About the platform

The Douglas Neuroinformatics Platform is a single-sign-on Ubuntu Linux based computer system. Originally the computing platform of the Douglas Cerebral Imaging Centre (CIC), it has grown and generalized to meet the informatics needs of the Douglas Research Centre (DRC) as a whole.

Hardware

As of early 2026, the platform infrastructure consists of a Linux-based environment featuring single-sign-on (SSO) user management and the following core components:

  • Storage: A 1 PB primary storage system providing unified access across the network via NFS.

  • Workstations: Over 60 machines, each ranging from 8-24 CPU cores and 32-128 GB of RAM. These systems provide entry to mid-level GPU acceleration for CUDA and OpenCL applications.

  • Compute Nodes: 13 nodes, with 12–24 CPU cores and 24–48 GB of RAM.

  • GPU Server: A dual NVIDIA RTX A6000 (48 GB VRAM each) server equipped with a Dual Intel Xeon Gold 6526Y CPU (32 cores / 64 threads) and 500 GB of RAM.

Primary servers are replicated across two sites for disaster recovery. Unified storage across systems is provided via NFS from the primary storage server to all systems. A heterogeneous cluster compute environment is provided via a SLURM batch system providing access to the compute cluster as well as opportunistic scheduling on workstations.

Software

The platform workstations run Ubuntu Linux variants, with full productivity software (LibreOffice, GIMP, Inkscape, etc), modern web browsers (Chrome, Firefox), and a large suite of scientific software. Servers run Ubuntu Linux server, as well as compute nodes. Limited Windows workstations are available to provide access to proprietary software such as E-Prime. Scientific software is available in the software quarantine.

Services

Beyond core computing, the platform hosts a suite of specialized web-based services designed to streamline data collection and management. These include ChatDNP, a privacy-focused local AI assistant; the Open Data Bank (ODB) for versioning and sharing tabular datasets; and Open Data Capture (ODC) for the digital administration of clinical research instruments.

For more details on these tools and how to access them, please see the Available Services section.