Canon Orders Fujitsu HPC

Fujitsu Ltd has received
an order for a new supercomputer system from Canon Inc.

The system will be a 96-node configuration of the Fujitsu Supercomputer
PRIMEHPC FX10, and will have a theoretical peak performance of 20.2 teraflops.

The system will contribute to more sophisticated analytical simulations in
Canon’s product development processes. The system is expected to begin
operations in October 2013.

Background to New System
Canon has been utilizing HPC(1) for virtual prototyping and various
analytical simulations in its product development activities. However, as
products are becoming increasingly sophisticated while getting progressively
smaller, the company began to consider deploying a more sophisticated
supercomputer system that would enable it to perform complex, large-scale
analytical calculations.

Canon selected the PRIMEHPC FX10 as its new supercomputer system for its
combination of high performance, low power consumption, and high reliability.

Overview of the New System
The PRIMEHPC FX10 is a supercomputer with superior scalability,
reliability, and energy-saving features that represent further improvements in
the Fujitsu technologies employed in the K computer. The new system will be a
96-node configuration of the PRIMEHPC FX10, and have a theoretical peak
performance of 20.2 teraflops. In addition, Fujitsu will deliver a
high-capacity, reliable, high-performance storage environment by
using a Fujitsu Storage ETERNUS disk array and FEFS (Fujitsu EB File System)
software. Fujitsu will also provide Canon with LS-DYNA(2) non-linear dynamic
structural analysis software.

With the new system, Canon will now be able to perform complex, large-scale
simulations, which had previously been difficult to perform due to the
processing resources required, thereby enabling the achievement of Canon’s goal
of ‘prototype-free’ product
development(3).

Through the provision of its PRIMEHPC FX10 and other technical computing
solutions, Fujitsu seeks to help customers reduce their product development
timeframes and costs while contributing to improvements in the performance,
features, and quality of their products.

(1) HPC: Used for processing massive scientific calculations
at high speeds. For example, it can be applied to weather analysis of the
entire planet and car crash analysis.

(2) LS-DYNA: Software
developed by Livermore Software Technology Corporation and sold by Fujitsu for
simulating large deformations of structures using finite element method with
explicit time integration. This highly reliable program is the world’s leading
software for use in the simulations of car crashworthiness, drop testing,
metal/plastics forming, perforations, crack propagation, and failure, among
other applications.

(3) Prototype-free product development: The use of simulations and
other techniques in product development work to minimize the creation of
physical prototypes in order to reduce product development timeframes and
costs.