Abstract
We outline the design and implementation of a system which implements the Simulation as a Service (SMaaS) model. SMaaS is based on the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, extending SaaS to include High-Performance Computing (HPC)-hosted applications. Simulations in an HPC context can be expensive, complex, and lengthy. The use of a cloud to provide and manage simulations as a service on an HPC cluster provides greater flexibility for users, in particular smaller businesses and educational institutions that might otherwise struggle to use simulation in their work. Adding a cloud to a standard HPC setup allows the HPC component to specialize in its strengths (e.g., performing calculations, storing Big Data), while the cloud can provide its own capabilities. We show how a cloud’s ability to scale up/down and support heterogeneous environments provides support for all phases of simulation workflow—education, prototy**, and production. This chapter covers several different systems built at the Ohio Supercomputer Center. All systems have been deployed to production and used by paying customers. In addition to strictly technical concerns issues related to payment, licensing, and other business topics are covered.
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Notes
- 1.
See [8] for an example of industry using HPC for simulation.
- 2.
The Department of Energy maintains a large stable of supercomputing resources including Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and many others. See https://press3.mcs.anl.gov/sc13-internal/department-of-energy-high-performance-computing/ for a listing.
- 3.
TotalSim, at https://www.totalsim.us/.
- 4.
The current lineup can be found at https://www.awesim.org/products.
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Bitterman, T. (2020). Offering Simulation Services Using a Hybrid Cloud/HPC Architecture. In: Risco Martín, J.L., Mittal, S., Ören, T. (eds) Simulation for Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering. Simulation Foundations, Methods and Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51909-4_10
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