On the eve of ISC 2017 and the next release of the Top500 list, Japans RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science has posted an extensive study by IDC that compares and contrasts international efforts on pre-exascale and early exascale plans. The study Analysis of the Characteristics and Development Trends of the Next-Generation of Supercomputers in Foreign Countries was contracted by RIKEN, completed last December, and posted last week on the RIKEN web site. <\/p>\n
Much of the material is familiar to exascale race watchers but gathering it all in one place is fascinating and useful. RIKEN has made the report freely available and downloadable as a PDF from its website. Its worth noting the reports authors were formerly the core team of IDCs HPC research group and now are members of Hyperion Research which was spun out of IDC this year. Despite the studys length (70-plus pages) it is a quick read and the tables are well-worth scanning. Much of the focus is on the next round of leadership class computing supercomputers (pre-exascale machines) about which more is known but there is also considerable discussion exascale technology. <\/p>\n
For supercomputer junkies, theres a table for nearly every aspect. Below are two sample: 1) systems covered in this report and their current\/planned performance and 2) memory systems either in use or planned. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
There are many more tables covering topics such as architecture and node design, MTBF, interconnect, compilers and middleware, etc. A complete list of the 30 tables is at the end of the article and is a good surrogate for the reports scope. <\/p>\n
Heres the top line summary in an excerpt from the report:Looking at the strengths and weaknesses in exascale plans and capabilities of different countries: <\/p>\n
As noted earlier, while the report breaks little new ground its comprehensive view of these leading 15 supercomputer systems and side-by-side comparison is a useful resource. The list of tables is below along with a link to the report. <\/p>\n
Link to report: http:\/\/www.aics.riken.jp\/aicssite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Analysis-of-the-Characteristics-and-Development-Trends.pdf<\/a> <\/p>\n List of Tables <\/p>\n Table 1 The Supercomputers Evaluated in This Study <\/p>\n Table 2 System Attributes: Planned Performance <\/p>\n Table 3 System Attributes: Architecture and Node Design <\/p>\n Table 4 System Attributes: Power <\/p>\n Table 5 System Attributes: MTBF Rates <\/p>\n Table 6 System Attributes: KPIs (key performance indicators) <\/p>\n Table 7 Comparison of System Prices <\/p>\n Table 8 Comparison of System Prices: Whos Paying for It? <\/p>\n Table 9 Ease-of-Use: Planned New Features <\/p>\n Table 10 Ease-of-Use: Porting\/Running of New Codes on a New Computer <\/p>\n Table 11 Ease-of-Use: Missing Items that Reduce Ease-of-Use <\/p>\n Table 12 Ease-of-Use: Overall Ability to Run Leadership Class Problems <\/p>\n Table 13 Hardware Attributes: Processors <\/p>\n Table 14 Hardware Attributes: Memory Systems <\/p>\n Table 15 Hardware Attributes: Interconnects <\/p>\n Table 16 Hardware Attributes: Storage <\/p>\n Table 17 Hardware Attributes: Cooling <\/p>\n Table 18 Hardware Attributes: Special Hardware <\/p>\n Table 19 Hardware Attributes: Estimated System Utilization <\/p>\n Table 20 Software Attributes: OS and Special Software <\/p>\n Table 21 Software Attributes: File Systems <\/p>\n Table 22 Software Attributes: Compilers and Middleware <\/p>\n Table 23 Software Attributes: Other Software <\/p>\n Table 24 R&D Plans <\/p>\n Table 25 R&D Plans: Partnerships <\/p>\n Table 27 Additional Comments & Observations <\/p>\n Table 28 IDC Assessment of the Major Exascale Providers: USA <\/p>\n Table 29 IDC Assessment of the Major Exascale Providers: Europe\/EMEA <\/p>\n Table 30 Assessment of Exascale Providers: China 59 <\/p>\n * No table 26 <\/p>\n <\/p>\n See more here: <\/p>\n RIKEN Posts Extensive Study of Global Supercomputer Plans in Time for ISC 2017 - HPCwire (blog)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the eve of ISC 2017 and the next release of the Top500 list, Japans RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science has posted an extensive study by IDC that compares and contrasts international efforts on pre-exascale and early exascale plans. The study Analysis of the Characteristics and Development Trends of the Next-Generation of Supercomputers in Foreign Countries was contracted by RIKEN, completed last December, and posted last week on the RIKEN web site. Much of the material is familiar to exascale race watchers but gathering it all in one place is fascinating and useful Continue reading