News Release
Contact: Paul Redfern
Cell: (607) 227-1865
June 10, 2026
New CAC billing model for Red Cloud and Seneca
The Cornell Center for Advanced Computing is transitioning to a flexible Compute Unit Bundle billing model. This single, unified currency allows PIs to seamlessly allocate budgets across diverse computing profiles. It retains the "prepaid card" functionality of Red Cloud subscriptions to prevent over-billing.
Starting June 25, 2026, both Red Cloud and the new Seneca HPC cluster will use this shared billing system.
Key Takeaways:
- Changeover Date: June 25, 2026.
- Bundle Pricing: $350 per bundle of 10,000 compute units ($0.035 per unit).
- Red Cloud Balances: Current balances automatically convert to compute units on a 1:1 basis on June 25.
- Seneca Pilot Balances: The last day of Seneca pilot access is June 30.
- Bulk Discounts: None available.
Compute Unit Consumption Rates
Usage is calculated per hour based on your chosen hardware tier:
| Resource | Hardware Type | Units per Hour | Effective Cost per Hour |
|---|
| Red Cloud | 1 CPU core | 1 unit | $0.035 |
| Red Cloud | 1 NVIDIA T4 GPU | 12 units | $0.42 |
| Red Cloud | 1 NVIDIA V100 GPU | 32 units | $1.12 |
| Seneca | 1 CPU core | 1 unit | $0.035 |
| Seneca | 1 NVIDIA A100 GPU | 57 units | $2.00 |
| Seneca | 1 NVIDIA H100 PCIe GPU | 70 units | $2.45 |
| Seneca | 1 NVIDIA H100 NVL GPU | 100 units | $3.50 |
Seneca Access Options
Project PIs can choose between two options to access the Seneca cluster:
- Option 1 (Compute Unit Bundles): Enable Seneca usage and purchase $350 bundles through the Project Management Portal.
- Option 2 (Seneca Condo): Contribute your own Seneca-compatible hardware to the cluster. You pay zero compute unit fees on your own nodes, receive a dedicated Slurm queue, and pay a predictable per-node professional maintenance fee. Bursting into general cluster capacity utilizes your purchased compute unit bundles. Contact help@cac.cornell.edu to discuss.
Key Links
If you need assistance or have questions about the new billing model for Red Cloud and Seneca, or the Seneca Condo option, contact CAC Help.