Supercomputing 2008

Nov 17 - 20, 2008

Austin, Texas

From the SC08 Show Floor

Matt Reilly, Chief Engineer, talks with HPCwire on energy-efficient computing and educating the next generation of computer scientists on parallel processing.

Listen to the audio.

 

SC08 Highlights

SiCortex showcased how organizations can achieve more and consume less at this year’s SC08with the world’s most energy-efficient high-productivity computers:

  • SiCortex product line on display: the full SiCortex line, from the desk-side SC 072 PDS to the entry/midrange SC1458 to the supercomputer in a cabinet SC5832 – were full loaded and driving live code.
  • The industry’s most powerful development environment: SiCortex demonstrated its integrated suite of tools and libraries, including PathScale compilers.
  • The Green Computer Performance Index (GCPI): SiCortex shared with the high performance computing community the first broad-based performance/kWatt index for comparing HPC system energy efficiency.
  • Booth Theater Presentations: SiCortex Customers and Staff conducted multiple presentations in the Booth Theater.
    • Louisiana State University presentation: From Black Holes to Gamma-Ray Bursts: Cactus on SiCortex with Interactive Visualisation
    • University of Texas presentation: Prairie Simulation
    • What would you do with 8 TB of RAM?
    • SHMEM and GASNet: Beyond MPI
    • Restoring Balance in HPC Systems
    • Design of a Green High Performance Computer System
    • Understanding Your Total Cost of Ownership for HPC
    • The SiCortex Parallel Application Development Environment
    • The Green Computing Performance Index (GCPI)
  • SiCortex conducted an Exhibitor Forum Session, Broadening the HPC Franchise, on Thursday, November 20, presented by Matt Reilly, Chief Engineer at SiCortex.

SC08 Cluster Challenge

With the help of the SiCortex SC1458, Purdue showcased the “super power” of supercomputers during the SC08 Cluster Challenge. The competition challenged educational institutions to build a system and then run simulated data in a range of scientific applications, including genetics and designing jet airplanes. Outside of the official competition, the Purdue students hit another supercomputing milestone by being the first team to ever achieve a teraflop of computing after they completed the Cluster Challenge requirements.

Purdue University celebrated the Centennial of Scientific Computing at the SC08 Conference by completing a three-dimensional dam-break simulation in less than 20 minutes on a SiCortex C1458 high-productivity computer - powered by seven cyclists from the Lance Armstrong affiliated Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop of Austin. One hundred years ago, Lewis Fry Richardson completed the first true scientific simulation, a two-dimensional model to predict the behavior of a dam under stress – using a team of human “computers” performing slide-rule calculations for a period of three years.

Purdue Cluster Challenge Team Members