SC09 Roundup

By Michael Feldman

November 25, 2009

As is the usual case with the annual Supercomputing Conference, the HPC community manages to generate about six months worth of news in the span of five days. That makes for an fun-filled event, but since both journalists and readers have limited bandwidth, there’s only so much real-time coverage that can be crammed into a week. Before SC09 recedes too far in the rear-view mirror, it’s probably worth recapping some of the news connected to the big trends that emerged at the conference.

GPUs: Here, There, and Everywhere

Of the 60-odd press releases delivered at SC09, at least 15 of them were related to GPU computing, starting with NVIDIA’s announcement of its new Fermi-based Tesla-20 series products, which we covered in some depth last week. But there were plenty of other GPU developments at the show, too, including China’s GPU-CPU “Tianhe” supercomputer making it into the number 5 position on the TOP500; Japan’s 3 petaflop TSUBAME 2.0 Fermi-equipped super scheduled for deployment in October 2010; and the announcement of a new GPU computing collaboration network.

Besides those developments, Penguin Computing added GPU computing to its HPC on-demand service, while PGI and CAPS launched new GPU compiler offerings, and TotalView and Allinea promised GPU debugging support in future products.Microway, Velocity Micro, AccelerEyes, TeamHPC, and even Mellanox also had new GPU computing-related product to talk about.

And that’s really just a slice of the GPU stories at the show. The startling aspect to all this activity is that there is little actual production work taking place on GPU-accelerated clusters today. Most of the current deployments are still in the experimental stage. But with the more HPC-capable Fermi GPUs from NVIDIA coming online next year, and with the software ecosystem maturing apace, expect to see production systems start to ramp up in 2010.

InfiniBand Mojo

Speaking of maturing ecosystems, 10 Gigabit Ethernet seems to be picking up steam from both adapter and switch vendors. Despite that, in the HPC space InfiniBand continues to expand its footprint. On the latest TOP500 list, there is exactly one 10 GigE deployment, compared to 181 InfiniBand-connected systems. And although those systems are still in the minority — most TOP500 machines are still GigE-connected — that’s up from 141 systems just a year ago.

TOP500 systems are not really typical though. Last year, InterSect360 Research reported that 60 percent of the systems they surveyed that were installed since the beginning of 2007 deployed with InfiniBand. A November 2008 survey by IDC found 30 percent of the systems they surveyed had InfiniBand, leading GigE, with 27 percent, and 10 GigE, with 14 percent. All indicators point to continued InfiniBand dominance in high performance computing.

At SC09, InfiniBand leader Mellanox announced its MPI offload technology, which allocates some of the interprocessor communication work to its ConnectX-2 HCA, leaving the CPU free to do more application work. The company also previewed its 120 Gbps per port InfiniBand switch hardware, scheduled for general release in the first half of next year. Meanwhile rival QLogic announced new agreements with SGI, HP, and IBM as it tries to edge into the IB business of Voltaire and Mellanox. Not to be left out, Sun Microsystems also announced a couple of new QDR switches at SC09.

Now that their are four vendors in the IB space (and two of them with their own ASICs), the switch and adapter offerings are more diverse than ever. With QLogic there to counterbalance Mellanox, expect to see even more innovation and more price competition in the months and years ahead.

Virtualized HPC

The popularity of commodity hardware in HPC has encouraged a growing cadre of vendors to employ virtualization schemes to create big powerful machines from industry-standard building blocks. Unlike traditional virtualization, which splits a server for multiple OS environments, the model in HPC virtualization is to aggregate CPU, memory, and I/O across a cluster to create a unified resource under a single OS. The goal is to provide an alternative to the expense of the SMP mainframe and the complexity of a compute cluster, while at the same time offering the ability to reconfigure hardware dynamically.

The virtualization vendors were out in full force at SC09. ScaleMP, 3Leaf, RNA Networks, and NextIO were all displaying there wares on the exhibition floor. The first two, ScaleMP and 3Leaf, aggregate CPUs and memory for up to 16 cluster nodes, making them appear as an SMP machine to the application. RNA networks and NextIO focus on virtualized memory and I/O, respectively.

ScaleMP, the most established of the bunch, was exhibiting its latest offerings: a virtual-SMP-in-the-cloud product as well as its new Direct Connect 2 technology that can turn a small (4-node) switchless cluster into a virtual SMP. Likewise, 3Leaf was showing off its new ASIC-enabled virtual SMP technology, which the company launched just prior to the conference.

Startup RNA networks focuses solely on memory virtualization across a cluster, with the assumption that access to a large global memory space, rather than processor or core count, is the biggest impediment for most applications. Like ScaleMP and 3Leaf, the RNA offering collects memory across a server farm to create one large memory pool. The company’s was selected as a “Disruptive Technology” at SC09.

