ISC 2024 Flashback
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On May 12th, 2024, Hamburg hosted the prestigious International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) 2024, renowned as the premier event for High Performance Computing, Machine Learning, Data Analytics, and Quantum Computing in Europe. This year's conference underscored the growing importance of Machine Learning and the rising impact of Quantum Computing in the technological landscape. High Performance Computing (HPC) continues to play a pivotal role in meeting the increasing performance requirements of machine learning applications.
The ISC exhibition served as a hub for engaging with leading HPC software and hardware providers, as well as the dynamic HPC community in Europe. Notable participants included ISC platinum-level exhibitors such as Eviden, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft Azure, WEKA, and xFusion, alongside prominent data center operators like MareNostrum 5, Gauss Centre for Supercomputing, as well as the NHR Alliance. The event also attracted HPC communities from England, Korea, and Japan, showcasing a global presence.
Quantum computing companies like Quix Quantum were prominently featured, reflecting the increasing interest and advancements in this cutting-edge technology. With a total of 159 exhibitors from 30 countries, ISC provided a diverse and vibrant platform for networking and collaboration.
Throughout the three-day event, numerous bwHPC teams seized the opportunity to collaborate with partners, explore potential HPC system suppliers, and participate in insightful conference sessions. bwHPC stood out alongside industry leaders ASUS and Huawei, drawing over 3,000 international attendees from 51 countries to the event.
The ISC 2024 once again solidified its position as Europe's leading conference for showcasing the latest innovations in high-performance computing and related technologies.
For more information, visithttps://www.isc-hpc.com
Some more impressions from ISC 2024
Destination Earth: Digital Twins for weather and climate
We are frequently asked about the calculations we perform on our High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems. Explaining these calculations can be challenging due to the specialized knowledge and software involved. However, one project that showcases the power of HPC and offers intuitive handling is Destination Earth.
Destination Earth (DestinE) is an ambitious initiative aimed at creating a digital twin of our planet. With extreme weather events becoming more frequent and climate changes growing more pronounced, there is an urgent need for accurate forecasting to predict their impact on the environment, life, and property.
This groundbreaking project commenced in 2022 and is set to launch on June 10, 2024, with calculations continuing until 2030. Ioan Hadade, Senior Analyst at ECMWF, recently shared a stunning 60-day video rendering that provides a glimpse into the project's capabilities.
To learn more about Destination Earth and witness its innovative approach to weather and climate forecasting, please visit https://destination-earth.eu.
MareNostrum 5: Pre-Exascale HPC-system
Sometimes it is necessary to see the bigger picture and look at Tier-0 systems. Sergi Girona, Operations Director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, presented some slides of the new MareNostrum 5.
MareNostrum 5 is one of the pre-exascale EuroHPC systems hosted at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. The system was tendered in 2022, and acceptance is expected to be finalized in early 2024. The system is set to enter full production in March/April 2024, with the first scientific simulations becoming available at ISC24. MareNostrum 5 has a total peak computational power of 314 PFlops.
In Germany, the first exascale HPC system called Jupiter is being installed at the Forschungszentrum Jülich. Kristel Michielsen presented the timeline and construction progress. The installation of Jupiter is planned for 2024, with full production expected in 2025. Hopefully, more details will be available at ISC 2025.
Both HPC systems are partially funded by EuroHPC.
If you would like to learn more, please visit the following links: https://www.bsc.es/marenostrum/marenostrum-5 andhttps://www.fz-juelich.de/en/ias/jsc/jupiter.
Green 500
Sustainability is becoming increasingly crucial for HPC systems, including Tier-3 systems. The Green500 competition specifically focuses on the energy efficiency of HPC systems listed in the TOP500. This year, the JEDI system in Jülich, Germany, has taken the lead with an impressive energy efficiency rating of 72.73 GFlops/Watt, utilizing 19,584 cores. To learn more about this development, please visit the Green500 website.
