Supercomputing in Ventora

There are seven centers for supercomputing in Ventora. Their s work together to provide synergistic access to services and data warehousing for non-profit, educational, and governmental research and archival purposes. Distributed access to the Ventoran supercomputers is coordinated by Sistema de Supercomputación Ventora SCa (lit. Supercomputing System of Ventora, SSV), a quasi-governmental, limited liability non-profit organization with head offices at the Royal University of Plenas in Plenas,, Ventora.

Although not considered a public network, per se, the resources the system support research and data archiving across the country. The digital library and digital museum projects have significant ramifications for enhancing public access to these resources at local schools, libraries, and universities throughout Ventora. In addition to the direct connections between the supercomputing centers and the data center, other research and educational facilities have some access to data through VUnet (Ventoran University network).

History
Ventora’s economic system, the nature of which tends to preclude large corporations, has the side effect of constraining the abilities of private concerns to conduct extensive, large-scale research and development. While the government avoids interfering in market affairs, it does offer support to educational and scientific entities. In 1967, the Royal University of Plenas determined to develop a large-frame computing system to enhance research capabilities. The Tromba digital automatic computer began operating on March 16, 1969.

Around the same time, the University of Ascara was installing its own digital computer. The two universities agreed to interconnect their computers in 1972 after the Sanautock nuclear plant incident for the purpose of improving computing capability for scientific research. This became the basis for linking university computers in the country in what eventually became known as VUnet (Ventoran University network). By the end of the mid-1990s, nearly all universities in the country participated in the network.

With the development of Sinapse in the 1990s, computer development began to speed up. The Plenas Computing Center saw a need to replace its second generation computer. When the Tromba 3 entered service in 1997, it was given a direct connection to the supercomputers at the University of Ascara and the Polytechnic University of Aguazarca (UPA), inaugurating a dedicated high-speed, high bandwidth network. With increased demand for high-performance computing, the universities formed the SSV to prioritize computing capacity on the basis of resource requirements and anticipated results, a form of cost-benefit analysis.

By the end of the second decade of the 21st century, Ventora had seven interconnected supercomputers and a super data center supporting scientific research and archival needs.

Centers
SSV has oversight of seven supercomputing centers.

The National Data Center (: Centro Nacional de Datos, CND) is a super center for data warehousing. The Commonweal Commission is the lead government agency responsible for the CND which the SSV operates under contract. The CND serves the supercomputer centers as repository and storage center while also minimizing repetitive and redundant computing through cross-referencing and cataloging. The CND is also the primary component of a major digital library scheme which supports all educational and research facilities in the country. At 265,450 m2, the CND claims to be the largest data warehouse in southwest Alutra. It has dedicated solar panel and wind turbine farms to generate significant portions of its energy needs.

Functions
All of the supercomputing resources support state-of-the-art computing research efforts by scientific, educational, and non-profit research and development entities. The supercomputer owners largely underwrite the cost of their facilities while operating expenses are typically funded through assessments to users of the system based on complex formula that considers ability to pay, computing resources consumed, anticipated outcomes or benefits, and availability of underwriting funds, such as government grants or private donations.

Research areas
Types of research performed using the supercomputer system include:
 * Biosciences (genome and protein research)
 * Medical and pharmaceutical research
 * Bioeconomy and agricultural research
 * Weather forecasting
 * Fluid dynamics research and modeling
 * Geological and geophysical modeling; cartographic and geographic information services
 * Computer science and artificial intelligence modeling
 * Healthcare administration; public health modeling

Digital library and museum
Beginning in 1987, the Ventoran government sought to digitize its archives and historical documents, both for posterity and to make the contents more accessible. Noting the value to historical research of the project, it was expanded in 1994 to include items of cultural significance, such as historical literature. Efforts slowed with the approach of the turn of the millennium due to concerns about the and potential effects of unambiguous dates in computer systems. With the growth of access to online resources through Sinapse beginning in the 2000s, the digital library project was given a larger remit. In 2003, the project set out on digitizing the collection of the Royal Library in Plenas. By the end of the decade, digital versions of items in the collection of the Royal History Museum began to be added. In 2012, the digital library and museum project was formally named the National Digital Collection (: Colección Digital Nacional, CDN).

Although not strictly part of the supercomputing network, the files of the National Digital Collection are housed in the National Data Center. Thus, even though the supercomputing network is highly specialized, average Ventorans benefit from its architecture when they access files in the digital collection without ever having to visit the library or museum that holds the original items. Similarly, the backbone of the supercomputing network supports Cultura Ventora's virtual cultural center which is accessible to anyone with a Sinapse connection.