Crash testing is one of many applications handled by the HLRS


Providing an HPC blueprint


Robert Roe discovers that the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) is laying the foundation


for application-driven HPC – through a programme of training, education and hardware procurement


supercomputing. Te oldest of the centres, the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS), is primarily an academic resource but also supports industrial users. To help manage the resources at HLRS,


W


the centre has devised a strategy that focuses on sustained application performance. Tis is taking shape through a series of training programs to ensure users have the necessary skills to make their applications run effectively but also in the procurement and continued development of hardware and soſtware by HLRS. ‘All of our users are experts,’ said Professor


Michael Resch, director of the HLRS. ‘HLRS has established a concept in the state of


14 SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING WORLD


ith hardware spread across three high-performance computing (HPC) facilities, Germany is a powerhouse in European


Baden-Württemberg called bwHPC, creating a pyramid of power in which users move from local systems through central clusters up to the national supercomputer facility.’ Te model provides significant


organisational and scientific support throughout the various stages of this pyramid, allowing HLRS patrons to use the resources appropriately. Tis model is a blueprint for the rest of


Germany, said Resch: ‘Users arriving at the top – which is HLRS – have a lot of expertise before they even submit a proposal.’ While training and education are massively


important to HPC, it should be made clear that, to emulate this program of bwHPC, a country or organisation would need a considerable computing infrastructure that can take users on the journey from scientists or engineers to HPC experts.


Hardware at HLRS HLRS’ flagship supercomputer is Hazel Hen, an 185,088-core system (7,712 compute nodes) based on a Cray XC40. With a peak performance of 7.42 petaflops (quadrillion floating point operations per second), Hazel Hen is one of the most powerful HPC systems in the world (position 9 on the TOP500, 06/2016) and is the second fastest supercomputer in the European Union. Te HLRS supercomputer, which began


operation in October 2015, is based on the Intel Haswell processor and the Cray Aries network and is designed for sustained application performance and high scalability. However, as Resch explains, the goal when


designing Hazel Hen was not to create the fastest supercomputer in Europe, but to provide a system suitable for specific applications and users: ‘It was by accident that our Cray XC40 is currently the second fastest system in the European Union. We turned down an offer of a theoretically faster system that would have used accelerators.’ Tis is a recurrent theme for HLRS; the whole


infrastructure is designed to support its users. Primarily, this is because its first role is to assist the academic users of Stuttgart – but the mindset


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