ExCALIBUR H&ES governance model

Delivery Board (DB)

The H&ES Delivery Board will provide oversight and governance for the programme as a whole. This group is in the process of formation and will be chaired by joint H&ES project lead Prof Simon McIntosh-Smith (University of Bristol). Smith also sits on the ExCALIBUR Steering Committee and will act as key point of contact between H&ES and the wider ExCALIBUR initiative.

Technical Working Group (TWG)

TWG membership

  • Chair of the TWG - John Taylor (StackHPC/SKA)
  • TWG project manager - Andrew Attwood (Hartree Centre - STFC)
  • ExCALIBUR H&ES joint project leads - Prof Simon McIntosh-Smith (University of Bristol) and Revd Dr Jeremy Yates (UCL)
  • ExCALIBUR H&ES project manager - Martin Hamilton (UCL)
  • Representatives of each testbed project supported by H&ES

TWG terms of reference

  • Role - to ensure the successful delivery of technology testbeds to support ExCALIBUR’s Exascale Software Development Programme.
  • TWG activities
    • Monitor the delivery and use of the individual technology testbeds on a monthly basis, reporting progress and issues to the delivery board.
    • Provide guidance and support to the testbed delivery teams.
    • Conduct horizon scanning to identify technology that should be considered for evaluation as part of the technology clusters.
    • Engage with the Technology Providers Panel (TPP) to ensure requirements transfer and “State of the Art” technology feed in.
    • Support benchmarking teams by providing system insight and also gaining system feedback.
    • Manage e-infrastructure integration activities identified by the Excalibur H&ES board.
    • Provide input to the “extrapolation to Exascale” exercises.
    • Coordinate Technical training webinars and insight sessions relating to testbeds or resources provided by technology partners.
    • Provide technical input to funding calls.
    • Interact with International fellow travellers on road to Exascale.
    • Co-author project progress reports, white papers, technical reports or journal/conference papers.
  • Meetings - the TWG will meet formally once a month, these meetings will be used to track testbed progress and form the basis of regular reports to the H&ES board. It is expected that ad hoc meetings will be carried out to discuss and resolve testbed issues.
  • Reporting
    • Prepare an annual report for the H&ES Delivery Board to be presented by the Chair of the TWG.
    • Record minutes of meetings, including technology testbed progress.

Technology Providers Panel (TPP)

TPP membership

  • Chair of the TPP - David Lecomber (Arm)
  • ExCALIBUR H&ES joint project leads - Prof Simon McIntosh-Smith (University of Bristol) and Revd Dr Jeremy Yates (UCL)
  • ExCALIBUR H&ES project manager - Martin Hamilton (UCL)
  • Representatives of technology providers working with the programme - see graphic for logos of participating organisations

TPP terms of reference

A Technology Providers Panel (TPP) will be formed to allow the H&ES Programme to interact and collaborate with Technology Providers in a strategic manner to increase the efficacy and efficiency of our projects. This will be carried out with mainly bilateral interactions between the H&ES Programme and individual Technology Providers.

The TPP will be asked, whether individually or collectively, to provide advice to the H&ES Programme and where appropriate review materials for the Programme.

A Chair will be appointed by the Chair of the Delivery Board. The TPP Chair will work with the Project Directors and the DB Project Manager to produce ToRs and an early programme of activities.

Initially the DB Project Manager and the Project Directors will manage this, but we hope a dedicated position will be set up to manage these relationships and co-ordinate the activities of the TPP. Currently the role of the TPP is defined as below. TPP members will be expected to: -

  • Design and participate in H&ES Projects and this participation in, and the interaction with, the H&ES Projects will be the main way in which knowledge exchange and impact will be generated.
  • This participation can be in the form of co-design of software, middleware and/or hardware; the benchmarking of software, middleware and/or hardware; designing and/or providing training in the use of software, middleware and/or hardware.
  • Attend briefings, workshops and networking events organised by the H&ES Project
  • Co-author project progress reports, white papers, technical reports or journal/conference papers
  • Contribute hardware, middleware, software via loans, donations or discounting to the H&ES Projects
  • The TPP shall prepare an annual report for the H&ES Delivery Board and this will be presented by the Chair of the TPP. This report will contain a report on the above activities.

A key requirement will be to produce an accepted methodology and process that enables the H&ES Programme members to share NDA information with other H&ES Programme members with the permission and knowledge of the involved Technology Provider Panel member or members.