Australia Research Data Commons (ARDC) and the University of Adelaide are partnering on a cloud node in the south of the country.

As part of the ARDC Nectar Research Cloud, the node will bring large-scale computing capabilities to researchers in South Australia.

University of Adelaide
– University of Adelaide

"Establishing a new node at the University of Adelaide marks a significant step in our commitment to supporting researchers across Australia," said Ben Chiu, director of services at the ARDC.

"This node will provide vital computing resources that can accelerate research, enhance collaboration, and drive innovation. We are delighted to take this step forward together with the University of Adelaide to make research infrastructure more accessible and impactful."

The new cloud node is being supported by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).

“The launch of the new node is a leap forward in the support available to researchers. It ensures they have the necessary resources to continue producing world-class research that addresses pressing global challenges,” said Dr. Stephen Love, the University of Adelaide’s Director of Research Infrastructure and Platforms.

“With this new node, researchers in South Australia will have increased access to cloud computing and services and can more easily collaborate on data-intensive and compute-intensive research with colleagues at other institutions using national research infrastructure.”

Details about the IT infrastructure at the University of Adelaide are sparse. The University states that it has an on-premise HPC facility called Phoenix which has a Lenovo NeXtScale system consisting of 260 nodes over 900 CPUs and GPUs.

The University's Technology Foundations strategy notes: "Technology functions within universities are leveraging more cloud services and working within an ecosystem of specialist technology partners. This allows the delivery of fit-for-purpose technology services and personalized experiences, while responding to pressures to keep costs in check," adding that it is planning to progressively introduce new technologies and platforms to meet evolving needs.

DCD has contacted the University of Adelaide for more information about its data center footprint, whether it is on-premise or uses local colocation providers.

Operators in and around Adelaide include YourDC, Colocity, Equinix, Evolve, NextDC, and DCI Data Centers.

ARDC Nectar Research Cloud was launched in 2012. The cloud is co-designed and receives co-investment from universities across Australia, currently being used by 35 universities and 16 NCRIS facilities.