In November 1998, the Australian Government through the (now) Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) established the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing (APAC) to lead the development of an Australia-wide advanced computing infrastructure supported by coordinated programs in research, education and technology diffusion.
The APAC partnership was established in June 2000 and now has 8 partners, one in each State as well as the ANU and CSIRO.
The initial funds from the Australian Government supported the operation of APAC effectively for the period until December 2003. For the current stage of APAC (2004-6), the Government has committed funds to strengthen APAC’s role of developing the advanced computing and grid infrastructure for the Australian research community.
This commitment has been expressed in an agreement between the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Australian National University (ANU) acting as host institution of APAC.
The Australian Government Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP, announced the support for APAC in May 2004.
The role of APAC is to contribute to the advanced computing, communications and information infrastructure (eResearch) for Australia's research communities.
Accordingly, APAC's mission is:
‘Providing the advanced computing and grid infrastructure for eResearch’
The main objectives of APAC are to:
The anticipated outcomes expected for the current stage of APAC are:
APAC has three main programs: the National Facility Program (including a sub-program on Computational Tools and Techniques (CT&T)), the APAC Grid Program and the Education, Outreach and Training (EOT) Program.
During the period to the end of 2006, the capabilities of the peak computing system at the APAC National Facility will be dramatically increased, enabling new approaches to research problems and new solutions to benefit Australian industry and society.
A Request for Proposal was issued for a new peak computing system and associated services for the APAC National Facility on 30 June 2004 and a new system is expected to be installed around April 2005.
The CT&T program involves all 8 partners in developing tools and techniques for key users of the APAC and partner facilities.
The APAC Grid program is building a national grid infrastructure integrating the APAC and partner facilities to give Australian researchers seamless access the computational and data resources in these facilities. The APAC National Grid will also provide a new range of services to support research collaboration, nationally and internationally.
APAC is continuing its support for education, outreach and training, in order to increase the skills of users and potential users of advanced computing and grid facilities. The EOT program is supporting a courseware project which is delivering on-line materials for presenters of educational and training courses on advanced computing and the grid.
APAC is continuing to develop relationships with similar organisations and programs overseas. APAC and the Australian Research Council sponsored a visit by 8 researchers to the UK eScience program in May 2004. APAC and NCSA organised a US-Australia workshop on High-Performance Grids and Applications in Sydney in June 2004.