Penguin Computing Announces GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud – an On-Demand Cloud Service for the Federal Government

New HPC and AI service provides government agencies with a complete and flexible cloud compute environment and eliminates performance, security, and scalability challenges


FREMONT, Calif., Nov. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Supercomputing 2021 -- Penguin Computing, a division of SGH (Nasdaq: SGH) and leader in high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI), today announced the release of GovPOD (Government Penguin On Demand) HPC/AI Cloud. GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud is a new HPC and AI service for federal government agencies featuring a complete software, hardware, and management platform which eliminates many of the performance, scalability, and security challenges associated with traditional cloud computing environments.

With Penguin Computing GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud, federal government customers can harness the power of a high-performance, bare-metal, HPC environment in the cloud without the investment in a complex, lengthy, and costly on-premises, infrastructure solution. GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud is an on-demand, high-performance, cloud-based, secure HPC environment that flexibly supports AI, traditional HPC, and containerized work flows.

To ensure that federal government customers have the most secure environment available to protect their private data, secure their identity, and restrict access to only authorized users, GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud is a secure “as-a-service” offering that meets FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) security standards. GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud is based on Penguin Computing’s AccessHPC solution built on proprietary compute-optimized hardware, with Red Hat® Cloud Suite technologies, and Penguin Computing Scyld Clusterware® and Scyld Cloud Manager software suite.

“As a market leader, Penguin brings high-performance compute environments to the government with the security and control they need without having to invest in on-premises infrastructure,” said Sid Mair, president of Penguin Computing. “Paired with our transparent pricing and expert technical support, we’re uniquely positioned to partner with federal agencies to provide integrated capabilities across their on-premises and public cloud environments.”

Key Points about Penguin Computing GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud

  • Meets FedRAMP Security Standards. GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud consists of redundant computing sites rated to operate the entire security suite of standards as defined by NIST 800-53 and 800-171 for DFARS, delivering a FedRAMP moderate environment.
  • Designed to meet DoD HPC Modernization Program Standards (HPCMP). GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud is designed to meet the requirements of the DoD HPCMP which includes monitoring cloud-based services to determine risk and maintain security. Penguin worked through several iterations of our Scyld capabilities and added recommendations from the DoD HPC Modernization Program into our AccessHPC/GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud offerings.
  • Uses a Single-Tenant Compute Environment. Unlike multi-tenant cloud environments, the GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud compute environment is segregated to protect users’ privacy.
  • Layers on Physical Security. GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud is hosted at a highly-secure, Tier III facility that undergoes an annual SSAE18 SOC 2 Type II audit.
  • Ensures Data Security. All customer data lives solely at Penguin Computing’s United States, Tier III datacenter facility. Customers have complete control over access and persistence of their cloud data.
  • Uses Encrypted Connections. All access to GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud is over secure, industry standard, encrypted protocols HTTPS+SSL, SSH through AES-128 or AES-256, or customized private VPN connections through AES-256.
  • Penguin Computing is in the process of FedRAMP certification to ensure GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud meets all necessary requirements to be adopted by the federal government.

“At EarthCast Technologies, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of environmental prediction at the global scale. GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud’s scalable, bare-metal clusters enable us to concentrate on our customers and how to provide them the best solution, rather than having to purchase, run, and maintain our own HPC assets,” said Greg Wilson, CEO of EarthCast Technologies. “Penguin Computing’s customer support approach is truly outstanding. Access to their outstanding customer support team for GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud has been invaluable. Their innovation and the support needed to engineer, design, and test solutions for our customers has allowed us to expand our business into new sectors.”

Customers will be able to utilize GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud beginning in January 2022 during the assessment period, and Penguin Computing expects to complete its FedRAMP moderate level assessment by the first half of 2022. For more information on instant access to a FedRAMP-secure HPC compute environment in the cloud, visit: https://www.fedramp.gov/assets/resources/documents/FedRAMP_Branding_Guidance.pdf

Follow Penguin Computing on Twitter @PenguinHPC and use our official hashtags #HPCeverywhere and #AIeverywhere to stay connected.

About Penguin Computing
For 20 years, Penguin Computing has reimagined how startups, Fortune 500, government, and academic organizations solve complex technology challenges to achieve their organizational goals. Penguin Computing is focused on open platforms, including Open Compute Project (OCP) systems. We specialize in innovative on-premises high performance computing (HPC), bare metal HPC in the cloud, AI, and storage technologies coupled with leading-edge design, implementation, hosting, and managed services including sys-admin and storage-as-a-service, and highly rated customer support. More information at www.penguincomputing.com.

Penguin Computing, GovPOD HPC/AI Cloud, AccessHPC, Scyld Clusterware, and Scyld Cloud Manager are trademarks or registered trademarks of Penguin Computing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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