GIS and Remote Sensing Unit at FEM-CRI

FEM-GIS cluster

The FEM GIS cluster consists of 300 nodes with 610 Gb RAM and 35 TB (raw) disk space.

The Dell Blades are equipped with 16Gb/32Gb/48Gb/64GB RAM; two blades are double-size, all connected via 10 Gb ethernet. The file server is a 4-Core Xeon 2.66GHz with 8Gb RAM.

What we do on this cluster

Our GIS and remote sensing projects require the creation of ecological indicators from vast GIS and remote sensing data bases. For example, we postprocess and reconstruct time series of MODIS satellite data and generate photoperiod maps from high resolution elevation maps which are relevant to distribution modelling of parasites. See our project pages (left menu) to learn more about results and publications. Topics are

• modeling the potential distribution of Aedes albopictus
• behavioural gradients in partial migration of roe deer
• Fusion of airborne  LIDAR and satellite multispectral data for the estimation of timber volume
• Estimating daily Land Surface Temperatures in mountainous environments by reconstructed MODIS LST data
• Tick infestation on roe deer in relation to geographic and remotely-sensed climatic variables in a tick-borne encephalitis endemic area

Technical specifications

Blades

• 2 PowerEdge M1000e Blade Enclosures
• 7 PE M600 Quad-Core Xeon E5420 2.5GHz/2x6MB 1333FSB, RAM 16GB 667MHz FBD (8x2GB dual rank DIMMs), 2 x 73GB SAS (15,000rpm) 2.5in Hard Drive
• 7 PE M610 24-Core Xeon X5670/2.93GHz, RAM 48GB, 2 x 73GB SAS (15,000rpm) 2.5in Hard Drive
• 5 PE M600 Quad-Core Xeon E5420 2.5GHz/2x6MB 1333FSB, RAM 32GB 667MHz FBD (8x4GB dual rank DIMMs), 2 x 73GB SAS (15,000rpm) 2.5in Hard Drive
• 2 PE M905 4x Quad Core Opteron 8354 (2.2GHz, RAM 64GB, 2 x 73GB SAS (15,000rpm) 2.5in Hard Drive
• 2 PowerConnect M6220 switch 20 Port Redundant (FI)

File server

• 1 PE2950 III Quad-Core Xeon E5430 2.66GHz/2x6MB 1333FSB
• 1 MD3000 external SAS RAID array with 2 single-port controllers
• 14 * 750 GBdisk space

UPS

• APC Smart-UPS RT 8000VA - UPS ( esterno ) - 220/230/240 V c.a. V - 8000VA - Ethernet 10/100 - 9 Connettori uscita - 6U

Operating System

• Scientific Linux 5.x: http://www.scientificlinux.org
• Blades: Scientific Linux 5.x Live CD and DVD - Diskless Client: http://www.livecd.ethz.ch/diskless.html

Backup

• Dell PowerVault 124T, dual magazine tape autoloader, used with Bacula backup software, 15TB space

Job scheduler

• Grid Engine (GE 6.1u5): http://gridengine.sunsource.net/

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