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Paper: Are we There Yet? Experiences from Developing and Commissioning the High Performance Computing (HPC) System for the ASKAP Telescope
Volume: 522, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XXVII
Page: 31
Authors: Guzman, J. C.; Bastholm, E.; Raja, W.; Whiting, M.; Mitchell, D.; Voronkov, M.; Ord, S.
Abstract: It has been almost a decade since the start of the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) project. ASKAP is a novel survey radio telescope, capable of producing large wide-field of view science-ready products of the order of 5 PB/year. The project is now in its final stages of construction with commissioning activities well underway and almost a year of ASKAP Early Science operations completed. The ASKAP Science Data Processing software, named ASKAPsoft, runs on a dedicated High Performance Computing (HPC) platform located at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre in Western Australia, and is currently capable of processing up to 1 TB of data per hour, soon to be increased by an order of magnitude once the full ASKAP array is ready for commissioning later this year. During commissioning several hurdles had to be overcome, including integration of the Supercomputer into routine (and real-time) Telescope Operation and shared resources (file system, computing cycles, etc.). This paper describes the issues faced during commissioning this novel radio telescope, lessons learned along the way and future suggestions as we prepare for the construction of the SKA.
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