IBM built a new supercomputer

IBM has just begun to build a new "Roadrunner" supercomputer with two types of combined processors - Opteron and Cell (processor in Sony Playstation) under the order of the US National Nuclear Security Committee ( NNSA).

The "Roadrunner" supercomputer project has an initial budget of 35 million USD. Construction will begin in September, and end in 2007.

Meanwhile, the race for supercomputers is also happening drastically. In June 2006, the Japan Institute of Physics and Chemical Research (RIKEN) announced that it has completed the super-protein Protein Explorer, capable of handling millions of billions of calculations per second.

Super hybrid computer

The Roadrunner system, along with the supercomputer Protein Explorer and Tsubame (under the management of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, built by Sun Microsystems) is proving a new trend in supercomputing technology: combining sets Integrated processing with specific acceleration chips.

It is also IBM's BladeCenter systems that are being modified to go towards hybridization. A single chassis can be equipped with both Opteron chip blade server and Cell chip integrated acceleration system. Chassis BladeCenter also has communication links between servers. And according to a source said, the slab will be used in Roadrunner.

AMD's Opteron chip is used in supercomputing "cluster" systems capable of spreading processing power to many small computer systems linked by high-speed networks. In the case of Roadrunner, the Cell processor - designed directly by IBM, Sony and Toshiba, will provide acceleration according to special needs.

Previously, Cell was designed for the purpose of improving the video game performance in the PlayStation 3 system. The main processor core of a single chip surrounded by 8 cores handles processing for specific purposes, helping to increase Calculating ability, especially the ability to simulate the virtual world physics. These engines are often used for complex scientific tasks.