IBM`s RS/6000 SP platform has become the first to break through the one-trillion-calculations-per-second barrier. IBM has set new number-crunching capabilities with its new RS/6000 SP platform, the successor to Deep Blue, IBM`s chess-playing supercomputer, which is more than 150 times more powerful than Deep Blue.
The new RS/6000 SP, based on IBM`s 64-bit, 375MHz Power3-II microprocessor, a powerful copper chip developed for IBM`s RS/6000 servers and workstations, is to be installed at the Finnish Academic Supercomputing Centre (CSC) in October. The IBM system will be the most powerful commercial supercomputer on the European continent.
The strength of the new SP system from IBM lies in its peak Teraflop performance, says Ronel Boucher, product specialist at JSE-listed Faritec, South Africa`s largest IBM RS/6000 reseller. "This performance allows it to complete up to one trillion calculations a second," says Boucher. "It seems inconceivable, but it`s 150 times faster than the Deep Blue supercomputer that defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov three years ago. A gain of 150-times performance in just three years indicates how the SP platform is gaining in power each year."
The new IBM RS/6000 SP, valued at $4,5 million, will assist CSC in developing the ultimate in high-performance computing services. The vast scalability of the system architecture will ensure the smooth growth of computing performance for research projects through to 2005.
"The RS/6000 SP has become the foundation of high-performance computing," adds Boucher.
The SP system will be housed at the CSC in Helsinki and will be used by companies and academic researchers requiring peak performance in the utilisation of parallel programming codes. Current uses include materials
physics, computational fluid dynamics and quantum chemistry. The system may also be used by the CSC for advanced weather forecasting.
The power of the Power3-II microprocessor is derived from IBM-pioneered copper wiring. Copper increases microprocessor performance substantially compared with chips that use traditional aluminum. In 2002, the system will be upgraded with IBM`s Power4 microprocessors, which will increase performance to the teraflop level. In that phase, the SP will consist of several hundred processors. CSC has an option to increase the system with new IBM processors in 2003.
When completed, the IBM RS/6000 SP at the CSC will rank in the top 25 on the Top500 List of Supercomputing sites, which ranks the world`s fastest supercomputers.
IBM is the leader in high-performance computing, according to the Top500 List of Supercomputers, with 141 systems - all RS/6000 SPs - up 36% from a year ago.
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