Installation of newest supercomputer underway at ORNL
The installation of the Frontier supercomputer, capable of calculating one quintillion operations per second, is under way.
Delivery began in August and was complete by the end of October, Morgan McCorkle, Oak Ridge National Laboratory media relations manager, told The Oak Ridger. Installation and integration of the system is now underway. Frontier will be available to researchers for open science this year and will be in full user operations on Jan. 1, 2023.
"Frontier is a first-of-its-kind system, and it requires a thoughtful, deliberate process to bring a machine of its magnitude online. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our world-class team, we’re exactly where we thought we’d be when we put the plan in place two years ago," she said.
The total contract award with the company Cray Inc. was valued at more than $600 million for the system and technology development on the supercomputer, an ORNL news release stated.
What Frontier will do
By solving calculations up to 50 times faster than other top supercomputers — exceeding a quintillion, or 1,018 calculations per second — Frontier will enable researchers to deliver breakthroughs in scientific discovery, energy assurance, economic competitiveness, and national security, the release stated.
As a second-generation artificial intelligence (AI) system — following the Summit system deployed at ORNL in 2018 — Frontier will provide new capabilities for deep learning, machine learning and data analytics for applications ranging from manufacturing to human health, the release stated. Other applications include systems biology and energy production.
“ORNL’s vision is to sustain the nation’s preeminence in science and technology by developing and deploying leadership computing for research and innovation at an unprecedented scale,” ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said in the release. “Frontier follows the well-established computing path charted by ORNL and its partners that will provide the research community with an exascale system ready for science on day one.”
Preparations
The team involved in preparations for the supercomputer won a Director's Award.
Before Frontier could even arrive at the lab, another news release stated, "the largest, most comprehensive upgrade in the history of ORNL had to be completed."
This process, ORNL stated, included "massive upgrades" to the power and cooling infrastructures, as well as moving more than 100 offices and seven research facilities.
"The groups operated with the utmost attention to safety and timeliness. Given the pandemic, these teams faced additional challenges in the delivery schedule and another layer of evaluation to this complex and detailed project. Their ability to solve problems was realized daily, maneuvering through the difficult scope of work and the required demolition and construction inside existing, fully operational buildings in the heart of the ORNL campus," the release stated.
The award recipients who worked on preparing the site for Frontier were led by Bart Hammontree and William Wheat and included Aaron Adkisson, Erech Atchley, Bill Barber, Von Bolinger, Dave Bozich, Kenneth Brown, Shannon Caudill, David Grant, Rick Griffin, John Gutman, David Hill, Erik Hunt, Greg Irby, Jeremy Nichols, Nathan Parkison, Brian Pridemore, Kyle Young, Stephen Welch, David Rhodes, William Robertson, Joseph Vanosdale, John Walker and Gary Weber.
Ben Pounds is a staff reporter for The Oak Ridger. Call him at (865) 441-2317, email him at bpounds@oakridger.com and follow him on Twitter @Bpoundsjournal.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Installation of newest supercomputer underway at ORNL
