the basis of R&D service contracts. This information will be made available through this website such that it is accessible for any vendor, independently whether it participates in the RFI meetings. During the RFI meetings, participating vendors are expected to present initial responses to the provided information.
