Computing Resources

High Performance Computing (HPC)

The University of South Australia is very excited to announce a new High-Performance Compute (HPC) online service available to UniSA researchers. The service is provided through our membership with Intersect Australia, giving access to the National Computational Infrastructure’s (NCI) supercomputer Gadi, replacing the local Tango 2.0 HPC system.

Membership includes a full-time Digital Research Analyst dedicated to support UniSA researchers by providing expertise in various digital tools and technologies. Dr Katherine Howard started in this role in February 2022, and she brings extensive national and international experience as a researcher and academic.

Please see also our Help and Support Guides for more information on using Gadi.

Gadi, Australia's fastest High Performance Computer (HPC), allows UniSA researchers and research students to use parallel processing to run advanced programs and applications efficiently, reliably and quickly.

HPC cluster

Benefits of using Gadi HPC:

  • Solve large scale problems quickly and efficiently - process data and perform complex calculations at high speed
  • Reduce the duration of running complex jobs to solve research issues
  • Get increased performance for less financial outlay
  • No requirement to purchase additional equipment (servers, storage, etc.) – access Gadi from your PC
  • At elbow support available to assist you with your HPC activities

Getting started with Gadi HPC:

Help and support:

Please raise a service call with the IT Help Desk if you require HPC assistance.


What data storage is available to keep my research data?

There are a number of storage options available to store your data safely and securely in a protected environment.

No matter what type of data you want to store your local IT staff or the UniSA IT Help Desk can help you find the solution(s) to meet your requirements (see Research Data Storage).


What software is available through the University?

The University of South Australia has a number of software agreements in place that allow staff to install and use a range of software products, and also has a technical support team that can develop customised software solutions for UniSA researchers.

University Software

The University has a number of software licences in place, allowing staff to install and use a range of software products.  In some instances the licence also covers installation on your work computer at home.

While many applications are free for researchers to use under these agreements, certain applications are available to be licensed at discounted prices.  If you require software not covered by the University's site license you should first consult your local IT support staff prior to purchasing.

UniSA Customised Software Solutions

UniSA can provide a number of customised software solutions, including web-based data collection and ingest tools that provide researchers with a facility for data input, collection, reporting and extracts, as well as a number of systems that cater for capture of metadata for experiments and data collections.  Web applications recently developed by the University include My Data Management Plans (myDMP) and the UniSA Research Data Access Portal.

To discuss custom software solutions to assist with your research please contact  IT Help Desk.

UniSA Research Data Access Portal

The UniSA Research Data Access Portal is your gateway to Open Access research collections and datasets developed or collected by the University of South Australia.

Research collections and datasets available in Open Access can be freely downloaded and used to support your research in line with the terms of the licence under which they are made available; and by featuring your research on the Research Data Access Portal you can gain exposure and make your research more visible by providing a channel for both UniSA and external researchers to re-use and/or cite your research. 

My Data Management Plans

My Data Management Plans (myDMP) (UniSA staff and student access only) is an easy-to-use self-service facility that allows researchers and HDR candidates to generate their own data management plans, and allows researchers to self deposit metadata about a project that is not already in the University's research system (My Research Management (MyRM)).

myDMP guides users through the process of considering and documenting the many aspects of data management, metadata generation, data storage and preservation, and ensures continual analysis at critical points of a research project's lifecycle.

This ensures data is well-managed in the present, and prepared for preservation in the future.


How can I centralise access to project information?

The University of South Australia provides a collaborative SharePoint environment for research projects which is a central location to store, share and maintain information within a research group.

For further information or to request a SharePoint site for your research project, please refer to the SharePoint Online page.


What IT hardware is available through the University?

The procurement of computing hardware for use at the University must be completed through a designated hardware supplier and requires consultation with local IT support staff prior to purchasing.

For further information on purchasing IT hardware please consult the Hardware and Software Procurement FAQs and the University's Standard Ordering Procedure for IT Hardware/Equipment.  If you have reviewed these resources and have further questions or require clarification please contact the UniSA IT Help Desk.

 


What Virtual Laboratories are available for my research?

Virtual LaborotoriesThe National eResearch Collaboration Tools and Resources (NeCTAR) project offers access to a full suite of virtual laboratories that draw together research data, models, analysis tools and workflows to support collaborative research across institutional and discipline boundaries.

For a list of virtual laboratories available to you via the NeCTAR project please refer to the NeCTAR Virtual Laboratories webpage or open the NeCTAR Virtual Laboratories brochure (PDF 7.9MB).

For more information about how to access the research cloud or virtual laboratories please refer to the NeCTAR website .


What hosted services are available to me?

Hosted ServicesUniSA's Information and Strategy Technology Services (ISTS) offers a range of data and virtual server hosting services.  The services are hosted on enterprise grade infrastructure that provide scalable, reliable and highly available solutions with a flexible range of options and technologies, and ISTS regularly backs up all of the University's centrally stored data to protect against data loss.

Your local IT support staff can provide you with further information on UniSA hosted services and data storage, including pricing guides that detail indicative pricing. They can also assist you in lodging a new Hosted Service request via the UniSA Hosted Services site (UniSA IT support staff access only).

To learn more about how ISTS protects UniSA's centrally stored data against data lost please refer to the Data Backup and Recovery webpage.

If you require further information in relation to our hosting services, data storage or backup and recovery please contact University's System Infrastructure (SI) team.


How do I access services hosted elsewhere?

Australian Access FederationThe Australian Access Federation (AAF) provides a framework and support infrastructure to facilitate trusted electronic communications and collaboration within and between universities and research institutions in Australia.

To learn more about accessing services hosted elsewhere please refer to the Australian Access Federation (AAF) webpage.