Build and Evaluate a Free Virtual Cluster on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud for Scientific Computing

Authors

  • Jie Xiong Yangtze University Nanhuan Road No.1, Jingzhou, Hubei, 434023, China
  • Shen-Han Shi Yangtze University
  • Song Zhang Mississippi State University Starkville, MS, 39759, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3991/ijoe.v13i08.7373

Keywords:

Virtual cluster, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Evaluation, Scientific computing, StarCluster, High Performance Computing (HPC)

Abstract


Scientific computing requires a huge amount of computing resources, but not all the scientific researchers have an access to sufficient high-end computing systems. Currently, Amazon provides a free tier account for cloud computing which could be used to build a virtual cluster. In order to investigate whether it is suitable for scientific computing, we first describe how to build a free virtual cluster using StarCluster on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). Then, we perform a comprehensive performance evaluation of the virtual cluster built before. The results show that a free virtual cluster is easily built on Amazon EC2 and it is suitable for the basic scientific computing. It is especially valuable for scientific researchers, who do not have any HPC or cluster, to develop and test their prototype system of scientific computing without paying anything, and move it to a higher performance virtual cluster when necessary by choosing more powerful instance on Amazon EC2.

Author Biographies

Jie Xiong, Yangtze University Nanhuan Road No.1, Jingzhou, Hubei, 434023, China

Jie Xiong received his Ph.D. Degree in geophysics and Information Technology from China University of Geosciences in 2012. He was a visiting professor at Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Mississippi State University, USA during 2016. He currently is a associate professor at School of Electrical Information, Yangtze University, China. His research interest inlude cloud computing, scientific visualization, and applied geophysical inversion theory.

Shen-Han Shi, Yangtze University

Shen-Han Shi is a Master Degree Candidate in Electronics and Information at School of Electrical Information, Yangtze University, China. His research interest inlude cloud computing, scientific visualization, and Web application development.

Song Zhang, Mississippi State University Starkville, MS, 39759, USA

Song Zhang received his M.S and Ph.D Degree in Computer Science from Brown University in 2000, 2006, respectively. He has been associate professor at Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Mississippi State University, USA. His research interests include scientific visualization, data analysis, medical imaging, and computer graphics.

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Published

2017-08-04

How to Cite

Xiong, J., Shi, S.-H., & Zhang, S. (2017). Build and Evaluate a Free Virtual Cluster on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud for Scientific Computing. International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering (iJOE), 13(08), pp. 121–132. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijoe.v13i08.7373

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 08 (2017)

Section

Papers