In an executive order issued July 29, President Obama outlined policy steps designed “to maximize benefits of high performance computing research, development and deployment …”
As outlined, the National Strategic Computing Initiative aims to create a new supercomputer that performs 100 times faster than what’s available now.
The order creates the NSCI, a cross-government initiative that calls for deployment of high-performance computing tech, fosters public-private collaboration, draws in all federal agencies and a comprehensive technical/scientific approach.
Specifically, the NSCI seeks to advance the current computing power of 10 petaflops by 100 times and establish a 15-year plan for high-performance computing.
The lead agencies for the NSCI are the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense and Department of Energy.
Back in April, the DOE announced it selected Intel to build a new supercomputer for the Argonne National Laboratory.
The Argonne National Laboratory, located in Lemont, Ill., is a government-funded research center managed by the DOE working in close conference with the University of Chicago. The laboratory focuses on advancing research into fields including renewable energy, environmental science and national security projects.
The contract with ALCF, valued at $200 million, calls for the construction of super computers at Oak Ridge, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories that will be seven to eight times more powerful than current models. Intel will also deliver a second supercomputer to the DOE – called Theta – which is set for 2016.
Another super computer called Aurora is set for delivery in 2018 and is “the largest system currently procured worldwide,” according to a statement from Intel. Intel will develop the platform with Cray; the system will use Intel’s computing scalable framework and Cray’s Shasta, which can accommodate multiple processor types, according to a Cray blog post.
Aurora will have a peak performance of 180 petaflops and Theta will feature 8.5 petaflops running off 1.7 megawatts of power.
