Sensitive data, storage in focus at 2024 User Forum and All-Hands-meeting

The second annual NAISS User Forum and All-Hands meeting were held in Uppsala 1-3 October. Both conferences were well-attended – the User Forum was at capacity, with around 150 registrations.

The User Forum was graced with three international guests. Troy Estes from Nvidia delivered the keynote speech, and Professor Erwin Laure of the Max Planck Computing and Data Facility (MPCDF) and Professor Mark Parsons, Director of EPCC, provided an outlook into the future of scientific high-performance computing.

Since Uppsala University and Uppmax are hosting NAISS’s sensitive data resource, Bianca, life sciences and sensitive data was a prominent theme throughout both conferences. Six users running such projects, ranging from gut microbiome studies to the construction of a genome reference dataset, were invited to present their research.

“We are very happy with this contribution by the User Support Advisory Committee (USAC). These presentations provided excellent insight into this type of research and the special technical challenges involved,” says Torben Rasmussen, NAISS User Support Manager.

Increasing storage demands

Another topic that engaged users and colleagues alike was storage. What kind of storage should NAISS provide? Will it be enough? Björn Alling acknowledges that there is an ongoing and accelerating shift in the relation between compute power and data management.

“Previously, the input data was fairly limited. Now we have large simulations which generate massive amounts of data. It is a growing concern for our users. But it is not just about having a large disk to store stuff on. There are lots of related services.”

“It is quite obvious that this is something NAISS has to develop and invest in – not only hardware, but work processes, the allocation system, and user support.”

“A success”

Björn Alling believes the User Forum was a success, and he welcomes all comments and ideas.

“We had open and constructive discussions. But we are also offering everyone who attended an opportunity to submit proposals in writing.”

Presentations from the conferences are being uploaded to the event pages:
https://www.naiss.se/event/user-forum-2024/
https://www.naiss.se/event/all-hands-meeting-2024/