“We collaborate as researchers, and students have to move between different projects, and moving from a PC to a Mac is easy.”
Dr Guillaume Chapron, Assistant Professor,
Grimsö Wildlife Research Station at Swedish University Of Agricultural Sciences
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences: Xgrid runs with the wolves
When the team heard that SLU Department of Ecology was inviting proposals for Apple equipment to be supported through the ARTS programme, they saw an opportunity to use Apple Xgrid technology and to exploit computer power in a cluster. The proposal to the University’s assessment committee was to build a cluster with five Mac Pro systems at the Grimsö research station, to deliver high speed computing support. The team also requested a MacBook Pro to control simulations while on the move. The proposal was successful, enabling a fast start to the task of solving an increasingly urgent wildlife problem.
“It’s a solution designed for maximum efficiency and flexibility”, Dr Chapron says. “Colleagues and students can work on the Mac Pro systems while they are being used remotely for computations, because Apple’s Xgrid doesn’t care whose office the system is in. The laptop means that if we are asked to simulate the effects of wolf management in France or another European country, we can connect to the Xgrid controller remotely and launch simulations on the Mac Pro cluster here - getting the results much more quickly from the cluster than using the laptop standalone”.
“Apple provides all that is needed to develop a simulation model through its development environment Xcode”, he said. “Apple’s Xgrid technology for clustered computing is also very easy to set up. It is so intuitive that one doesn’t even really need to read the instructions to set up a cluster”.
The most significant benefit for Dr Chapron’s project is the speed with which computations can be executed using an Xgrid distributed system. “I can run simulations in minutes that it would take days to perform using a single laptop“, he says. “This means that I can also consider running simulations that would not have been possible before. This is important in providing reliable recommendations for management”.
He is pleased with his Apple solution for a number of other reasons. “First, setting up the cluster is very easy. Then, when it’s up and running, I don’t need to have to think about how it all works. I can just get on with my studies and use it as an efficient tool. It just works without any fuss. Everything I want to use is just so easy with the Mac - from sending an email, to viewing attachments, to developing a complex code. And should I need Windows only software, sometimes the software even runs faster on a Mac than on a normal PC”.
“Finally, it’s just pleasant to use. That also encourages others on the station to use the Apple technology, even if they haven’t used a Mac before“, he claims. “We collaborate as researchers, and students have to move between different projects, and moving from a PC to a Mac is easy”.
Like most research agencies, Grimsö needs to operate as cost-effectively as possible. Dr Chapron says that the cluster will make an important contribution to systems efficiency. “Hopefully, it will mean we can avoid investing in some new systems, and save money for research”.
As an ARTS Laureate, Dr Chapron and the team will also qualify for discounts on Apple products, and be able to access Apple’s systems engineers on a dedicated network to gain expert advice on common and individual technology problems.
The true test of success will of course be in years to come, says Dr Chapron. ”If, in 10 years time, there is still a viable wolf population in Sweden, and people have accepted their presence because they know that wolves can be controlled, my research will have been a major success. It means Apple will have made a big contribution to biodiversity conservation”.
The project is scheduled for two years, and is also expected to contribute to research on wolverine and lynx populations. Meanwhile, the ARTS programme - which backs important research projects across Europe - is reviewing other potential research project Laureates at other science institutions.
