IBM's technological goliath: 10 quadrillion calculations a second

IBM today revealed its latest technological goliath; a 10-petaflop IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer codenamed ‘Mira’. According to IBM, the new system will be twice as fast as today's fastest supercomputer, providing a strong science and technology engine that will keep the US at the forefront of computing development.

A combination of innovative new chip designs and advanced water cooling help to make Mira one of the fastest and most energy efficient supercomputers in the world. It will be capable of producing more than 10 quadrillion calculations per second.

By contrast, the human brain's processing power has been estimated at around 100 trillion calculations per second (according to the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University), which equates to a puny 100 teraflops (puny compared to Mira).

The system will be used by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory for a variety of scientific endeavors. This includes assisting in the design of advanced electric car batteries, understanding global climate change and “exploring the evolution of our universe”. (The press release was somewhat vague about the particulars.)

The technology behind Mira will also assist in highly complex challenges, such as understanding the impacts of regional climate change and the design of safe nuclear reactors. Until now, such herculean workloads that have been beyond our reach, due to their sheer size, unpredictability and uncertainties.

"Computation and supercomputing are critical to solving some of our greatest scientific challenges, like advancing clean energy and understanding the Earth's climate," said Rick Stevens, associate laboratory director for computing, environment and life sciences at Argonne National Laboratory.  "[Mira] will help address the critical demand for complex modeling and simulation capabilities, which are essential to improving our economic prosperity and global competitiveness."

Scientists at the ALCF are already working with potential users on the most effective ways to harness Mira's power. This will allow researchers to tackle their science goals effectively as soon as the system is installed.

The Blue Gene supercomputers represent a radical departure from supercomputers of the past, consuming only a fraction of the energy and floor space. The system is part of a collaboration between Argonne, IBM and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.