Quantum Physics Made Easier? Centerprise Joins Forces with CERN for a Second Round

Media Release 21/12/16


Centerprise is proud to announce its award of a £1.7m contract with the renowned European Research Facility for Nuclear Science, CERN.

This year CERN release a global tender for the procurement of two lots of 210,000 HEP-SPEC06³ energy-efficient, rack-mountable systems for the CERN Data Centre, located in Meyrin, Switzerland.

The tender required bidders from across the world to provide a solution for the delivery of the required CPU Servers for Physics Data Processing, Acquisition and Control Systems, all according to CERN's predefined specifications and strict delivery requirements.

Another prerequisite of the tender was for bidders to supply test log files for power, storage and system performance, with successful bidders also providing a sample system for evaluation, in order to ensure the results matched those stated on the tender response.

In partnership with E4 Computer Engineering, Centerprise worked and tested a number of relevant solutions in order to ascertain the best fit for CERN's vigorous requirements. Upon completion of testing and pricing, Centerprise presented two compliant solutions which met CERN's criteria and offered the best results from a performance-price perspective.

Centerprise's credentials were undisputed, given its reputation as an established systems integrator and a reseller of a wide array of manufacturers, possessing certifications from Intel, AMD, Microsoft, and other major vendors. This, in addition to the company's ability to demonstrate its robust Quality Management System, as evinced by its notable list of ISO certifications, led to Centerprise's being deemed an approved CERN supplier.

Consequently, Centerprise was awarded a contract by CERN to supply over 210,000 HEP-SPEC06³ which resulted in a total of 120 servers with a further order of 15 servers, all which had to be built, tested and shipped within 8 weeks of CERN's purchase order.

Centerprise is proud to declare its smooth completion of the delivery in advance of the required date, with an agreement to provide support for servers delivered to CERN over the next three years.

Centerprise HPC Systems Integrator Account Manager, Ramsey Razzak, said:

"This is a prestigious contract win for Centerprise that validates our ability to build, configure and deliver computational equipment to highly-educated customers with specific configurations and strict deadlines."