Scientific Computing Systems

The Scientific Computing Systems department plays a critical role in supporting Janelia’s cutting-edge research by managing and maintaining its advanced storage, computing, and data center infrastructure. The team oversees all Janelia’s storage systems, associated backup infrastructure, high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, and Linux-based systems. Additionally, the department is responsible for the operation and maintenance of Janelia’s primary data center, as well as backup resources located at HHMI’s headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Since Janelia’s inception, the scale of data production and analysis has grown exponentially. To meet these demands, the department provides robust storage infrastructure to support the storage, access, and analysis of scientific data. Currently, the team manages over 25 petabytes of scientific data distributed across multiple storage tiers. This state-of-the-art infrastructure spans two data centers connected by an optical fiber ring, ensuring high-speed data transfer and redundancy. The primary data center, a 4,500-square-foot facility, is equipped to deliver 1MW of power and a cooling capacity of 300 tons. The facility, along with the building, is supported by three 2,000 kW generators to ensure uninterrupted operations.

To process and analyze the vast amounts of data generated by Janelia’s scientists, the department maintains a Linux-based HPC cluster with over 6,000 compute cores and over 300 GPUs, supplemented by cloud-based resources for additional scalability. The team also manages a wide array of Linux servers and workstations to support diverse computational needs. To safeguard Janelia’s data, nearly 100 terabytes of new data are securely backed up each month to a secondary data center at HHMI’s headquarters and to cloud-based archival storage.

Through its expertise and cutting-edge infrastructure, the Scientific Computing Systems department ensures that Janelia’s researchers have the tools and resources necessary to advance scientific discovery.