Research computing has become fundamental to modern science, engineering, artificial intelligence, data analysis, digital humanities, health research, education and innovation.

But research computing is no longer limited to supercomputers.

Today, researchers may need anything from a persistent virtual machine or a small GPU environment to object storage, a research database, a teaching platform, a public-facing science gateway or a large-scale HPC system.

Canada therefore needs a research computing ecosystem that supports many different kinds of workloads, institutions and researchers.

What Is Research Computing?

Research computing includes the computing, storage, software, networking and data infrastructure used to conduct research.

Depending on the project, that can include:

• CPU and GPU compute
• Virtual machines
• High Performance Computing
• AI and machine learning environments
• Jupyter and RStudio environments
• Research databases
• Object and research data storage
• Containers and development environments
• Simulation and modelling platforms
• Science gateways and research portals
• Teaching and training environments
• Long-running research services

Some projects require hundreds or thousands of tightly connected processor cores.

Others need a single virtual machine that can remain available for months.

Both are research computing.

Canada’s Research Computing Ecosystem

Canada has a substantial academic and Advanced Research Computing ecosystem.

National and regional research computing organizations, universities, colleges, hospitals and research institutes provide infrastructure supporting large-scale scientific computing, artificial intelligence, data-intensive research and specialized research applications.

These systems are essential for workloads such as large simulations, tightly coupled parallel computing, major AI workloads and computationally intensive research.

Institutional infrastructure adds another important layer. Many universities and research organizations operate local clusters, servers, storage systems and specialized research environments for their communities.

Commercial cloud providers provide another option, particularly where rapid provisioning, specialized services or elastic infrastructure are required.

Each model serves an important role.

But no single model is appropriate for every research workload.

The Research Computing Gap

A significant amount of research falls between a researcher’s laptop and a large-scale HPC allocation.

A project may need:

• A persistent Linux virtual machine
• 8, 16 or 32 CPU cores
• A modest GPU allocation
• A development or testing environment
• Several terabytes of research storage
• A server for a research application
• A Jupyter environment
• Infrastructure for a student research project
• A teaching laboratory
• A public-facing research portal
• A long-running research service

These workloads may not require a supercomputer.

They still require reliable research infrastructure.

Access can also vary considerably between institutions. Some researchers have substantial local resources available. Others work at smaller institutions, belong to groups without dedicated infrastructure, require environments that institutional systems do not provide, or need additional capacity beyond what is locally available.

Independent researchers and citizen scientists may have even fewer options.

Where myresearchcloud.ca Fits

myresearchcloud.ca was created to extend, not replace, Canada’s academic and Advanced Research Computing ecosystem.

Operated by Computing for Humanity, myresearchcloud.ca provides Canadian-hosted CPU, GPU and storage resources for research workloads that benefit from cloud-style infrastructure, persistence, accessibility and predictable costs.

We are particularly suited to projects that need:

• Persistent virtual machines
• CPU-based analysis and development
• Fractional or dedicated GPU resources
• AI and machine learning development
• Research software environments
• Data preprocessing
• Research storage
• Teaching and training environments
• Science gateways and research portals
• Long-running research applications
• Overflow capacity for laboratories and research groups

Where a workload belongs on a large national HPC system, specialized institutional platform or another research facility, those resources remain an important part of the ecosystem.

The objective is not to put every research workload on one platform.

It is to give researchers more viable paths to the infrastructure they need.

Who We Serve

myresearchcloud.ca supports:

• University researchers
• College and polytechnic researchers
• Graduate and undergraduate students
• Educators and instructors
• Research laboratories
• Nonprofit research organizations
• Independent scholars
• Citizen scientists
• Research software developers
• Community science projects
• Public-interest research initiatives

We also provide paid academic infrastructure for research groups and institutions that need larger, longer-term or more predictable allocations.

Research Computing for Different Stages of Research

Research infrastructure requirements often change as a project develops.

A researcher might begin by testing an idea on a small virtual machine.

The project may then require additional CPU capacity, a GPU for model development, larger data storage or persistent infrastructure for collaborators.

Eventually, a mature workload may require a dedicated server, larger GPU environment, institutional infrastructure or a national-scale HPC allocation.

These are not competing models.

They are different stages and scales of research computing.

myresearchcloud.ca can provide an accessible entry point, development environment, supplementary resource or longer-term research platform depending on the workload.

Free Research Computing

Eligible Canadian researchers, students and citizen scientists can apply for free myresearchcloud.ca resources for approved non-commercial research.

Free allocations are intended for projects that can benefit from modest but useful CPU, GPU and storage resources without requiring a large infrastructure commitment.

They are particularly well suited to exploratory research, prototypes, student work, independent research, public-interest projects and workloads that need a persistent research environment.

Free capacity is finite and allocations are reviewed to ensure that resources are used for legitimate research purposes.

Paid Academic Research Infrastructure

Research groups, laboratories and institutions requiring additional capacity can use our paid academic services.

Paid resources provide larger CPU and GPU environments, additional storage, longer-term capacity and support options with predictable pricing.

This provides a pathway for research projects to grow without requiring researchers to immediately move into complex hyperscale cloud environments or procure and operate their own infrastructure.

Canadian-Hosted Research Computing

Research infrastructure is increasingly evaluated not only by performance and price, but also by where data and computing resources are located and who operates them.

myresearchcloud.ca compute and storage are hosted in Canada.

This can be important for projects with Canadian data residency requirements, institutional policies, research agreements, public-interest obligations or sovereignty considerations.

Canadian-hosted research infrastructure also contributes to a broader domestic ecosystem of compute, storage, networking, expertise and research capability.

A More Accessible Research Computing Ecosystem

Canada already has significant research computing infrastructure.

The opportunity is to make that ecosystem more accessible across different institutions, disciplines, project sizes and stages of research.

National HPC systems, institutional infrastructure, specialized research platforms, commercial clouds and nonprofit research clouds each solve different problems.

A stronger ecosystem gives researchers the ability to choose the resource appropriate to their workload rather than forcing every project into the same model.

myresearchcloud.ca contributes to that ecosystem by providing accessible, affordable and Canadian-hosted research computing for researchers who need another path to CPU, GPU and storage resources.

Explore Research Computing Resources

Need research computing for your project?

Apply for a free research allocation, explore our academic CPU and GPU services, or contact us to discuss infrastructure for your laboratory, research group or institution.