Physics computing cluster (Gamow)

Computing Hardware and Software

• The cluster was constructed with hardware decommissioned from GW’s Colonial One. It has 12 nodes (8 CPU, 4 GPU), 1 login node, 1 Infiniband switch for parallel computing. 
• The cluster runs on open-source Linux software (Warewulf, SLURM, Zabbix, and so on). The same software is used by GW High Performance Computing (hpc.gwu.edu).
• Future upgrade of the system is tied to the cycle at GW HPC: we expect to receive (n-1)-th generation equipment whenever GW HPC is upgraded to the n-th generation.

System Operations and Admin

• There is no paid staff dedicated to the system. Instead, the system will be operated and maintained by volunteers from the Physics Department, with best-effort support from RTS. 

• We envision a team of graduate and undergraduate students supervised by faculty to oversee day-to-day operations.

• Since there is no cost for major components and software, we expect a modest budget for routine hardware maintenance and student training activities.

Access Policy

• Gamow is open to all current faculty, students, and postdocs in the Department. In addition to individual accounts, we can create directories for faculty-led groups. 
• The system has the domain name gamow.arc.gwu.edu.
• All account requests and other matters related to Gamow will be channeled through [email protected] to the Physics admin team.
• All users are subject to a responsible-use policy to be detailed later.