Research · Facilities
Timaeus HPC
CASSA's high-performance computing cluster — shared infrastructure supporting simulation, data reduction, and analysis across all of CASSA's research.
Shared HPC Infrastructure
About Timaeus
Timaeus is CASSA's high-performance computing cluster, providing computational resources across all of CASSA's research. Designed to scale toward a future supercomputing facility, Timaeus supports simulation workloads (21cmFAST, galaxy formation simulations), radio interferometry reduction pipelines, X-ray data analysis, and machine learning workflows. The cluster is a Supermicro workstation procured through IBSS, the authorized Supermicro importer in Bangladesh.
Custodian
Khan Muhammad Bin Asad
CASSA Director
Day-to-day Operations
Muhammad Jobair Hasan
Manager, Science
Job Scheduler
SLURM
Fair-share scheduling · 72-hour default job limit · 60-day scratch purge
Backup Policy
3-2-1 backup regime
3 copies, 2 media types, 1 offsite
Hardware
Inside the machine
Timaeus is a single Supermicro SuperServer SYS-740A-T workstation, configured for the memory- and compute-heavy astrophysical workloads CASSA runs and upgraded over time as demand has grown — most recently to 192 GB of RAM, a 2 TB enterprise SSD, and 24 TB of bulk disk.
| Component | Model | Configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Server | Supermicro SuperServer SYS-740A-T | Tower / 4U workstation chassis |
| CPU | Intel Xeon Silver 4314 | 2 × 16 cores → 32 cores / 64 threads |
| GPU | NVIDIA Quadro RTX A4000 (Leadtek) | 16 GB GDDR6 |
| Memory | DDR4-3200 MHz ECC | 192 GB |
| OS drive | Enterprise SSD | 2 TB |
| Storage | Seagate 3.5″ HDD | 24 TB (8 TB + 16 TB) |
Procured through IBSS, the authorized Supermicro importer in Bangladesh; arrived 25 Sep 2023.
Access
Using Timaeus
HPC Access
Access and usage policy
Timaeus is shared infrastructure accessible to all CASSA members. Access is granted by the HPC Custodian to CASSA members and their supervised students.
Acknowledgement requirement
All papers, theses, and reports making use of Timaeus computational resources must include the designated CASSA HPC acknowledgement string as specified in Constitution Appendix H. Contact the HPC Custodian for the current acknowledgement text.
Scientific Use
What Timaeus powers
21-cm Cosmology
Runs 21cmFAST and related simulation codes for CHronOS research on the epoch of reionization
Radio Pipeline
Processes radio interferometry data from LOFAR, SKA, and the STAR Telescope; primary beam characterisation and calibration
X-ray Analysis
Chandra cluster analysis pipelines and machine learning workflows for the GATE and RAIN research areas
Optical & Statistical
Light curve modeling, spectral analysis pipelines, and photometric data reduction for time-domain and supernova projects
Galaxy Simulations
Cosmological hydrodynamical simulation analysis for galaxy evolution studies
Machine Learning
Deep learning workflows for astronomical image classification and source detection