01
Some people queue, some machines idle
Everyone uses their own machine. The PI can’t see who’s running what — or which boxes have sat idle for months.
University research labs
Keep the servers — and the know-how
Pull the equipment, environments, and data scattered across personal accounts into one place. New students get up to speed; old projects stay findable.
Existing hardware can joinClear permissions per memberEnvironments that survive handoffs
The blockers
A machine that powers on isn’t the same as a lab that runs smoothly.
02
Environments leave with the students
Software and scripts live in personal accounts. A student graduates, and the next one starts from scratch.
03
Handoffs happen by external drive
Code, data, and results have no fixed home. Whether a project’s materials survive depends on luck.
04
The one who knows the system becomes IT
Full disks, broken accounts, crashed environments — all of it lands on the same person.
How we solve them
Start with the equipment you have. No rip-and-replace required.
Connect the existing hardware
Inventory servers, GPUs, storage, and network — keep whatever still works.
No wholesale replacement just to build a platform.
Manage people and projects separately
Each member sees their own resources; membership changes never touch project materials.
Accounts come and go. Projects stay put.
Keep validated environments ready
Store the tested software stacks and configurations for reuse.
New students skip days of setup.
Ops that doesn’t hinge on one person
Device status, capacity, and incidents are all on record.
Whoever takes over knows where to look.
Deployment options
There is no single right answer. Where your data lives, how long jobs run, and what hardware you already have all shape the choice.
01
Start in the cloud
For labs just starting out, without a machine room, or using compute mainly during project sprints.
Start with the work; buy hardware later.
02
Shared on-prem
For labs that already have servers and GPUs, run jobs continuously, and keep data in-house.
Put the hardware you already own to real shared use.
03
Hybrid
Keep using local hardware; top up from the cloud for big jobs and collaborations.
Fits staged builds and elastic expansion.
How it comes together
Know what you already have before deciding what to buy next.
- 01
Take inventory
List servers, GPUs, storage, and everyday software.
- 02
Check utilization
See which machines are busy and which sit idle.
- 03
Connect one machine
Validate with a single device and one job first.
- 04
Expand from there
Once it runs clean, bring in more members and projects.
Tell us about your workload
Put together a list of equipment, members, and everyday software — we’ll help pinpoint where the friction is.
No new hardware required up front
Can start with a single machine
FAQ
Do old servers have to be replaced?
Not necessarily. We check hardware condition against real workloads and connect whatever still performs.
Can we do this without dedicated IT staff?
Yes — as long as accounts, backups, monitoring, and incident handling stay simple enough.
How do handoffs work when students graduate?
Project data, code, and environments never live only in personal accounts. Archiving and access transfers happen before they leave.
Will adding GPUs later mean a rebuild?
No. We set up the onboarding path early, so new hardware joins gradually.