NextIO does I/O virtualization via the industry-standard PCI Express bus, allowing users to reconfigure I/O devices on the fly according to application workloads. At the conference, it was showing off its new GPU appliance that can house up to 8 double-wide (or 16 single-wide) GPUs. The company was also exhibiting a Texas Memory Systems’ RamSan-based PCIe flash memory appliance that delivers up to 1.2 million IOPS from 3U of rack space.

One virtualization vendor I didn’t mention is NumaScale, which was previewing its NumaConnect technology at SC09. Like 3Leaf, the solution employs its own custom ASIC on each server motherboard to create the virtual SMP environment. But in the case of NumaScale, the technology also comes with its own internal switch fabric, eliminating the need for InfiniBand and the associated network paraphernalia. We’ll provide more coverage as the company gets closer to launch, which is currently scheduled for the second quarter of 2010. In the meantime, it’s worth checking out its Web site.

Supercomputing: Beyond Algorithmic Trading and Oil Exploration

For a guy who squeezed the Supercomputing Conference in between appearances on Larry King Live and Saturday Night Live, Al Gore delivered a surprisingly effective keynote address at SC09. Gore, who characterizes himself as a “recovering politician,” is a techie at heart, having authored some of the original legislation that helped establish the supercomputing centers in the US.

His keynote speech centered on the notion that supercomputing has become one of the most powerful tools of civilization, and needs to be used as such to help solve the world’s environmental problems. Gore’s vision for the next decade involves using HPC resources not just to study the climate and environmental crisis, but to remedy them by employing supercomputing to help develop and design the next-generation of renewable energy systems. It was a timely reminder that HPC can have nobler purposes than squeezing profits from stock trades or finding more oil to burn.

For additional roundup coverage, download our SC09 wrap-up podcast (MP3).

Subscribe to HPCwire's Weekly Update!

Be the most informed person in the room! Stay ahead of the tech trends with industry updates delivered to you every week!

Q&A with Nvidia’s Chief of DGX Systems on the DGX-GB200 Rack-scale System

March 27, 2024

Pictures of Nvidia's new flagship mega-server, the DGX GB200, on the GTC show floor got favorable reactions on social media for the sheer amount of computing power it brings to artificial intelligence.  Nvidia's DGX Read more…

Call for Participation in Workshop on Potential NSF CISE Quantum Initiative

March 26, 2024

Editor’s Note: Next month there will be a workshop to discuss what a quantum initiative led by NSF’s Computer, Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate could entail. The details are posted below in a Ca Read more…

Waseda U. Researchers Reports New Quantum Algorithm for Speeding Optimization

March 25, 2024

Optimization problems cover a wide range of applications and are often cited as good candidates for quantum computing. However, the execution time for constrained combinatorial optimization applications on quantum device Read more…

NVLink: Faster Interconnects and Switches to Help Relieve Data Bottlenecks

March 25, 2024

Nvidia’s new Blackwell architecture may have stolen the show this week at the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California. But an emerging bottleneck at the network layer threatens to make bigger and brawnier pro Read more…

Who is David Blackwell?

March 22, 2024

During GTC24, co-founder and president of NVIDIA Jensen Huang unveiled the Blackwell GPU. This GPU itself is heavily optimized for AI work, boasting 192GB of HBM3E memory as well as the the ability to train 1 trillion pa Read more…

Nvidia Appoints Andy Grant as EMEA Director of Supercomputing, Higher Education, and AI

March 22, 2024

Nvidia recently appointed Andy Grant as Director, Supercomputing, Higher Education, and AI for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). With over 25 years of high-performance computing (HPC) experience, Grant brings a Read more…

Q&A with Nvidia’s Chief of DGX Systems on the DGX-GB200 Rack-scale System

March 27, 2024

Pictures of Nvidia's new flagship mega-server, the DGX GB200, on the GTC show floor got favorable reactions on social media for the sheer amount of computing po Read more…

NVLink: Faster Interconnects and Switches to Help Relieve Data Bottlenecks

March 25, 2024

Nvidia’s new Blackwell architecture may have stolen the show this week at the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California. But an emerging bottleneck at Read more…

Who is David Blackwell?

March 22, 2024

During GTC24, co-founder and president of NVIDIA Jensen Huang unveiled the Blackwell GPU. This GPU itself is heavily optimized for AI work, boasting 192GB of HB Read more…

Nvidia Looks to Accelerate GenAI Adoption with NIM

March 19, 2024

Today at the GPU Technology Conference, Nvidia launched a new offering aimed at helping customers quickly deploy their generative AI applications in a secure, s Read more…

The Generative AI Future Is Now, Nvidia’s Huang Says

March 19, 2024

We are in the early days of a transformative shift in how business gets done thanks to the advent of generative AI, according to Nvidia CEO and cofounder Jensen Read more…

Nvidia’s New Blackwell GPU Can Train AI Models with Trillions of Parameters

March 18, 2024

Nvidia's latest and fastest GPU, codenamed Blackwell, is here and will underpin the company's AI plans this year. The chip offers performance improvements from Read more…

