SGI and DoD Launch Supercomputer Spirit, 14th Fastest WW HPC

Silicon Graphics International Corporation announced that the United States Department of Defense (DoD)
has deployed its ICE X HPC system for its supercomputer Spirit, making it
the 14th fastest supercomputer in the world according to TOP500.

The ICE X system has been deployed as part of the DoD’s HPC Modernization
Program (HPCMP), which provides compute resources for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) DoD Supercomputing Research Center (DSRC).

ICE X system Spirit is named after the B2 Stealth bomber and is enabling
Gary Kedziora, an HPCMP PETTT computational materials scientist, to implement
algorithms that perform quantum mechanical simulations with computational time
that scales linearly with respect to the number of atoms.

"Spirit is significantly faster than
our previously available platform for running these linear-scaling
calculations, which are becoming viable for production level work,"
said Kedziora. "This enables DoD
computational material scientists to model larger and more complex materials
using predictive quantum mechanical methods on thousands of SGI ICE X processor
cores."

"Our customers are already flocking
to the fastest system in the Department of Defense, finding that their
applications are performing significantly better on the new system,"
stated Jeff Graham, director of the AFRL DSRC. "SGI has delivered a system that is exceeding their standard benchmark
performance on DoD applications by an average of over 27%, which translates
into higher productivity for scientists and engineers across the DoD."

ICE X
system enables Spirit with 144TB of memory and one of the largest and fastest
pure compute IB clusters. Running on standard Redhat Enterprise Linux, the
ICE X Spirit Supercomputer is housed in 32 M-racks and includes 2,304 (IP-115
Gemini Twin) compute blades with cold-sink technology. It features 9,216
sockets (73,728 cores) powered by Xeon E5 processor 2600 series
operating at 2.6GHz and boasts a theoretical peak performance of over 1.5 petaflops, further proving its ranking on the TOP500 list. The Spirit
supercomputer also leverages the SGI InfiniteStorage 5500 providing 6.72 PB of
storage and operating on the SGI Lustre file system.

"By providing the technology solutions
behind Spirit, SGI is further powering the work of the armed forces in the
success of their missions and the safety of the men and women," said
Jorge Titinger, president and CEO, SGI. "It is with great honor to see the results of the SGI ICE X system
Spirit being included in the TOP500, further validating our work together and
the effective supercomputing architecture we built to address complex HPC
needs."

The ICE X platform helped earn SGI the position in the Visionary quadrant
in the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for Blade Servers. With a tightly
integrated IB backbone, the ICE X system is for tough workloads, and with
advanced cooling and power solutions can supply petaflops of compute
performance.

In the M-cell configuration, the platform uses on-chip liquid cooling
capability to allow warm-water cooling, eliminating the need for CRAC units,
water chillers and towers. The liquid-cooled heat sink resides between the pair
of node boards in each twin blade slot (‘M-Rack’ deployment) enabling
the highest watt SKU support (e.g., 135W TDPs), utilizing a liquid-to-water
heat exchanger that provisions the required quantity of flow for cooling and
capturing 55 to 70% of heat generated on the node board. The M-Cell also helps
control acoustics, allowing the team to have a conversation in their data
center again. The ICE X system provides the ultimate configuration
flexibility including four different IB topologies to enable optimized
performance, with the IB interconnect that now dominates the Top 100 of the
TOP500 list. For example, the SGI ICE X supercomputer at Total was announced
today as 11th on the Top 500 list. The ICE X product is also available in a
standard 19-inch ‘D-rack’ configuration, using standard front-to-back
airflow with more modest processor density.

The HPCMP provides DoD laboratories and test centers HPC capabilities and
expertise through partnerships with the Laboratories and Test Centers. HPCMP
resources are used to provide military programs with a competitive advantage
for the design, operation and sustainment of new weapons systems; for example,
preparing US aircraft for overseas deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, and
assisting in long-term weather predictions to plan humanitarian and military
operations throughout the world. The Air Force Research Laboratory is such a
partner with the HPCMP by providing a world class HPC Center committed to
providing the resources necessary for DoD scientists and engineers to complete
their research, development, testing and evaluation projects. Since the
organization’s inception in 1996 the AFRL DSRC has supported the warfighter by
combining powerful computational resources, secure interconnects, and
application software with renowned services, expertise and experience.