Top 10 High-Performance Computing Clusters

What is High-Performance Computing (HPC)?

It’s more important than ever to have HPC resources that can tackle your toughest challenges. The technology that powers today’s biggest breakthroughs — including simulation, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and more — demands robust, scalable computing power. With Altair’s industry-leading HPC tools, you can seamlessly orchestrate, visualize, analyze, and optimize your most demanding workloads.

Here are the top 10 high-performance computing clusters:

  1. Summit
  2. Sierra
  3. Sunway TaihuLight
  4. Tianhe-2A (Milky Way-2A)
  5. Frontera
  6. Piz Daint
  7. Trinity
  8. AI Bridging Cloud Infrastructure (ABCI)
  9. SuperMUC-NG
  10. Stampede2

1. Summit –

Located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Summit is currently the world’s most powerful supercomputer. It has a peak performance of over 200 petaflops and is used for a wide range of scientific research, including climate modeling, physics simulations, and genomics.

Key features:

  • Massive Computing Power: Summit is currently one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. It has a peak performance of over 200 petaflops, enabling it to perform a massive number of calculations per second.
  • Heterogeneous Architecture: Summit features a heterogeneous architecture that combines traditional central processing units (CPUs) with powerful graphics processing units (GPUs). This combination allows for accelerated computing and improved performance for a wide range of applications.
  • High Memory Capacity: Summit has a substantial memory capacity, which is essential for handling large datasets and memory-intensive workloads. It features high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that provides fast data access and processing.

2. Sierra –

Sierra is a supercomputer located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It is used for various applications, including nuclear weapons simulations, materials science research, and astrophysics. Sierra has a peak performance of over 125 petaflops.

Key features:

  • High Performance: Sierra is a high-performance supercomputer with a peak performance of over 125 petaflops. It can perform a vast number of calculations per second, making it well-suited for complex simulations and data-intensive workloads.
  • Advanced Architecture: Sierra features a hybrid architecture that combines traditional central processing units (CPUs) with graphics processing units (GPUs). This combination allows for accelerated computing and improved performance for a wide range of applications.\
  • Heterogeneous Computing: The use of GPUs in Sierra enables efficient parallel processing, making it ideal for applications that require massive parallelisms, such as physics simulations, climate modeling, and materials science research.

3. Frontera –

Frontera is a supercomputer located at the Texas Advanced Computing Center. It is designed to support a wide range of scientific and engineering applications and has a peak performance of over 23 petaflops.

Key features:

  • High Performance: Frontera is a high-performance supercomputer with a peak performance of over 23 petaflops. It can perform a massive number of calculations per second, making it suitable for a wide range of computational workloads.
  • Leadership-Class Computing: Frontera is one of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) leadership-class computing resources. It is dedicated to supporting scientific research and innovation across various disciplines.
  • Advanced Architecture: Frontera features a heterogeneous architecture that combines powerful Intel Xeon processors with NVIDIA GPUs. This combination enables accelerated computing and improved performance for diverse scientific applications.

4. Piz Daint –

Piz Daint is a supercomputer located at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre. It is used for computational research in various fields, including climate modeling, molecular dynamics simulations, and quantum chromodynamics. Piz Daint has a peak performance of over 21 petaflops.

Key features:

  • Hybrid Architecture: Piz Daint features a hybrid architecture that combines traditional central processing units (CPUs) with powerful graphics processing units (GPUs). This hybrid configuration enables accelerated computing and improved performance for a wide range of scientific applications.
  • High Performance: Piz Daint is a high-performance supercomputer with a peak performance of over 25 petaflops. It can perform a massive number of calculations per second, making it well-suited for complex simulations, data analytics, and large-scale computations.
  • Energy Efficiency: Piz Daint is designed to be energy-efficient, incorporating power-saving technologies and techniques to optimize energy consumption. It aims to maximize computational performance while minimizing its environmental footprint.

5. Tianhe-2A –

Tianhe-2A, also known as Milky Way-2A, is a supercomputer located in China. It has a peak performance of over 13 petaflops and is used for a variety of scientific and industrial applications.

Key features:

  • High Performance: Tianhe-2A is a high-performance supercomputer with a peak performance of over 61 petaflops. It can perform an enormous number of calculations per second, making it one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world.
  • Advanced Architecture: Tianhe-2A features a hybrid architecture that combines Intel Xeon processors with custom-built Matrix-2000 co-processors. This hybrid configuration enables accelerated computing and improved performance for a wide range of applications.
  • Heterogeneous Computing: The Matrix-2000 co-processors in Tianhe-2A provide massively parallel processing capabilities, making it ideal for applications that require high degrees of parallelism, such as simulations, weather forecasting, and scientific research.

