WHAT IS SUPERCOMPUTER


TECHNICAL INFORMATION

OBJECTIVES

TIMELINE & VIDEO

 

SUPERCOMPUTERS

First of all, what is a SUPERCOMPUTER

A supercomputer is an extraordinary class of computational machinery characterized by its unparalleled processing power and capability to perform exceptionally complex and resource-intensive tasks.

Supercomputers typically consist of a multitude of interconnected processors, such as central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), working in tandem to solve intricate problems. They leverage advanced parallel processing techniques, where multiple processors collaborate simultaneously on various segments of a task, dramatically reducing computation time.

These remarkable machines find utility in diverse fields, including scientific research, weather forecasting, molecular modeling, and financial modeling, where their ability to swiftly process vast datasets and execute intricate simulations is indispensable. Their significance is further underscored by their pivotal role in facilitating advancements in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and data analytics.

One of the defining attributes of supercomputers is their extraordinary processing speed, often measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS). They can achieve staggering speeds, ranging from petaflops (quadrillions of calculations per second) to exaflops (quintillions of calculations per second), making them indispensable tools for tackling some of the most challenging and data-intensive computational problems in the world.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

DISCOVERER SUPERCOMPUTER

DISCOVERER is a Petascale supercomputer capable of executing 4.5 petaFLOPS Rmax and over 6 petaFLOPS Rpeak.
With these computing capabilities it was ranked 91st in the world at the time of its launch in 2021, while the 2023 rankings place the machine at 166th place.

DISCOVERER is based on 12 BullSequana XH2000 Racks, which have a fan-less design and a unique Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC) technology that uses warm water to cool all critical components within the cabinet.

There are up to 32 blades per rack, which in total equals to 1128 computing nodes. Each node has 2 AMD EPYC 7H12 64-Core Processors i.e. 2256 AMD EPYC CPUs in total. DISCOVERER also counts on 2 PetaBytes of fast disk storage DDN and total size of RAM of more than 300 TB.

The entire system is backed up against a power failure using an uninterruptible power supply with an output of 1 MW. The operating system that the machine runs on is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.

In the foreseeable future, DISCOVERER intends to incorporate GPU partitions employing contemporary industry standards.

OBJECTIVES

DISCOVERER’S Objectives are to:

  • foster better science for society; 
  • facilitate cross-border collaborations between academic institutions and the business; 
  • help training the next generation Bulgarian and EU IT talent.
TIMELINE

Timeline of DISCOVERER’ Development

  • 2024Q1 2024

    Upcoming addition of a GPU Partition

  • 2023, July Approval for Epicure Project

  • 2022, December DISCOVERER awarded funding from EuroHPC JU to upgrade with Graphic Accelerators

  • 2021, October The Official Commissioning of the Petascale Supercomputer DISCOVERER

  • 2021, JuneFirst official results for Top500 - 91st in the world

    The bulgarian supercomputer DISCOVERER is ranked 91st on the global top500 most powerful supercomputer systems list.

  • 2021, MayMain Staging, stability test and Top500 benchmark

VIDEO

VIDEO ABOUT DISCOVERER

DISCOVERER

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