Flexential, University of Pennsylvania Partner to Launch Penn Advanced Research Computing Center

Deployment features NVIDIA-powered infrastructure to support AI-driven research across multiple disciplines

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexential, a leading provider of secure and flexible data center solutions, and the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Advanced Research Computing Center (PARCC) have launched a phased deployment to support the university's next-generation research computing infrastructure.

The deployment, an NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with DGX B200 systems and NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking, supports PARCC's high-density infrastructure requirements and is housed at Flexential's Philadelphia-Collegeville, Pennsylvania colocation data center. Flexential, certified as part of the NVIDIA DGX-Ready Data Center program, designed this facility to meet the performance and efficiency demands of large-scale AI and high-performance computing workloads.

NVIDIA Mission Control will ensure streamlined workflows, agility, and infrastructure resilience, enabling PARCC to serve all 12 of Penn's schools and support a diverse set of research efforts and interdisciplinary programs. The deployment aligns with Penn's strategic plan, "In Principle and Practice," as it enables researchers to pursue AI advancements across fields including healthcare, science, business, and society. It also builds upon Penn's legacy as the home to the first general purpose computer.

"When Penn outlined its requirements for PARCC, it became clear that it needed a partner that could offer capacity and the operational maturity to manage a high-performance deployment on an aggressive timeline," said Patrick Doherty, Chief Revenue Officer of Flexential. "This agreement reflects our ability to support complex academic environments with the same reliability and performance we bring to industries like healthcare, finance, and digital services, where scale and uptime are essential."

Flexential's Collegeville data center, just 25 miles northwest of Penn's campus in Philadelphia, gives the university low-latency access and logistical simplicity for on-site support. The deployment marks the university's first large-scale research computing build of this kind.

Phase I of PARCC's deployment doubles Penn's processing capacity. It offers general high-performance computing (HPC) capabilities for most users and a condo option for faculty who prefer to manage their hardware. The infrastructure design includes hot data storage colocation to increase data transfer speeds and cost efficiency, and it provides real-time capacity expansion during peak usage.

"The vision for PARCC has always been to provide our researchers with powerful, scalable infrastructure that supports the university's expanding data and AI needs," said Kenneth Chaney, PARCC Associate Director of AI and Technology at University of Pennsylvania. "Flexential has been instrumental in making that possible by delivering the technical capabilities we require and enabling us to prepare for future growth. Its responsiveness and infrastructure expertise helped turn a complex deployment into a practical, achievable milestone for our research community and will further position us as a leader in computational and data-driven research."

The Collegeville data center delivers 7.2 MW for high-density workloads in a 203,703-square-foot facility. It maintains 100% service-level agreements on power, cooling, network, and bandwidth and delivers more than 1,500 watts per square foot. Its built-in liquid cooling capabilities enable cost savings even in compute-intensive environments while providing the technical foundation for expansion as PARCC's computational needs grow.

AHEAD, a longtime provider of enterprise IT services for Penn, handled off-site rack integration and on-site cabling to streamline the deployment process. Pre-configured racks, built around the NVIDIA DGX B200 systems, were delivered to the facility fully populated to minimize on-site setup time and reduce the complexity of the installation.

"This collaboration between Flexential, Penn, AHEAD, and NVIDIA showcases how research computing is being reshaped with flexible, high-performance infrastructure," said Jack Wells, Director of Higher Education and Research Computing at NVIDIA. "Leveraging NVIDIA DGX B200 systems with NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking allows organizations to scale compute resources dynamically and support a wide range of AI workloads, from advancing academic discovery to innovation in commercial settings."

This initiative positions Penn at the forefront of AI research among Ivy League institutions and reflects a broader shift in academia toward centralized, scalable computing resources. To learn more about PARCC, visit https://parcc.upenn.edu/.

According to the 2025 Flexential State of AI Infrastructure Report, 44% of organizations cite infrastructure constraints as the primary barrier to expanding their AI initiatives. Flexential helps remove those constraints by delivering high-density, scalable environments purpose-built for modern workloads. To learn more, visit www.flexential.com.

About Flexential
Flexential empowers the IT journey of the most complex businesses by offering customizable IT solutions designed for today's demanding high-density computing requirements. With colocation, cloud, connectivity, data protection, and professional services, the FlexAnywhere® platform anchors our services in 40 data centers across 18 highly connected markets on a scalable 100Gbps+ private network backbone. Flexential solutions are strategically engineered to meet the most stringent challenges in security, compliance, and resiliency. Experience the power of IT flexibility and how we enable digital transformation at www.flexential.com.

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Additional PARCC executive quotes:

"Flexential understood what we were trying to build from Day 1 and matched that vision with the infrastructure and execution we needed. Its ability to deliver on the technical and operational fronts gave us the confidence to move forward quickly and stay on track. That level of partnership has been essential as we prepare PARCC to serve the full scope of Penn's research community." - Kenneth Chaney, PARCC Associate Director of AI and Technology at University of Pennsylvania

"This was a complex project with tight timelines and very specific infrastructure requirements, and Flexential met every one of them. They brought the experience and support that made this possible. That collaboration will continue to shape how we grow PARCC in the months and years ahead." - Kenneth Chaney, PARCC Associate Director of AI and Technology at University of Pennsylvania.

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SOURCE Flexential