On-Demand Virtualisation

Nectar Research Cloud

Australia’s premier self-service cloud infrastructure built specifically for eResearch, academic collaboration, and flexible compute scaling.

Powered nationally by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) and delivered locally in NSW by Intersect, the Nectar Research Cloud gives Australian researchers fast, secure, on-demand access to virtual machines, computational storage, and pre-configured software environments.

National Infrastructure Partner
Official ARDC Nectar Research Cloud Service Portal

Access national documentation, technical user guides, and Australia-wide allocation governance frameworks on the official ARDC portal →
Hypervisor & OS Support OpenStack Cloud Engine (Linux & Windows VMs)
Instance Customisation 1 to 64+ VCPUs, High-RAM & GPU Accelerators
Storage Integration Direct Mount to Intersect WorkSpace & Mediaflux
Access Governance AAF Single Sign-On (Rapid 6-Month Trial Quotas)

Key Platform Capabilities

Nectar provides a complete web-based ecosystem that puts researchers in full control of their computational environments:

  • Instant Trial Allocations: Any researcher at an Intersect member institution can log in via Australian Access Federation (AAF) and immediately spin up free trial instances.
  • Pre-configured Application Templates: Launch ready-to-use virtual machines pre-loaded with RStudio, Jupyter Notebooks, Docker, MATLAB, and specialised domain pipelines.
  • Research Software Australia (ReSA) Catalog: Deploy curated, containerised research applications without manual system administration overhead.
  • Scalable Project Allocations: Expand to dedicated multi-node allocations with custom VCPU, RAM, GPU, and volume storage capacity for grant-funded projects.

Flexible Allocation Pathways

From individual exploration to large-scale multi-institutional research projects.

Project Trial: Free Instant Access (AAF Login)
National Allocation: Merit & Institutional Quotas

Request Nectar Assistance or Quota Expansion

Need support sizing your virtual machines, applying for a merit allocation, or mounting Intersect WorkSpace storage? Contact our eResearch support team directly via email:

Email eResearch Support → Or reach out to enquiries@intersect.org.au