Die nationale Raumfahrtagentur der USA NASA und IBM (NYSE: IBM) haben bekanntgegeben, daß die Agentur einen IBM System p575+ Supercomputer ausgewählt hat, um die Technologie der nächsten Generation für die Supercomputing-Anforderungen der Zukunft bei der NASA zu untersuchen.
Supercomputer spielen bei vielen NASA-Missionen eine wichtige Rolle, inclusive Raumfahrzeugdesign, weltweite Klimastudien und astrophysikalische Forschung.
Das IBM System wird bei der NASA Advanced Supercomputing-Einrichtung (NAS) beim Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Kalifornien, installiert. Mit 640 Rechenkernen und einer Peakleistung von ca. 5.6 Teraflops, wird das System die vorhandene „Columbia“-Supercomputeranlage unterstützen, die derzeit als der an achter Stelle stehende Rechner in der Liste der schnellsten Computer der Welt bekannt ist.
Der Kauf des IBM p575+ Supercomputers ist der erste Schritt eines vierstufigen Beschaffungsprozesses, der das vorhandene Columbia-Supercomputersystem ersetzen wird. Dieser schrittweise Ersatz entspricht dem Strategic Capabilities Assets Program (SCAP) zur Bereitstellung von Supercomputing-Leistung, um die Anforderungen der NASA-Programme und -Missionen an Compute-Leistung zu erfüllen.
Weitere Informationen in der original US-Presseinformation anbei.
NASA Selects IBM for Next-Generation Supercomputer Applications
MOFFETT FIELD, CA – 06 Jun 2007: On Wednesday, NASA and IBM (NYSE: IBM), Armonk, N.Y., announced the agency has selected an IBM System p575+ supercomputer for evaluating next-generation technology to meet the agency’s future supercomputing requirements. Supercomputers play a critical role in many NASA missions, including new space vehicle design, global climate studies and astrophysics research.
The IBM system is being installed at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) facility at the Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., where it is undergoing testing and evaluation. With 640 computational cores and a peak performance of approximately 5.6 teraflops, the system will augment the agency’s existing „Columbia“ system, currently ranked as the eighth fastest supercomputer in the world.
A teraflop is a measure of a computer’s speed; one teraflop can be expressed as a trillion floating point operations per second.
„With NASA’s high-end computing needs expected to continue during the next few years, we need to keep pace with improved technologies. IBM’s system meets all the criteria for our base system evaluation, and working closely with them, we will chart out a successful path for the NASA supercomputing environment,“ said Dr. Piyush Mehrotra, who leads the NAS applications group and is steering the technology upgrade effort.
The NAS supports scientists and engineers throughout the United States who work on projects such as designing spacecraft, improving weather and hurricane models, and understanding the behavior of the sun. Many NASA projects require large, complex calculations and sophisticated mathematical models that can be efficiently handled only by a supercomputer.
„The research undertaken by NASA scientists is allowing engineers to design and build safer, more advanced spacecraft more quickly than ever,“ said Dave Turek, vice president of Deep Computing for IBM. „Computer simulation technology produces perfect prototypes for virtual testing, reducing the need for physical testing.“
The NAS technology upgrade effort used a comprehensive benchmark suite to characterize system performance on NASA-relevant applications and to measure job throughput for a workload in a complex, high-performance computing environment.
The IBM p575+ supercomputer acquisition is the first of a four-phase procurement process that eventually will replace the Columbia supercomputer system. This phased replacement supports the requirements of the agency Strategic Capabilities Assets Program (SCAP) High-End Computing Capability to provide supercomputing capability to meet the needs of NASA’s programs and missions.
For more information about NASA Advanced Supercomputing facility, visit:
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
For more information about IBM System p supercomputers, visit:
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/p/
Hans-Juergen Rehm
Kommunikation/Communications
IBM Deutschland GmbH (IBM Germany)
Tel: +49-711-785-4148
E-Mail: hansrehm@de.ibm.com
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