People Behind IBM's Super Computer |
IBM's Sequoia has
taken the top spot on the list of the world's fastest supercomputers for the
US.
The newly installed
system trumped Japan's K Computer made by Fujitsu which fell to second place.
It is the first time the US can claim pole position since it was beaten by China two years ago.
Sequoia will be used
to carry out simulations to help extend the life of aging nuclear weapons,
avoiding the need for real-world underground tests.
It is installed at the
US Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
"While Sequoia
may be the fastest, the underlying computing capabilities it provides give us
increased confidence in the nation's nuclear deterrent," said National
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) administrator Thomas D'Agostino.
"Sequoia also
represents continued American leadership in high performance computing."
Adding
processors
The computer is
capable of calculating in one hour what otherwise would take 6.7 billion people
using hand calculators 320 years to complete if they worked non-stop.
Although the US's
efforts helped secure it the lead, its overall tally of three computers in the
top 10 was worse than six months ago when it had five.
China and Germany both
have two supercomputers, while Japan, France and Italy have one.
But IBM proved to be
the leading manufacturer claiming five out of the top 10 spots.
IBM's Super Computer |
David Turek, vice
president of deep computing at the firm, told the BBC his company had been
preparing to retake the top spot for two years.
"Substantial
planning went into this. We knew the day would come."
Sequoia is 1.55 times
faster than the Fujitsu model, and uses over 1.5 million processors.
In comparison the
Japanese model has less than half the number of CPUs (central processing
units).
Energy efficient
The IBM supercomputer
is also more energy efficient than the Fujitsu model.
Sequoia consumes 7.9
megawatts compared to the K computer which uses 12.6 megawatts.
Mr Turek described
Sequoia as the "pinnacle of energy efficiency" and said the reaction
had been "very enthusiastic."
"Government
laboratories in Europe have already expressed interest," he said.
The list is published
every six months by German Professor Hans Meuer and US-based Professor Jack
Dongarra.
Prof Dongarra told the
BBC it was unlikely that another manufacturer would overtake IBM in the next
year.
"Sequoia is very
impressive," he said.
Fujitsu's Super Computer |
273,930
times faster
The first computer to
take the top position on the list was the CM-5/1024 in 1993, designed by
Thinking Machines.
According to Prof
Dongarra, Sequoia is 273,930 times faster.
"A calculation
that took three full days to compute on the Thinking Machines in 1993 today can
be done in less than one second on the Sequoia," he said.
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