University of Pennsylvania and Flexential Launch Advanced Research Computing Center

Flexential and the University of Pennsylvania have partnered to launch the Penn Advanced Research Computing Center (PARCC), featuring NVIDIA-powered infrastructure to support AI-driven research across multiple disciplines, announced in a press release. The deployment, an NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with DGX B200 systems and NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking, is housed at Flexential's Philadelphia-Collegeville, Pennsylvania colocation data center.

The facility, certified as part of the NVIDIA DGX-Ready Data Center program, is designed to meet the performance and efficiency demands of large-scale AI and high-performance computing workloads. NVIDIA Mission Control will ensure streamlined workflows and infrastructure resilience, enabling PARCC to serve all 12 of Penn's schools and support diverse research efforts.

Phase I of PARCC's deployment doubles Penn's processing capacity, offering general high-performance computing capabilities and a condo option for faculty. The infrastructure includes hot data storage colocation to increase data transfer speeds and cost efficiency, providing real-time capacity expansion during peak usage. This initiative positions Penn at the forefront of AI research among Ivy League institutions.