Nvidia Showcases Quantum Cloud, Expanding Quantum Portfolio at GTC24

March 18, 2024

Nvidia’s barrage of quantum news at GTC24 this week includes new products, signature collaborations, and a new Nvidia Quantum Cloud for quantum developers. Wh Read more…

Houston We Have a Solution: Addressing the HPC and Tech Talent Gap

March 15, 2024

Generations of Houstonian teachers, counselors, and parents have either worked in the aerospace industry or know people who do - the prospect of entering the fi Read more…

Alibaba Shuts Down its Quantum Computing Effort

November 30, 2023

In case you missed it, China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba has shut down its quantum computing research effort. It’s not entirely clear what drove the change. Read more…

Nvidia H100: Are 550,000 GPUs Enough for This Year?

August 17, 2023

The GPU Squeeze continues to place a premium on Nvidia H100 GPUs. In a recent Financial Times article, Nvidia reports that it expects to ship 550,000 of its lat Read more…

Shutterstock 1285747942

AMD’s Horsepower-packed MI300X GPU Beats Nvidia’s Upcoming H200

December 7, 2023

AMD and Nvidia are locked in an AI performance battle – much like the gaming GPU performance clash the companies have waged for decades. AMD has claimed it Read more…

DoD Takes a Long View of Quantum Computing

December 19, 2023

Given the large sums tied to expensive weapon systems – think $100-million-plus per F-35 fighter – it’s easy to forget the U.S. Department of Defense is a Read more…

Synopsys Eats Ansys: Does HPC Get Indigestion?

February 8, 2024

Recently, it was announced that Synopsys is buying HPC tool developer Ansys. Started in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1970 as Swanson Analysis Systems, Inc. (SASI) by John Swanson (and eventually renamed), Ansys serves the CAE (Computer Aided Engineering)/multiphysics engineering simulation market. Read more…

Choosing the Right GPU for LLM Inference and Training

December 11, 2023

Accelerating the training and inference processes of deep learning models is crucial for unleashing their true potential and NVIDIA GPUs have emerged as a game- Read more…

Intel’s Server and PC Chip Development Will Blur After 2025

January 15, 2024

Intel's dealing with much more than chip rivals breathing down its neck; it is simultaneously integrating a bevy of new technologies such as chiplets, artificia Read more…

Baidu Exits Quantum, Closely Following Alibaba’s Earlier Move

January 5, 2024

Reuters reported this week that Baidu, China’s giant e-commerce and services provider, is exiting the quantum computing development arena. Reuters reported � Read more…

Leading Solution Providers

Contributors

Comparing NVIDIA A100 and NVIDIA L40S: Which GPU is Ideal for AI and Graphics-Intensive Workloads?

October 30, 2023

With long lead times for the NVIDIA H100 and A100 GPUs, many organizations are looking at the new NVIDIA L40S GPU, which it’s a new GPU optimized for AI and g Read more…

Shutterstock 1179408610

Google Addresses the Mysteries of Its Hypercomputer 

December 28, 2023

When Google launched its Hypercomputer earlier this month (December 2023), the first reaction was, "Say what?" It turns out that the Hypercomputer is Google's t Read more…

AMD MI3000A

How AMD May Get Across the CUDA Moat

October 5, 2023

When discussing GenAI, the term "GPU" almost always enters the conversation and the topic often moves toward performance and access. Interestingly, the word "GPU" is assumed to mean "Nvidia" products. (As an aside, the popular Nvidia hardware used in GenAI are not technically... Read more…

Shutterstock 1606064203

Meta’s Zuckerberg Puts Its AI Future in the Hands of 600,000 GPUs

January 25, 2024

In under two minutes, Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, laid out the company's AI plans, which included a plan to build an artificial intelligence system with the eq Read more…

Google Introduces ‘Hypercomputer’ to Its AI Infrastructure

December 11, 2023

Google ran out of monikers to describe its new AI system released on December 7. Supercomputer perhaps wasn't an apt description, so it settled on Hypercomputer Read more…

China Is All In on a RISC-V Future

January 8, 2024

The state of RISC-V in China was discussed in a recent report released by the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The report, entitled "E Read more…

Intel Won’t Have a Xeon Max Chip with New Emerald Rapids CPU

December 14, 2023

As expected, Intel officially announced its 5th generation Xeon server chips codenamed Emerald Rapids at an event in New York City, where the focus was really o Read more…

IBM Quantum Summit: Two New QPUs, Upgraded Qiskit, 10-year Roadmap and More

December 4, 2023

IBM kicks off its annual Quantum Summit today and will announce a broad range of advances including its much-anticipated 1121-qubit Condor QPU, a smaller 133-qu Read more…

  • arrow
  • Click Here for More Headlines
  • arrow
HPCwire