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Research Computing on Cloud Documentation

Welcome to the Research Computing on Cloud documentation!

Overview​

Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of computing services over the internet. Cloud services include servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, intelligence, and more. Cloud computing offers faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale. It eliminates the need for individuals to self-manage physical resources themselves, and only pay for what they use.

Benefits​

  • Scalability and Flexibility: Researchers can easily scale computing resources up or down based on the needs of their project, without the need for physical hardware adjustments. This flexibility is important for projects with varying computational requirements.

  • Cost: Cloud computing eliminates the capital expense of buying, setting up, and configuring hardware and software. On-demand pricing allows you to only pay for the resources you use. This eliminates the need to invest in and maintain IT hardware.

  • Accessibility and collaboration: Cloud services enable researchers to access their data and applications from anywhere in the world with internet connectivity. This facilitates collaboration among researchers from different institutions and countries, as they can effortlessly share access to data and tools.

  • Data Storage and Management: While Indigo Storage provides specialized features tailored to meet specific research needs, making it a valuable option for managing data securely and efficiently, cloud storage offers additional benefits that might be more suitable in particular contexts. With cloud storage services, you pay exactly for how much you use, and do not need to specify a quota upfront. Furthermore, cloud platforms typically integrate more effectively with cloud-native tools, enhancing the use of advanced computational resources and analytics directly on the stored data.

  • High-Performance Computing (HPC): Researchers at Clemson typically use Palmetto for standard performance needs. However, when more specialized hardware, greater scalability, or constant up-time is required, cloud computing offers a compelling alternative. Cloud environments provide access to the latest hardware innovations and allow researchers to scale resources quickly and efficiently. Additionally, processing data directly on cloud platforms can be more time and cost-effective than using traditional HPC setups like Palmetto for projects involving large datasets already hosted in the cloud.

  • Security : Cloud providers invest heavily in security, offering several layers of security features including data encryption, network security, and physical security of the data centers. This is particularly important for research involving sensitive data.