Research Computing

Stanford Research Computing provides comprehensive technology and services that enable and accelerate research across Stanford. Our primary focus is on services that support AI, computational, and data-intensive research. These services include data storage, high-performance computing, and cloud, as well as training and consultation for researchers.

The Stanford Research Computing team also helps researchers transition their analyses and models from laptops to larger-scale resources, providing the opportunity to explore data and answer research questions at a scale typically not possible on individual workstations or departmental servers.

Collaborating with partners such as Stanford Data Science, the Doerr School for Sustainability, SLAC, as well as the NSF ACCESS program and select vendors, the Stanford Research Computing team offers training and learning opportunities around high-end computing tools and technologies.

The information below offers more detail, and you can visit our website at srcc.stanford.edu.

Systems Engineering

Within the system engineering area, we offer services and full-stack technology resources in these three primary areas:

• High-performance computing (HPC) — system design, acquisition, deployment and management for research clusters at various scales. We provide shared compute clusters and storage systems for modeling, simulation and data analysis. We work directly with faculty and their research teams to understand their computational requirements, and deliver solutions to meet these needs.
• Cloud and Platforms — our goal is to work with researchers to determine the approrpriate resources for their scientific requirements. Once these needs are identified, we provide seamless transition of workloads to commercial cloud services.
• Custom Research Systems — on a contract basis, we manage custom research compute and storage systems for individual faculty, research units or collections of labs.

Engagement and Consulting

Having access to sufficient computational and analysis platforms is necessary for many areas of research today, but access alone isn’t sufficient. Research Computing team members provide consultation and support for all of the platforms we manage.

• User Engagement and Support — specialists are available to help researchers use any managed systems in a more efficient and effective way. We provide consultation and assistance via Slack, email, office hours, custom training sessions, and one-on-one appointments. We tailor consultation on which computing resources and services are best suited for the problems you are trying to solve. In addition, we offer consultation on system specification and resource requirements for grant proposals.
• Training - our team, in partnership with others, regularly conducts workshops and classes in the use of research computing technologies.

Facilities Management and Operations

We manage an award-winning energy-efficient data center designed specifically for hosting research computing clusters and storage systems. Partnering with SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the School of Medicine, Stanford’s Research Computing Facility (SRCF) is the preferred location for hosting servers and systems used for research. Planning is underway on how to meet the increasing demand for resources for advanced computing and storage.