GW4 Tier-2 HPC Centre for Advanced Architectures

由布里斯托牵头的这一提案来自成功的Isambard Tier-2 HPC服务背后的联盟[1]：巴斯、布里斯托、卡迪夫和埃克塞特的GW 4联盟，与克雷和英国气象局合作。Isambard交付了世界上第一个基于ARM的生产HPC服务，在此过程中对全球HPC社区产生了重大影响。Isambard 2项目的目标是在此成功的基础上，增加下一代令人兴奋的、支持Exascale的、基于ARM的技术（富士通的A64 fx），同时显著扩展和升级当前的服务，以满足不断增长的需求。A64 fx CPU令人兴奋，因为它提供的内存带宽和浮点能力更像GPU而不是CPU（分别约为1 TeraByte/s和3 TeraFLOP/s双精度）。将这些转型技术与扩展的基于Arm的生产系统并行提供，作为国家服务，将对英国的HPC社区非常有利，支持未来Exascale系统的代码移植和优化（日本RIKEN的Fugaku系统只是一个基于A64 fx的例子）。Isambard 2系统还将提供世界上最全面的多架构比较系统（MACS）之一，大大扩展了成功的Isambard 1 MACS。将下一代技术与不断更新的一流CPU和GPU进行比较的能力是任何科学严谨的架构评估的关键部分。作为一个Cray系统，我们将继续为Tier-2社区提供一流的软件工具链，这是一个关键的能力，可以实现从Tier-3到Tier-2到Tier-1的向上流动。[1]https://gw4-isambard.github.io/docs/

This proposal, led by Bristol, is from the Consortium behind the successful Isambard Tier-2 HPC service [1]: the GW4 Alliance of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, in partnership with Cray and the Met Office. Isambard delivered the world's first production, Arm-based HPC service, creating significant impact for the world-wide HPC community in the process. The Isambard 2 project aims to build on this success, adding the next generation of exciting, Exascale-enabling, Arm-based technologies (Fujitsu's A64fx), while significantly expanding and upgrading the current service to meet growing demand. The A64fx CPU is generating excitement because it delivers memory bandwidth and floating point capability that is more like a GPU than a CPU (approximately 1 TeraByte/s and 3 TeraFLOP/s double precision, respectively). Providing access to these transformational technologies in parallel with an expanded Arm-based production system as a national service would be extremely advantageous to the UK's HPC community, supporting the porting and optimising of codes for future Exascale systems (the Fugaku system at RIKEN in Japan is just one example known to be based on A64fx). The Isambard 2 system will also provide one of the world's most comprehensive Multi Architecture Comparison System (MACS), significantly expanding the successful Isambard 1 MACS. The ability to compare next generation technologies with a constantly updated set of best-in-class CPUs and GPUs is a crucial part of any scientifically rigorous architectural evaluation. Being a Cray system, we will continue to uniquely offer their class-leading software toolchain to the Tier-2 community, a crucial capability to enable upward mobility from Tier-3 through Tier-2 to Tier-1.[1] https://gw4-isambard.github.io/docs/