Countries around the world strive to reach the peak of computing power–but there can be only one.
19 Nov, 2018
11.29.18 update
Kevin Jackson
Peak performance within supercomputing is a constantly moving target. In fact, a supercomputer is defined as being any machine “that performs at or near the currently highest operational rate.” The field is a continual battle to be the best. Those who achieve the top rank may only hang on to it for a fleeting moment.
Competition is what makes supercomputing so exciting, continually driving engineers to reach heights that were unimaginable only a few years ago. To celebrate this amazing technology, let’s take a look at the fastest computers as defined by computer ranking project TOP500—and at what these machines are used for.
5. Piz Daint (Switzerland)
Named after a mountain in the Swiss Alps, Piz Daint has been Europe’s fastest supercomputer since its debut in November 2013. But a recent 40 million Euro upgrade has boosted the Swiss National Supercomputer Centre’s machine into the global top five, now running at 21.2 petaFLOPS and utilizing 387,872 cores.
The machine has helped scientists at the University of Basel make discoveries about “memory molecules” in the brain. Other Swiss scientists have taken advantage of its ultra-high resolutions to set up a near-global climate simulation.
4. Tianhe-2 (China)
Tianhe-2, whose name translates as “MilkyWay-2,” has also seen recent updates. But despite now boasting a whopping 4,981,760 cores and running at 61.4 petaFLOPS, that hasn’t stopped it from slipping two spots in just one year—from #2 to #4.
TOP500 reported that the machine, developed by the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) in China, is intended mainly for government security applications. This means that much of the work done by Tianhe-2 is kept secret, but if its processing power is anything to judge by, it must be working on some pretty important projects.
3. Sunway TaihuLight (China)
A former number one, Sunway TaihuLight dominated the list since its debut in June 2016. At that time, it’s 93.01 petaFLOPS and 10,649,000 cores made it the world’s most powerful supercomputer by a wide margin, boasting more than five times the processing power of its nearest competitor (ORNL’s Titan) and nearly 19 times more cores.
But given the non-stop pace of technological advancement, no position is ever secure for long. TaihuLight ceded the top spot to competitors in June 2018.
Located at the National Supercomputing Center in Wuxi, China, TaihuLight’s creators are using the supercomputer for tasks ranging from climate science to advanced manufacturing. It has also found success in marine forecasting, helping ships avoid rough seas while also helping with offshore oil drilling.
2. Sierra (US)
Sierra initially debuted at #3 on the June 2018 list with 71.6 petaFLOPS, but optimization has since pushed the processing speed on its 1,572,480 cores to 94.6 petaFLOPS, earning it the #2 spot in November 2018.
Incorporating both IBM central processing units (CPUs) and NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs), Sierra is specifically designed for modeling and simulations essential for the US National Nuclear Security Administration.
1. Summit (US)
Showing further evidence of the US Department of Energy’s renewed commitment to supercomputing power, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) Summit first claimed the #1 spot in June 2018, taking the top rank from China for the first time in 6 years. Further upgrades have cemented that spot—at least until the next list comes out in June 2019.
In the five months since its debut on the June 2018 list, Summit has widened its lead as the number one system, improving its High Performance Linpack (HPL) performance from 122.3 to 143.5 petaFLOPS.
Scientists are already putting the world’s most powerful computer to work. A seven-member team from ORNL won the 2018 Gordon Bell Prize for their deployment of Summit to process genetic data in order to better understand how individuals develop chronic pain and respond to opioids.
The race to possess the most powerful supercomputer never really ends. This friendly competition between countries has propelled a boom in processing power, and it doesn’t look like it’ll be slowing down anytime soon. With scientists using supercomputers for important projects such as curing debilitating diseases, we can only hope it will continue for years to come. [Whoever thinks this is a “friendly competition between countries” is way off base. This is a part of the Chinese route to world dominance]
See the full article here .
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