At least in Europe we are building a common super-computer infrastructure exactly for this. Tier 0 (EuroHPC) to tier 3 (University clusters) now have considerable amount of GPU (both due to demand, but also since classical CPU-heavy FLOPs have becime even more expensive due to RAM prices). Our system will be in a ISO 27001 / TISAX level 3 scope (rather relevant for engineering). The system work up to a PUE of 1.1 and will also solve part of heating decarbonization problem. We need souvereignity in research. But we at least in research we do not need each lab buying their own workstations anymore. The systems are actually also now also offered to start-ups and small enterprises that don't have the capex/opex for efficient and secure compute themselves.
[−]SubiculumCode · 2026-11-15 Sun 08:07 UTC ·
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That is a third possibility, because there are Federal supportrd resources for compute, see [1]. And I can and will probably use at some point, but there is something about not having to deal with other people's systems and having that bare metal right there.
More like building shared infra to get at a better and more efficent end of scaling laws, than having many small clusters all over. I don't think it really is a privacy question but just a way more economical solution.
Basically make your own hpc provider for academic purposes, and rent out extra capacity to smaller commercial interests to utilise that spare capacity and also prop up the local economy with usable research compute.
Here it is not the privacy concern of the user but that of third parties (e.g. those in medical images). And yes I am a strong advocate of using shared infrastructure for this rather than letting some PhD student handle this a part of their research (which is the reality with lab clusters)
Information sources vary per country, but there should be lists like this one [0] for Germany. Access condition are a bit of a mess. EuroHPC was started to harmonize things a bit [1] but also here the reality is complicated at least for the 50% funded by national money.
[−]SubiculumCode · 2026-11-15 Sun 07:52 UTC ·
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It's possibility that I've considered, am still considering. Mostly because I am used to working locally, but also because I am not sure which works out cheapest in the end. For my use cases, if I need anything with more than 24 or 32 GB, it definitely makes sense to rent I thing. Those cards are extra pricy. Also, I keep the GPU and analysis computer for the lab after the grant ends, but I don't keep my budget for online conpute..that would go back to the Federal government, so it makes sense for some level of hardware to be around for lean times
I mean, Runpod is relatively cheap at that VRAM tier, it might be a good interim solution so you don't have to completely sit on your hands while you wait.
[1] https://allocations.access-ci.org/resources
You're building a common infrastructure to address privacy concerns about the use of shared infrastructure??
Basically make your own hpc provider for academic purposes, and rent out extra capacity to smaller commercial interests to utilise that spare capacity and also prop up the local economy with usable research compute.
[0] https://gauss-allianz.de/en/hpc-ecosystem
[1] https://access.eurohpc-ju.europa.eu/