How do cloud providers handle high-performance computing (HPC)?

Cloud providers handle high-performance computing (HPC) by offering specialized infrastructure, scalable architectures, and managed services optimized for parallel processing and low-latency communication. They provide access to hardware such as high-core-count CPUs, GPUs, and accelerators, along with high-speed networking and storage systems. For example, AWS offers EC2 HPC instances (e.g., Hpc6a) with 100 Gbps Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) networking, while Azure provides HB-series virtual machines with InfiniBand support. These configurations minimize latency and maximize throughput for tightly coupled workloads like simulations or fluid dynamics modeling.

Scalability is achieved through on-demand resource provisioning and cluster management tools. Cloud platforms enable users to spin up thousands of compute nodes in minutes, using auto-scaling features to match workload demands. Storage solutions like AWS FSx for Lustre or Google Cloud’s Parallel File System handle the high I/O requirements of HPC jobs by providing low-latency, parallel access to data. For instance, a genomics research team could deploy a burstable cluster on Google Cloud using Preemptible VMs to process large DNA datasets cost-effectively, scaling down automatically when jobs complete.

Managed HPC services simplify deployment and orchestration. Tools like AWS ParallelCluster and Azure CycleCloud automate cluster creation, integrating with job schedulers (e.g., Slurm) and containerization platforms like Kubernetes. Developers can deploy containerized HPC applications consistently across environments using Docker or Singularity. Cost optimization is addressed through spot instances, reserved pricing, and hybrid cloud options for integrating on-premises infrastructure. For example, a financial modeling firm might use Azure’s HBv3 VMs with AMD EPYC CPUs for Monte Carlo simulations, leveraging pay-as-you-go billing to avoid upfront hardware investments. This combination of hardware, automation, and flexible pricing allows developers to run HPC workloads without managing physical infrastructure.