SRE operates under a cost-recovery model for both cloud and on-premises based services. This model ensures cost-competitive rates, equitable access to our services, and alignment with federal agreements that govern Facilities and Administration (F&A) rates.
Usage Charges
- Projects are based on combined compute hour usage
- All KP are factored in the cost of the project
- Each project size includes scratch space for active work
- Storage for entire data set is provided by mounted Azure drive
- Compute hours do not expire
- Project team will receive usage reports
- Azure resources can be combined with SRE, cloud costs are billed directly to a fund code by the vendor
- Project sizes can be combined to meet the needs of the study team
- Same study could be using 1 Large and 1 Small allocated compute hours and scratch space
- GPU projects include CPU accompanying hours
- Service Center accepts grant funds, start-up funds, or by departmental funds.
For assistance in determining the best option that meet the needs of your research group Contact Us
On-Premises Rates
Below are the rates for both RCC and PRCC:
|
CPU |
Price | Compute Usage/Project | Scratch Space |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | $900 | Up to 186,000 hours combined per project | Up to 10 TB |
| Medium | $1,300 | Up to 620,000 hours combined per project | Up to 30 TB |
| Large | $1,900 | Up to 930,000 hours combined per project | Up to 70 TB |
| GPU | Price | Compute Usage/Project | Scratch Space |
| Small | $1,100 | Up to 432 hours combined per project | Up to 10 TB |
| Medium | $1,600 | Up to 1,440 hours combined per project | Up to 30 TB |
| Large | $2,100 | Up to 2,160 hours combined per project | Up to 70 TB |
| Development Consulting | |||
| $90 | Per Hour |
Note – Billing rates were last updated on September 30th, 2025, and are reviewed and updated annually
Data extraction from PRCC requires use of an Honest Broker: Honest Broker/Transfer Agent Fees.
If unsure about your source of funding, please contact your CRU or departmental business manager. CRUs and OOs | Duke University School of Medicine
Development Consultation
The Research Enclave provides research high-performance computing (HPC) and data management support services, and can advise researchers on the most effective means of allocating resources, managing data, or transferring data to optimize or reduce costs.
- Training outside of initial onboarding
- Data migrations to/from cluster(s)
- Pipeline development/optimization
In addition, we offer Software Engineering and HPC Consultation services.
Buy Your Own Hardware (BYOH)
Principal Investigators, departments and units have the option to contribute to the HPC on-premises cluster by paying for the full cost of the hardware and then pay annual support costs. Hardware can include servers, GPUs, and/or storage.
The SRE staff will work with approved vendors to provide you options that meet your budget and requirements. Below are the standard options available as of January 2025:
| Server Type | Specs | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Only |
2 x 32 cores/64 threads 1TB RAM |
$22,280 |
| Standard Performance GPU |
2 x 32 cores/64 threads 1TB RAM 4 x NVIDIA L40S (48GB) |
$60,500 |
| High Performance GPU |
2 x 56 cores/112 threads 2TB RAM 8 x NVIDIA H200 (141GB) |
$290,000 |
| BYOH Annual Maintenance | ||
| Annual Support/Maintenance | $7,000 |
Billing and Reporting SOP
Billing for Services
Project and annual maintenance costs will be pre-paid annually to the approved fund code provided.
- Allocated size is based on estimated yearly compute hours and/or the maximum scratch space data storage that will be used on a project per year.
- Project costs are not prorated at fiscal year end and no billing adjustments will be made for unused hours.
- Extreme over usage will result in billing adjustment.
- Projects will be re-evaluated annually for any size/rate adjustment for the next 12 months of expected usage.
Usage Reporting
- Compute usage (CPU and GPU) will be measured in compute hours.
- Each project will have associated usage reports showing your current allocation and actual usage. This is to gauge your usage and will not impact the price unless you exceed the compute hours you have been allocated. If that occurs, you may be charged at the next allocation level.
- Each project is assigned a 10/30/70TB scratch space folder based on project size.
- Storage usage will be measured in bytes.
- Usage will be tracked by project/fund code.