eResearch and Academic computing services
Computing resources available to PhD students and researchers in the Department of Finance
The Department of Finance arranged for the following resources for researchers needing high performance computing:
Desktop Workstations- SOE
The standard set up is available to all academic staff and PhD students in the Department
- Dell Precision 490 workstation
- Intel® Dual Core XeonTM Processor 5160 3.0GHz (4MB L2 cache, 1333MHz FSB)
- Integrated Broadcom(R) 5752 Gigabit Ethernet
- 4GB (2x2GB) 667MHz ECC Quad-channel DDR Fully Buffered DIMM memory
- 256MB PCIe x16 ATI FireGL V7200, Dual VGA or Dual DVI or DVI+VGA Video Card
- 24inch LCD monitor (for staff)
- 19inch LCD monitor (for PhDs)
- 2 x 73GB SAS Hard Disk drives (15,000 rpm) with RAID 0
- 16x DVD +/-RW drive with CD/DVD burning software
- Integrated Sigmatel STAC9200 Hi-Def Audio CODEC & Intel AC97 digital controller
- Vista-ready, Windows XP installed
Support:
- Dell-provided Gold class support. Maximum 4-hour response time
- Three-year warranty
- IT staff maintain one “Mirror” – an exact copy of the SOE with base software install – to replace any or all failed components of a PhD/Academic computer.
Software
- Go to the list of Academic software available for finance staff and researchers
eResearch
In addition to the high-specification desktop computer provided to all academic staff in the Department, additional computing support is available for data-intensive research and to enable research collaboration with colleagues within or beyond the Department.
Research room
Dell Precision 670 and 690 workstations are available in a room equipped with a printer and desk space for up to three users. Users may also connect to the Research room via remote desktop.
These machines have a copy of all software available in the Department.
The Research room can be used by all academic staff. Research Assistants and Visitors may apply to for permission to use the Research room, via their Supervisor/Host.
4TB of secured storage
All staff have access to a personal folder on a networked storage server. This space is provided for research data, which is not included in the regular backup of staff files on desktop computers. The storage server is copied to tapes stored offsite.
FTP for research collaboration
Academic staff can copy files to a Department-hosted FTP server and nominate research collaborators who can access the files. FTP access is available from anywhere in the world.
High performance computing facility
Accounts with the University High Performance Computing Facility are available for finance researchers. HPC is a UNIX-based system, running SAS, MATLAB, C, and a range of other software. Access is via a command line interface, with FTP transfers of data and scripts.
Through the University HPC, it is also possible to access VPAC. The Department of Finance has supplied VPAC with a licence for MATLAB’s distributed computing engine.