6. Stampede2 –

Stampede2 is a supercomputer located at the Texas Advanced Computing Center. It is designed to support large-scale scientific and engineering simulations and has a peak performance of over 18 petaflops.

Key features:

  • High Performance: Stampede2 is a high-performance supercomputer with a peak performance of over 18 petaflops. It can perform a massive number of calculations per second, making it suitable for a wide range of scientific and computational workloads.
  • Advanced Architecture: Stampede2 features a heterogeneous architecture that combines Intel Xeon processors with NVIDIA GPUs. This hybrid configuration enables accelerated computing and improved performance for diverse scientific applications.
  • Scalability and Parallel Processing: Stampede2 is designed for scalability and parallel processing, allowing researchers to distribute and process workloads across a large number of compute nodes. This capability enables efficient handling of large-scale simulations and data-intensive tasks.

7. MareNostrum –

MareNostrum is a supercomputer located in Spain. It is used for a wide range of research areas, including weather forecasting, climate modeling, and bioinformatics. MareNostrum has a peak performance of over 11 petaflops.

Key features:

  • High Performance: MareNostrum is a high-performance supercomputer with a peak performance of over 11 petaflops. It can perform a massive number of calculations per second, making it suitable for a wide range of scientific simulations and computational workloads.
  • Advanced Architecture: MareNostrum features a heterogeneous architecture that combines Intel Xeon processors with NVIDIA GPUs. This hybrid configuration enables accelerated computing and improved performance for diverse scientific applications.
  • Scalability and Parallel Processing: MareNostrum is designed for scalability and parallel processing, allowing researchers to distribute and process workloads across a large number of compute nodes. This capability enables efficient handling of large-scale simulations and data-intensive tasks.

8. Shaheen II –

Shaheen II is a supercomputer located at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. It is used for scientific research in various domains, including computational fluid dynamics, molecular dynamics, and seismic imaging. Shaheen II has a peak performance of over 7 petaflops.

Key features:

  • High Performance: Shaheen II is a high-performance supercomputer with a peak performance of around 7.2 petaflops. It can perform a massive number of calculations per second, making it suitable for a wide range of scientific simulations and computational workloads.
  • Advanced Architecture: Shaheen II features a heterogeneous architecture that combines Intel Xeon processors with NVIDIA GPUs. This hybrid configuration enables accelerated computing and improved performance for diverse scientific applications.
  • Scalability and Parallel Processing: Shaheen II is designed for scalability and parallel processing, allowing researchers to distribute and process workloads across a large number of compute nodes. This capability enables efficient handling of large-scale simulations and data-intensive tasks.

9. Hazel Hen –

Hazel Hen is a supercomputer located at the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart in Germany. It is used for simulations and data analysis in fields such as physics, engineering, and life sciences. Hazel Hen has a peak performance of over 7 petaflops.

Key features:

  • High Performance: Hazel Hen is a high-performance supercomputer with a peak performance of over 7 petaflops. It can perform a massive number of calculations per second, making it suitable for a wide range of scientific simulations and computational workloads.
  • Advanced Architecture: Hazel Hen features a heterogeneous architecture that combines Intel Xeon processors with NVIDIA GPUs. This hybrid configuration enables accelerated computing and improved performance for diverse scientific applications.
  • Scalability and Parallel Processing: Hazel Hen is designed for scalability and parallel processing, allowing researchers to distribute and process workloads across a large number of compute nodes. This capability enables efficient handling of large-scale simulations and data-intensive tasks.

10. Tsubame 3.0 –

Tsubame 3.0 is a supercomputer located at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan. It is used for research in various areas, including deep learning, computational fluid dynamics, and molecular dynamics simulations. Tsubame 3.0 has a peak performance of over 4 petaflops.

Key features:

  • High Performance: Tsubame 3.0 is a high-performance supercomputer with a peak performance of over 12 petaflops. It can perform a massive number of calculations per second, making it suitable for a wide range of scientific simulations and computational workloads.
  • Advanced Architecture: Tsubame 3.0 features a heterogeneous architecture that combines Intel Xeon processors with NVIDIA GPUs. This hybrid configuration enables accelerated computing and improved performance for diverse scientific applications.
  • Scalability and Parallel Processing: Tsubame 3.0 is designed for scalability and parallel processing, allowing researchers to distribute and process workloads across a large number of compute nodes. This capability enables efficient handling of large-scale simulations and data-intensive tasks.
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