Exciting countdown. The supercomputer of Gdańsk Tech to be launched soon | Gdańsk University of Technology

The facility was built on the campus of Gdańsk University of Technology, specifically on the slope of Góra Szubieniczna (the Gallows Hill) in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz - at Traugutta Street. It contains the so-called bunker, i.e. a place with server rooms and one of the fastest supercomputers in Europe, enabling the collection, processing and archiving of huge data sets, as well as the performance of complex simulations for scientific research.

Gdańsk Tech STOS CC will be the new seat of the IT Center of the Gdańsk Tech Tri-City Academic Computer Network, and the NDI company is responsible for the construction of the complex.

An investment worth a quarter of a billion zlotys

- The Gdańsk Tech STOS CC project will bring a new quality to Polish science and will strengthen the image of Gdańsk and Pomerania on the academic map of Europe - says prof. Krzysztof Wilde, rector of Gdańsk University of Technology. – The center will be equipped with a state-of-the-art computer and working spaces for scientists, engineers and students. After launching the complex and the supercomputer itself, we will be able to conduct advanced research and solve problems in virtually all areas of our lives, including in the field of medicine, biotechnology, physics or even astronomy.

The investment will support implementation research and will contribute to the commercialization of research projects carried out by scientists. Yet not only Gdańsk Tech scientists and students will benefit from its construction.

– Together with the authorities of other Tri-City universities we are discussing the so-called collocation, i.e. moving their servers to our center - says Mariusz Miler, Chancellor of Gdańsk University of Technology. – The building will also serve business and industry in Pomerania, because the computing power of the supercomputer will provide opportunities for many companies from the Tri-City and the region to develop in the field of IT – he adds.

The basic cost of the STOS CC project is PLN 156 million, of which PLN 90.1 million comes from EU funds from the European Regional Development Fund - obtained thanks to the involvement in the project of the Marshal's Office of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and the Pomeranian Development Agency. To this we must also add the funds with which the university will equip the center with additional equipment, including additional elements of a supercomputer, which will be able to be improved and developed for many years. The total cost of the investment will therefore reach even approx. PLN 250 million.

Ultimately: the fastest supercomputer in Poland

On the ground floor of the building, together with a special part, i.e. the so-called bunker with a complex of server rooms, there are: hall, porter's lodge, showroom and office rooms. Offices with a conference room, social facilities and technical rooms were built on the first floor. Levels 2 and 3 are offices, but also e.g. ventilation and refrigeration equipment.

– The area of the building is approx. 13 thousand square meters, and its cubic capacity is over 62 thousand cubic meters – lists Dominik Kardynał, construction manager from NDI. – The geometry of the building was very complicated, which certainly did not facilitate the construction works. All rooms had to be finished almost "turnkey", so as to maintain the appropriate parameters in terms of temperature and cleanliness, especially for the electronics installed in the building - he adds.

Server rooms are the heart of the building, which must meet the highest security standards, e.g. protect the data stored there against fire, water or even electromagnetic field. At the same time, the supercomputer requires constant cooling and maintaining constant air temperature and humidity, and the source of technological cooling for the entire building will be five external water chillers. Safety and continuity of energy supply will be ensured by two huge power generators. A huge crane was used to deliver them and install them on the roof, because each of the aggregates weighs 40 tons.

- This is the most modern and safest server room in Europe - says Mariusz Miler, Chancellor of Gdańsk Tech. – It meets the requirements of the so-called TIER III with elements of IV, and these are the highest possible levels of security for data storage centers. Thanks to this, we can carry out any service or repair work at any time without shutting down the server room. The crowning achievement of the investment will be the expansion of the supercomputer to a computing power of approx. 10 petaflops, which is the largest in the country.

In the spirit of Green Computing

The facility has a fully integrated security system based on access control systems, video monitoring, as well as an anti - burglary and anti - robbery system. All systems are integrated and managed by a special server. The center was created based on the assumptions of Green Computing, so as to minimize the impact of IT activities on the environment, but at the same time increase the energy efficiency of the equipment and laboratories.

– The implementation of this facility was a challenge. It is the only such large DC server room, and some of the devices have been designed specifically for this facility and they are absolute prototypes - says Michał Sadowski, Project Implementation Director at NDI. - Currently, construction and equipment works have been completed and we are at the stage of reporting this fact to the relevant services. The next step will be to apply for an occupancy permit, he adds.