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Introduction
The Aziz supercomputer facility is managed by the High Performance Computing (HPC) Center at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The project was launched in 2015 to provide the necessary computing resources for researchers, students, and faculty members for their research and graduate studies.
Additionally, the HPC Center offers a wide range of training, consulting, and research activities for all public and private educational organizations and institutions in Saudi Arabia related to high-performance computing, data analysis, artificial intelligence and machine learning, natural language processing, and parallel computing.
Recently, the center has been upgraded to the Center of Excellence in High Performance Computing (CEHPC), allowing for research and collaboration agreements with other research centers and public and private sectors.
The Aziz supercomputer system includes various storage and file systems with a total of 4.1 petabytes as follows:
Parallel File System
- A high-speed parallel file system with a total storage capacity of 3.1 petabytes
- InfiniBand connections providing high-speed and low-latency data transfer (40 gigabits per second)
- Accessible from the Login Nodes and all Compute Nodes
Home Directory
- Contains users' personal files, scripts, and applications
- Accessible from the Login Nodes and all Compute Nodes
File Archiving System
- Completed projects and related data can be moved to this storage area for long-term retention.
- Total storage of 1 petabyte.
- Accessible only from data servers.
Privacy and Data Sharing
Each user has their own directory that can only be accessed from their account. The Aziz supercomputer servers run CentOS 7.9, which enforces security and privacy policies for accessing user storage and applications.
Once users are granted access to the Aziz supercomputer, they are informed not to share their account data with anyone. The provided resources should only be used by the authorized person for that account.
User behavior on the system is monitored 24/7, and any misuse of resources will result in automatic suspension from the system for one month. If this behavior occurs again, the user's account will be suspended for at least one year.
In some cases, especially in large projects conducted by research centers, data owners may need to share their data with other researchers. Users must submit a request through the official CEHPC email. The request will be reviewed, and the system administrator will take the necessary steps to ensure data security and sharing only with intended individuals.
All users must comply with all regulations in Saudi Arabia related to privacy and data usage. I must disclose any potential issues related to confidentiality or legal concerns regarding processing carried out on the Aziz supercomputer.
Data Retention Policy
The Aziz supercomputer resources are shared and made available to all researchers, students, and staff at King Abdulaziz University, as well as external research collaborators and paying users. To ensure the sustainability of the storage system and its proper use, we follow the following data retention regulations:
- Periodically, usually every 6 months, we calculate the storage space used by each user to ensure they do not exceed appropriate limits.
- The parallel file system is designed to be used as "scratch" for all ongoing projects and applications and not for permanent storage.
- Users are advised to move their completed project data, documents, and files from the parallel file system to archive storage if they intend to use them later.
- If a user leaves King Abdulaziz University or wants to permanently close their account, we assist them in copying their stored data files to their specified destination. If they do not request their data within two months, the data will be permanently deleted (requires approval from King Abdulaziz University's senior management).
Contact Us
If you have any questions, inquiries, or requests regarding this data and privacy policy, please email
hpc@kau.edu.sa
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