August 2011

Special Post-ISC'11 Issue.

The wildebeest migration of the Serengeti

ISC is truly a unique annual event. The conference has grown into an amazing annual gathering that many of us have come to look forward to with great anticipation. And though dwarfed by the annual SC conference, the International Supercomputing Conference in Hamburg has clearly established itself on the short list of ‘must attend’ events for many HPC community movers and shakers. The annual migration to ISC draws a strong comparison to another annual event – the great migration of the Serengeti.
 

Co-Design – The Promise and the Misconception

by Mike Bernhardt

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, by Wenzel Peter

Industry thought leaders have been saying for several years now – that “co-design” is an absolutely essential component among the many critical steps to actually building a useable exascale system. But the very topic of co-design naturally takes us down the path of different opinions and perspectives. While some champions of “co-design” believe we need to start from a clean slate, others follow the thinking that exascale research must follow and leverage the industry roadmaps – in other words – work with what the vendors have decided to build. In theory, co-design is the opportunity to influence future HPC architectures. But, when those architectures are directly connected to building product lines to drive corporate revenue, co-design becomes a very limited proposal with far less impact than the founding fathers of exascale planning had in mind.
 

FEATURE AUDIO INTERVIEW: IBM’S DON GRICE

by Mike Bernhardt
In this exclusive feature audio interview, IBM Distinguished Engineer and Chief Engineer for Road Runner, Don Grice, discusses photonics technology, co-design, and Blue Gene with a pragmatic approach to exascale R&D.

Recorded live at the 26th annual International Supercomputing Conference (ISC'11)
 

An interview with Intel’s Dr. Wilfred Pinfold, Director of Extreme Scale Programs with Intel Labs - on the topic of co-design

by Mike Bernhardt
Dr. Wilfred (Wilf) Pinfold has been active in the HPC community for many years. Going back to the days of Meiko Scientific, the British supercomputer company, and Intel’s supercomputer systems division in the mid-90s, Pinfold’s visibility skyrocketed in 2009 when he served as the General Chair for the SC09 conference. We’re pleased to bring you this Exascale Report exclusive discussion with Wilf Pinfold on the topic of co-design.
 

Intel Equipped To Lead Industry To Era Of Exascale Computing

by Mike Bernhardt

Sheridan's Ride; 1886, Thure de Thulstrup


[ Responding to Intel’s Announcement of Exascale Leadership on June 20, 2011.]

We still have a long road ahead of us – and there should be no doubt that Intel will continue to be a driving force in delivering some level of exascale building blocks. But, will the exascale platforms of the next decade be built on Knights Ferry and the MIC architecture? It’s way too early to bet on that. Only the funding crystal ball can tell us more – and recently – that crystal ball has been very cloudy.
 

E7 Issues Exacale RFI

by Staff
EXASCALE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ISSUED BY ARGONNE ON BEHALF OF E7 Argonne has issued a Request for Information (RFI) – [No. 1-KD73-I-31583-00] – as a first step in better understanding exascale hardware possibilities for the U.S. Department of Energy.

White Paper: Exascale Research: Preparing for the Post-Moore Era

by Staff
This is an important piece co-authored by Marc Snir, William Gropp and Peter Kogge. We know this has appeared in several other places, but we have also come across a number of people who weren’t aware of it, so as a service to our readers, we decided to include this. View as a PDF

Intel Responds to Community Feedback

by Staff
“..we are not claiming we have these challenges solved, but rather we are reiterating our commitment and shared investments to find and develop these solutions with industry, academia and government partnerships.”

Contributed Article: The Move to Streaming Multiprocessor Accelerators: What is (slightly) different about this Paradigm Shift?

by Staff
In the never ending quest for better performance, the HPC industry has gone through many paradigm shifts, each triggered by disruptive technologies.

Community Opinion: The Exascale Report Asks

by Staff

1: The term 'co-design' is becoming as ambiguous as cloud computing. How do you (or your organization) define 'Co-design' as it applies to exascale research and development - what do you see as the opportunities - and what do you see as the misconceptions around this term? 2: What progress is being made in collaborative exascale “co-design” efforts? Has anything been done beyond forming numerous working groups and meetings, and the many discussions and articles on why we need a global co-design effort?
 

Join the Discussion

The Exascale Report encourages members of the HPC community to contribute articles dealing with key issues and technologies associated with the drive to develop exascale systems. Please submit a brief (150-250 word abstract) to idea@theexascalereport.com describing your proposed topic. We welcome original submissions from HPC practitioners. Articles will be peer reviewed.

Please note that success stories, white papers, press releases and other marketing communications collateral or public relations materials are not what we are looking for.