Jan 28, 2019
Happy Birthday to TU Dresden’s Computing Centre
To mark its 50th anniversary, the Centre for Information Services and High Performance Computing (ZIH) of TU Dresden is setting new standards in the digitalisation of the future. Due to the expansion of the high-performance computer, it can now offer the fastest data analysis infrastructure in Germany, and is beginning the second funding phase of the Big Data Competence Center ScaDS Dresden/Leipzig.
Excellence in research and teaching is no coincidence: There are various factors that make a university – a location – successful. A reliable, innovative and powerful IT supply is one of the decisive factors. Along with Munich, Karlsruhe and Saarbrücken, Dresden is one of the locations where in 1969 the first degree programmes in computer science were established, thus laying the foundation for location development in computer science throughout Germany. The 50th anniversary of the section Information Processing and the commencement of the eponymous degree programme was preceded by founding the computing centre on 1st November 1968. Tomorrow, 31st January, the successful existence of the ZIH will be celebrated at TU Dresden. Dr. Eva-Maria Stange, State Minister for Higher Education, Research and the Arts, as well as representatives of the federal government, will attend the festive event.
The ZIH is based on two computer centre locations: the Lehmann Centre and the Trefftz building. With the Free State’s decision to build the Lehmann Centre, whose data center (LZR) was inaugurated in 2015, Saxony has repeatedly invested since 2009/2010 in an area that is now an integral part of the scientific landscape: high-performance computing (HPC). It is the basis for artificial intelligence and Big Data. These technical prerequisites have contributed to Dresden’s excellent position not only as a microelectronics location, but also as a location for software and method development. On 31st January, the computer infrastructure at the LZR will receive a further valuable component: Based on newly installed systems from IBM and NEC, the HPC-DA is probably the fastest infrastructure in Germany for analysing data on the basis of machine learning and is available for nationwide use. Dresden thus also addresses the current challenges in the field of artificial intelligence.
The second important component in the area of artificial intelligence and Big Data is handling large amounts of data. ScaDs Dresden/Leipzig is one of two German competence centres for Big Data and bundles algorithm and method development as well as services for data analytics. At both locations, it makes its expertise and consulting services available for innovative projects throughout Germany as part of a science-led process. With the approval of the second funding phase, the consortium can maintain and thematically expand its approach from intensive cooperation of the application areas with the methodical Big Data research.
TUD Computing Centre Celebrates 50 Years
In 1968, TUD was officially designated as the leading university in the field of "Mathematical Cybernetics and Computer Technology". On 1st November 1968, a computing centre was founded at TU Dresden in order to supply the university with basic services and data processing. Even then, research and teaching in computer technology and information processing were just as much a part of the tasks as planning the continued development and equipment of the centre, the operation of the computers, and the support of users. The training and education of IT specialists, who were already scarce at that time, also belonged to their scope of duties. Since 2005, the computing centre now known as the Centre for Information Services and High-Performance Computing (ZIH) has also been in charge of developing algorithms and methods and has been responsible for the operation of efficient infrastructure for scientific computing – including the modelling and simulation of complex systems. Even then, the focus was on data-intensive computing, which extracts knowledge by analysing data, thus enabling scientific progress in many areas of research. Since then, these efforts have been reflected in numerous externally funded research projects in all areas of the computing centre's service portfolio. These have had a lasting impact on the comprehensive range of services offered on campus and beyond.
Official Opening of the HPC-DA
By merging HPC and Data Analytics (HPC-DA), a computing system is now available in which different technologies can be interconnected to form highly efficient and customisable research infrastructures. By expanding the high-performance computer inaugurated in 2015 and linking the two very dynamic research areas of high-performance computing and data analytics with a total investment of another ten million euro, TU Dresden offers researchers a tool that is unique in Germany. This instrument is used for the structured and controlled collection, analysis and processing of large amounts of complex data. This expansion was financed in equal parts by the federal government and the state of Saxony.
ScaDS Dresden/Leipzig: Phase 2
The Big Data Competence Centre ScaDS Dresden/Leipzig, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), entered into its second funding phase in October 2018. Following the evaluation of the centre and the development of a strategic concept for the next three years, the consortium will be able to maintain its interdisciplinary approach and expand its thematic scope. The unique feature of the Competence Centre is its integrated service centre. As a central contact point for interested parties, it coordinates the development of Big Data applications and is the connecting element between the fields of application and methodical Big Data research. This has enabled intensive cooperation to be established with a large number of scientific institutions and companies right from the first funding phase. This approach will be further intensified. The current implementation of the HPC-DA, which is especially suited for data-intensive applications and machine learning, with its connection to fast storage systems, forms an excellent basis for this.
Media Inquiries:
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang E. Nagel
Technische Universität Dresden
Centre for Information Services and High-Performance Computing
Tel.: +49 351 463-35450
Email: