Supercomputer to Hit 1.6 Petaflops With 16,000 Cell Chips

tygerstripes writes, "IBM has announced that they are gearing up to build the world's fastest supercomputer, more than four times faster than the reigning champ, IBM's BlueGene/L. Nicknamed 'Roadrunner,' the new machine will be a hybrid of off-the-shelf CPUs and Cell chips designed for the PS3. Roadrunner is to be installed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, occupying 1,100 square metres of floorspace (that's a square about 110 feet on a side). According to the BBC: 'The computer will contain 16,000 standard processors working alongside 16,000 Cell processors... each Cell is capable of 256 billion calculations per second.'"

Comments

Now...

[ronadams]

OS/2 compiles your homemade C code faster than you've ever seen before!

Whew, right under the wire!

[BadAnalogyGuy]

Just in time for the Vista RC1 release!

That's sort of fast.

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess.

Re:That's sort of fast.

[jackbird]

640 GB should be enough for anyone.

Also building a slightly slower computer...

[AceCaseOR]

IBM is also building a slightly slower computer, called "Wile E. Coyote", which is slightly slower. They are currently attempting to work out the bugs, as it keeps crashing...

Re:Also building a slightly slower computer...

[steveo777]

They're currently thumbing through ACME cataloges for spare rockets and rollerskate. That should speed things up.

PS3 delayed?

[October_30th]

So, is this the reason why the PS3 release has been delayed?

Re:PS3 delayed?

[evanbd]

No. Sony said it was due to shortages of the blue laser diode in the Blu-ray drives. Also, you'll note they're short a couple million PS3s, not a measley 16000.

Flops? CPS?

[Cybert4]

For one, they gloss over whether they mean floating point operations or "calculations" per second. The article seems to equate a flop with "calculations per second". The flop, of course, came from floating point operation. Even then it's vague--is it single, double or double-extended?

Yes, it's certainly better than the old "megahurts" races. But I think they could come up with something better.

Re:Flops? CPS?

[adam31]

The flop, of course, came from floating point operation. Even then it's vague--is it single, double or double-extended?

I was thinking the same thing. Running the numbers, 256 GFlop * 16,000 => 4.096 PFlop @ single precision. So if IBM means SP flops, something is slowing its theoretical max down by 2.5x. But Cell's DP perf yields 18.2 * 16,000 => .292 PFlop @ DP. So that's not it either.

It's long been rumored that a post-PS3 Cell is in development that can pipeline DP flops. Its max theoretical DP perf would still be half of SP because it's just 2 DP values per 128-bit register instead of 4. AND, if you figure they lower the GHz to 3.2 to cut the heat output in half, you arrive at the magical number... 1.638 PFlop.

So can we take this as evidence that there now exists a Cell that performs DP calculations pipelined?

However part of the problem

[OzPeter]

has been identifed as sub-standard components delivered by a third party company called "acme".

These components had a tendency to either explode at in-opportune moments, or behave in a manner that while was true to the letter of their description was totally ineffective for the desired purpose.

At the moment each side is gathering its hoards of lawyers and all involved are jumping up and down, waving thigh-bones in the air and screaming incomprehensible abuse at each other.

Re:However part of the problem

[reverseengineer]

The unique failure modes of these Acme components, however, have caused IBM researchers to stumble upon a remarkable macroscale quantum effect which may be useful in the development ofquantum computers.

Apparently, when the Acme Rocket Sled, Acme Giant Rubber Band or the Acme Bat-Man suit reach their point of failure, every particle of the unfortunate user is compelled into a quantum superposition (known as the Chuck Jones state) where the particles of the user appear to exist outside of the normal flow of time, during which the user can apparently communicate with the outside using messages written on signs. The wavefunction collapses, however when the user realizes the peril of the current situation; the user returns to normal time and is contacted catastrophically by the approaching train/TNT detonation/boulder/ground/ground followed by a pursuant boulder.

IBM scientists believe that useful calculations could be made nearly instantaneously from the perspective of outside observers, if only the user inside the Jones state could be induced to work complex math problems and write the answer on a picket sign, rather than simply using such signs for messages like, "Why Me?", "Not Again!", "?!?!?!?!?!" or "Ouch."

NASA is also working with Acme to determine the physical mechanism by which the Acme Portable Hole functions.

Feet/Metres/Meters

[onion2k]

Roadrunner is to be installed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, occupying 1,100 square metres of floorspace (that's a square about 110 feet on a side)
Why mix the units like that? It's either 33 meters a side, or its 12,100 square feet. Mixing units is the sort of thing that can only lead to errors.

And for the record, sqrt(1100m2) = 33.17 meters = 108.83 feet a side. 110 feet per side gets you an extra 24.13 square meters .. enough for 4 interns including desks.

Re:Feet/Metres/Meters

[lightyear4]

And for the record, sqrt(1100m2) = 33.17 meters = 108.83 feet a side. 110 feet per side gets you an extra 24.13 square meters .. enough for 4 interns including desks.

You mean in the room WITH the supercomputer? Oooh! I call dibs on the sauna office!

Re:Feet/Metres/Meters

[raehl]

Why mix the units like that?

Training to be a rocket scientist?

So the price was

[CrazyJim1]

16,000 *600$= 9.6 million. That doesn't seem like much for the biggest super computer.

Re:So the price was

[gstoddart]

16,000 *600$= 9.6 million. That doesn't seem like much for the biggest super computer.

First off, I believe IBM manufactures the cell processors for Sony, so it probably didn't cost them that much for the actual processors.

But, don't forget the $58 million in IBM consultants who built the damned thing. That's the real cost of this. ;-)

Cheers

State Bird

[jbeaupre]

The roadrunner is also the state bird of New Mexico, location of LANL.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadrunner_(bird)

It was always ironic to see them running up and down the road in front of my grandparents home.

Would you like to play a game?

[mendaliv]

Interesting sidenote in the article not mentioned here:
"The laboratory is owned by the US Department of Energy (DOE). Eventually the machine could be used for a programme that ensures the US nuclear weapons stockpile remains safe and reliable, the DOE said in a statement."

Why do I get a weird feeling that I've seen this sort of thing in one too many movies?

Um, no, not exactly

[$RANDOMLUSER]

From TFC (caption):

The cell processor was originally designed for Sony's PlayStation 3

I'm sure this comes as a surprise to IBM and Toshiba.

And this is from BBC News, no less. <sigh>

Lame

[Wolvie MkM]

And still it only runs F.E.A.R. at 25fps... weak...

Re:Billion or billion?

[morgan_greywolf]

British 'billions' are American 'trillions'. So this may be running three orders of magnitude faster than you first expec

Yeah, go figure. Stupid Brits can't even speak English. ;)

And looking back 20 years from now

[syntap]

we'll laugh at such a large room full of computer equipment, the equivalent of which will be powering our mobile communications devices in a 150mm x 150mm package.

Re:And looking back 20 years from now

[cowscows]

Yeah, I've decided that I'm not buying an iPod until apple wises up and adds the ability to recieve FM radio, and simulate the aging of my large nuclear weapon stockpiles.

Sure it's fast

[Skraut]

But is it fast enough to figure out the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything?