Distributed Compute Labs Addresses Canada's Digital Research Infrastructure Gap, Transforms the World's Idle Compute Power into a Public Good

DCL successfully completes full-scale deployment of its collaborative compute network with Queen's University researchers and the Centre for Advanced Computing

KINGSTON, ON, Jan. 31, 2019 /CNW/ - Distributed Compute Labs (DCL) has developed the Distributed Compute Protocol (DCP), the world's first browser-compatible compute platform that allows businesses and academic institutions to securely share and access idle computing power across any electronic device. DCL has successfully tested the first full-scale deployment of its compute network with researchers from Queen's University's Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy, with the support of the Centre for Advanced Computing (CAC) at Queen's.

DCP was developed to explicitly address the significant shortage of compute capacity available to scientists, engineers, and academics in Canada, and facilitates complex computations required to conduct world-class research. DCL's browser-compatible technology allows any internet-connected device to contribute idle compute power with no software installation or plug-ins required, and makes it available to researchers in exchange for Distributed Compute Credits (DCC). For researchers, computations are automatically and securely performed through a web browser, making access to the network as simple as visiting a web page.

Dr. Kristine Spekkens, Associate Professor of Astronomy, Astrophysics & Relativity, utilized DCP to model the distribution of light and orbits of gas clouds in galaxies in order to understand their structure and evolution in the Universe. Computations that typically take days using traditional compute resources were completed in minutes.

"Canada is one of the top countries in the world for the study of astronomy. To remain so, we need the computational resources to collect and analyze data from increasingly sophisticated telescopes and instruments," said Dr. Spekkens. "DCL's web-based distributed compute framework is a ground-breaking solution that can help close the gap in compute resources. We are excited by the potential impact this will have on fundamental astronomy research in Canada."

CAC is currently implementing a closed-loop deployment of DCP to test increased delivery of advanced research computing solutions.  Dozens of Infrastructure-, Platform-, Software- and Analytics-as-a-Service platforms are managed by CAC for Queen's and partners across Ontario and Canada.  Securely harnessing their idle compute power and those throughout the ecosystem will significantly increase research IT resources critically needed to advance Canadian research.

"Canada's digital research infrastructure is underdeveloped in comparison to other G7 nations, which threatens our ability to be at the forefront of global innovation. As demand for compute power outstrips supply at an increasingly rapid rate, we risk losing our nation's top minds and innovative companies to countries that can meet their needs," said Dr. Daniel Desjardins, CEO of Distributed Compute Labs and an active physics researcher. "The entire team at DCL believes that our Canadian solution can help bridge the current gap for compute and easily scale to become the de facto global standard for web-based distributed computing. Our successful testing with Queen's researchers and the CAC brings us a crucial step closer to achieving our vision."

"Harnessing the unused power of latent computer cores opens up real opportunity for Canadian researchers to access much-needed advanced computing resources," said Nizar Ladak, President & CEO of Compute Ontario. "Advanced research computing is the backbone of innovation, and the potential of the Distributed Compute Protocol to complement and enhance existing resources is incredible."

Distributed Compute Labs is transforming compute resources into a public utility by harnessing idle compute power through a browser or app to meet pressing computational demand. Demand is met by distributing computations over a network of participants, each of whom earn Distributed Compute Credits (DCC), an ERC20 digital token, proportional to their contribution. Researchers deploying computational projects attach DCC to their work packages based on performance requirements, priority of execution, and level of security.

Individuals interested in providing their idle compute power to support research and innovation in Canada can visit: https://distributed.computer.

About the Centre for Advanced Computing @ Queen's University
The Centre for Advanced Computing (CAC) (http://cac.queensu.ca) is a research centre specializing in designing and managing secure, advanced computing solutions and support for academic and medical clients across Ontario and Canada. A security and privacy focus at CAC enables our partners to meet the strictest regulatory frameworks and standards in Canada and worldwide. In addition to delivering reliable, secure computing, CAC has been successful in advancing world-class research through its high-performance computing platform, supporting over 300 Canadian research groups from over 80 institutions working in a variety of fields, including Dr. Arthur B. McDonald, Queen's Nobel Laureate for his work in particle astrophysics at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). 

About Compute Ontario
Compute Ontario is the provincial agency that coordinates access to advanced research computing and Ontario's Big Data strategy. Access to this critical technology happens through our four consortia – SciNet, SHARCNET, Centre for Advanced Computing, and HPC4Health. Nationally, we partner with Compute Canada and regional organizations ACENET, Calcul Quebec, and Westgrid, to plan and coordinate the supply of advanced computing for Canadian academic researchers.

About DCL
Distributed Compute Labs (DCL) was founded in Kingston, Ontario by Greg Agnew, an experienced software developer, and Dr. Dan Desjardins, a professor of Physics and Space Sciences at the Royal Military College of Canada. Its mission is to propel Canada to be the world leader in the use of distributed computing for research, discovery, and innovation. The company has created the Distributed Compute Protocol, the world's first browser-based framework that allows businesses, academic institutions, and general consumers to securely buy and sell idle computing power across any electronic device. DCL is working closely with organizations such as Compute Ontario and the Centre of Advanced Computing @ Queen's University to give researchers, academics, and engineers the powerful digital resources they need to drive innovation in Canada. For more information, visit: https://distributed.computer/

SOURCE Distributed Compute Labs

Media Contact: Jason Kinnear, [email protected], 647-291-8026