BOULDER, Colo., Oct. 30 — The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has just released a Draft Technical Specification (DTS) for its next generation supercomputer. This new system, called NWSC-2 for procurement purposes, will be the successor to Yellowstone and related systems that have been in production since December 2012. The procurement is being led by the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) at NCAR.
Timeline for the NWSC-2 procurement
The following table provides a high-level summary of key milestones and dates for the NWSC-2 procurement. These estimates are provided as general information only and do not represent a commitment by UCAR.
Background Information
NCAR’s current computing environment
An overview of NCAR’s computing environment is provided via the link in the table below. These systems are installed at the NWSC in Cheyenne, WY. They were put into production in December 2012 and are expected to run through 2016 with a possible extension through the end of 2017. The successor NWSC-2 systems will also be installed at the Cheyenne facility.
In September 2009, NCAR published the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center Science Justification, which is available from the link below. Though this document was published five years ago, it remains highly relevant for this procurement in articulating the long-term vision and opportunities for using HPC to address scientific challenges in the atmospheric sciences.
Yellowstone workload study
CISL has prepared a Yellowstone workload study, which is available from the table below, to help provide insights into how the current HPC environment is being used. This information may be useful to those who are considering a submission to the NWSC-2 solicitation. The information is subject to change, so interested parties should check back periodically for updates.
NWSC-2: Draft Technical Specifications and related documents
The following table provides the NWSC-2 draft technical specifications and instructions to parties interested in participating, as well as related background information.
Document/Resource with link | Description |
Letter to Interested Parties | Intent of issuing the Draft Technical Requirements, and instructions for prospective bidders |
Draft Technical Specifications | Scope, budget, timeline, and technical specifications for the NWSC-2 procurement |
Yellowstone Environment | Technical description of the Yellowstone system and related computing environment |
Yellowstone Workload Study | Presentation on the important performance characteristics of the current Yellowstone computing environment |
NWSC-2 Science Justification | Sets the foundation for the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center and HPC procurements |
More information can be found at http://www2.cisl.ucar.edu/NWSC-2.
—
Source: National Center for Atmospheric Research