The Summit High-Performance Computing (HPC) system is now available for the campus community. The system has more than 10,000 processing units, and an aggregate computing capacity 20 times greater than CSU’s current Information Science and Technology Center (ISTeC) Cray HPC system. This will enable Summit users to solve demanding problems in science, engineering, and other fields.
Summit will allow the execution of scientific calculations to be up to 50 times faster than a high-end desktop computer. This means that a problem that takes five hours to solve on a desktop may take only six minutes on Summit. New capabilities provided by Summit will enhance learning and research as students and faculty design, develop, and implement solutions for their problems faster and with greater precision.
“Computer facilities in a research university are now as important as any key infrastructure, “said Jorge Rocca, a University Distinguished Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. “Summit provides a very much needed increase in high power computing capability at CSU.”
Using Summit, Rocca has successfully run particle-in-cell simulations of ultra-high energy density laser-created plasmas. The model simulates the evolution of exploding nanostructures, which are predicted to generate plasmas with pressures matching those in the center of the sun.
“This type of extensive computations could not be done at CSU prior to Summit,” Rocca said.
Collaboration with CU
The new system is a collaborative effort with the University of Colorado at Boulder, supported by a $3.9 million joint National Science Foundation grant. Summit will be housed at the Boulder campus, and can be accessed on CSU’s local network through a high-speed fiber connection to Boulder. This connection will allow access at the same rate as if Summit were on the CSU campus.
“We look forward to upgrading our high-performance computing capabilities here in the Front Range,” said Alan Rudolph, vice president for research. “Our partnership with CU Boulder to launch the Summit HPC system provides our collective research faculty with the needed infrastructure for success.”
Learn more
To learn more about Summit capabilities, as well as how to apply for access to the system, the CSU community is invited to attend the Summit HPC Open Forum on Friday, March 3, 10-11 a.m. in the Morgan Library Event Hall, hosted by ISTeC and the Office of the Vice President for Research.
