Step 2: Find the Right Project Type
Scientists can apply for HPC resources required for their research activities. The requested resources are managed as a compute time project with a default duration of one year, multi-year projects are also possible.
The following table gives an overview of the different project types, resource allowances and submission processes. Depending on the purpose of your project and your resource needs, you can identify the most suitable project type and then proceed to the next step in the application process.
| Resources per Year | Prerequisites | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Type | CPU-core-hours and/or GPU- or FPGA-hours | Location of applicant (Principal Investigator, PI) | Project duration | Can the project be extended by a follow-up project? | Call for Proposals | |
| NHR-large | Projects with large resource requirements | |||||
| > 30 million CPU-core-h | > 100,000 GPU-h or FPGA-h | Germany | one year or multi-year | ✓ | 4x per year | |
| NHR-normal | Medium-sized resource requirements (e.g., large-scale GPU-accelerated applications) | |||||
| > 4 million and <= 30 million CPU-Core-h | <= 100,000 GPU-h or FPGA-h | Germany | one year or multi-year | ✓ | continuous submission | |
| NHR-starter | Intended for applicants who are new to high-performance computing | |||||
| depending on needs | Germany | one year | ✕, usually followed by an NHR-normal/large project | continuous submission | ||
| small | Projects with small resource requirements (e.g., small research projects, FPGA- or GPU-accelerated applications, courses, theses, project groups) | |||||
| <= 4 million CPU-Core-h | <= 10,000 GPU-h or FPGA-h | UPB, NRW (only locations without local/Tier-3 resources) | one year | ✓ | continuous submission | |
| fpga | Projects with a special emphasis on FPGA acceleration of HPC codes (e.g., within the scope of the AMD/Xilinx HACC program)* | |||||
| <= 4 million CPU-Core-h | <= 10,000 FPGA-h | worldwide | one year | ✓ | continuous submission | |
| test | Porting applications, scalability analysis | |||||
| depending on purpose, by default 100,000 CPU-h | depending on purpose, by default 1,000 GPU-h | Germany | one month | ✓ | continuous submission | |
Note: Multiple projects per PI are possible for all types except NHR-starter. For small projects, the sum of resources for all small projects of a project investigator (PI) is limited; see our FAQ.
(*) Scientists at research and teaching institutions worldwide can be granted access to FPGA systems in the context of a research collaboration with PC2. If you are interested or have questions, please contact us via Email with your inquiries and/or a brief outline of your research idea and plans.
worldwide = research and teaching institutions worldwide
Germany = universities in Germany (including universities of applied sciences)
NRW = research institutions located in North Rhine-Westphalia (the state of NRW)
UPB = Paderborn University
If you have identified the most suitable project type, you can proceed to the next step in the application process.