ISC: Mellanox HDR 200G IB Accelerates New Gen of WW Performance Computing and AI HPCs

Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. announced that HDR 200G IB accelerates the next generation of supercomputers, enabling higher levels of research and scientific discovery.

ConnectX-6 single-dual-port adapter supporting 200Gb/s with VPI

HDR 200G IB solutions include the ConnectX-6 adapters, the firm’s Quantum switches, LinkX cables and transceivers and software packages. With its high data throughput, low latency, and In-Network Computing acceleration engines, it provides performance and scalability for the most demanding compute and data applications.

Quantum HDR 200G switch

HDR 200G IB introduces new offload and acceleration engines, for delivering performance and scalability for HPC, AI, cloud, storage, and other applications.

IB, a standards-based interconnect technology, enjoys the continuous development of new capabilities, while maintaining backward and forward software compatibility. It’s the preferred choice for HPCs, replacing lower performance or proprietary interconnect options.

“We are proud to have our HDR IB solutions accelerate supercomputers around the world, enhance research and discoveries, and advancing Exascale programs,” said Gilad Shainer, SVP, marketing, Mellanox. “IB continues to gain market share, and be selected by many research, educational and government institutes, weather and climate facilities, and commercial organizations. The technology advantages of IB make it the interconnect of choice for compute and storage infrastructures.“

The Texas Advanced Computing Center’s (TACC) Frontera supercomputer, funded by the National Science Foundation, is the fastest HPC at any U.S. university and one of the most powerful systems in the world. Ranked #5 on the June 2019 Top500 Supercomputers list, Frontera utilizes HDR IB, and in particular multiple 800-port HDR IB switches, to deliver computing power for science and engineering.

“HDR IB enabled us to build a world-leading, 8,000+ node, top 5 supercomputer that will serve our users’ needs for the next several years,” said Dan Stanzione, executive director, TACC. “We appreciate the deep collaboration with Mellanox and are proud to host one of the fastest supercomputers in the world. We look forward to utilizing the advanced routing capabilities and the In-Network Computing acceleration engines to enhance our users’ research activities and scientific discoveries.“

Located at the Mississippi State University HPC Collaboratory, the HDR IB-based Orion HPC will accelerate the university research, educational and service activities. Ranked #62 on the June 2019 Top500 list, the 1800-node HPC leverages the performance advantages of HDR IB and its application acceleration engines to provide new levels of application performance and scalability.

“HDR IB brings us leading performance and the ability to build very scalable and cost efficient supercomputers utilizing its high switch port density and configurable network topology,” said Trey Breckenridge, director, HPC, Mississippi State University. “Over 16 years ago MSU became one of the first adopters of the IB technology in HPC. We are excited to continue that legacy by leveraging the latest IB technology to enhance the capabilities of our newest HPC system.“

CSC, the Finnish IT Center for Science, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute selected HDR 200G IB to accelerate a multi-phase HPC program. It will serve researchers in Finnish universities and research institutes, enhancing their research into climate science, renewable energy, astrophysics, nanomaterials, and bioscience, among a range of exploration activities. The first HPC is ranked #166 on the Top500 list.

“The new HPC will enable our researchers and scientists to leverage the most efficient HPC and AI platform to enhance their competitiveness for years to come,” said Pekka Lehtovuori, director, services for research, CSC. “The HDR IB technology, and the Dragonfly+ network topology will provide our users with leading performance and scalability while optimizing our TCO.“

Cygnus is the first HDR IB HPC in Japan, located in the Center for Computational Sciences at the University of Tsukuba. Ranked #264 on the Top500 list, Cygnus leverages HDR IB to connect CPUs, GPUs and FPGAs together, enabling accelerated research in the areas of astrophysics, particle physics, material science, life, meteorology and artificial intelligence.

“The Cygnus HPC utilizes the advantage of IB to connect variety of compute elements, such as CPUs, GPUs, and additional FPGAs, in the most effective and high-performance way,” said Professor. Taisuke Boku, director, Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba. “Our multi-hybrid heterogeneous compute platform with the HDR IB technology enables the university to enhance our research activities, and to develop the applications and tools for the Exascale era.”

The Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has selected HDR IB for India’s national supercomputing mission. The C-DAC HDR IB HPC advances India’s research, technology, and product development capabilities.

“The Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), an autonomous R&D institution under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India with its focus in Advanced Computing is uniquely positioned to establish dependable and secure Exascale Ecosystem offering services in various domains. As our nation embarks upon its most revolutionary phase of digital transformation, C-DAC has committed itself to explore and engage in the avant-garde visionary areas excelling beyond in the present areas of research transforming human lives through technological advancement,” said Dr Hemant Darbari, director general, C-DAC. “C-DAC is spearheading the build, design and develop approach of National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) of the country. The first HPC under NSM Build Approach by C-DAC was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister at IIT (BHU) Varanasi, the solution comprising of Mellanox HDR IB Interconnect selected through a competitive evaluation process. C-DAC will build such solutions across the country under NSM contributing to advancing India’s research, technology and product development capabilities. We have been using Mellanox IB Interconnect to our satisfaction as a part of our HPC solution deployed at C-DAC and various research and technical institutions in the country and look forward to continue working on developing our future supercomputers“.

Additional resources:
Quantum HDR 200Gb/s InfiniBand Smart Switches     
ConnectX-6 HDR 200Gb/s InfiniBand adapters

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