After the successful first iteration 2024/2025 the GWDG in coordination with the University of Göttingen is thrilled to announce the launch of the Scalable Storage Competition (SSC) 2025/2026, a unique opportunity for teams to demonstrate their expertise in high-performance computing (HPC) and storage solutions.
The competition, which will take place from summer 2025 to May 2026, will culminate with the announcement of the winners at a special Birds of a Feather (BoF) session during the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) 2026. Interested teams can register until 17 August 2025. Sponsors who would like to support the competition or teams but do not yet have their own team also have the opportunity to apply by the end of August.
Participating teams will have access to a real cluster hardware consisting of 24 nodes with Intel Xeon Gold 6148 CPUs, eight Storage Servers and supporting infrastructure, provided within the context of the Future Technology Platform for the contest. Teams will have full access to the underlying systems, allowing them to set up their own software solution and optimize their performance.
The goal of the competition is to enable I/O for various HPC application scenarios, outperforming other teams and claiming victory. To achieve this, participants will research, select, install and configure different storage solutions and systems to optimize the performance for specified benchmarks, applications, and scenarios to push the limits of scalable storage solutions.
Beyond the technical challenges, the Scalable Storage Competition offers participants a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a realistic HPC environment, improve their skills, and expand their professional network. By working together to overcome complex technical challenges, teams will develop valuable expertise and connections that will benefit their future careers. The SSC is proudly steered by a distinguished steering board, comprising representatives from leading academic institutions – the University of Göttingen, the RWTH Aachen, and the GWDG – alongside industry leaders DDN, Huawei, and VAST. This diverse collaboration ensures a comprehensive perspective, uniting academic rigor with real-world expertise in the realm of scalable storage solutions.
Get in touch
Teams interested in participating in the Scalable Storage Competition are encouraged to register to our mailing list listed below to get updates and learn more about the competition rules, guidelines, and requirements on the website listed below.
Further information
- Scalable Storage Competition: http://ssc.vi4io.org/
- Future Technology Platform: https://gwdg.de/en/hpc/services/hpcftp/
- Benefits, Course, Roadmap SCC: https://gwdg.de/en/hpc/services/hpcftp/ssc/
- Participation: https://gwdg.de/en/hpc/services/hpcftp/ssc/ssc_application/
- Conditions & Rules: https://gwdg.de/en/hpc/services/hpcftp/ssc/ssc_conditions_rules/
- Mailing List: ftp-ssc@gwdg.de