MRI-R2: Acquisition of a Heterogeneous Supercomputing Instrument for Transformative Interdisciplinary Research

“本奖项由2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法第111-5条)资助。”提案#：09-60081 PI(S)：冯五春希鲁；金，斯科特D.机构：弗吉尼亚理工学院和州立大学标题：MRI-R2/ACQ：用于变革性跨学科研究的异质超级计算工具建议的项目：这个项目，收购一个通用的异质超级计算工具，称为HokieFast，其中每个计算节点由CPU(中央处理单元)和GPU(图形处理单元)组成，旨在使教师、学生和跨学科的工作人员能够解决以前被视为棘手的或需要英勇的努力和重要的领域专业知识来解决的问题。预计该工具将通过协同融合不同种类的超级计算和增强易用性的网络工具，促进开展研究的新方法。特别是，它应该允许最终用户：-使执行现场可视化以进行快速视觉信息合成和分析的能力司空见惯，以及-控制他们在发现过程中的沉浸程度，从沉浸(通过大规模千兆像素显示器直观地做出实时决策)，到观察仪器自动收集、组织和分析视觉分析的数据。最近的趋势暴露了CPU作为所有计算行业的杰克，什么都不是，从而产生了具有多种类型大脑的不同计算工具(例如，CPU和GPU)。尽管在2007年，传统观点认为699个微生物基因组中缺失的基因在计算上是不可行的，但PI领导了一个由来自世界各地8个机构的20多名跨学科研究人员组成的团队，并开发了软件网络工具工具，将一套具有超过1.2万个CPU的分布式超级计算整合在一起，在10周内完成了这项任务。再加上现有的计算机工具和NVIDIA提供的工具，该仪器应该能够在一天内完成任务，只需两名研究人员。HokieFast将拥有8,192个CPU核心和至少61,440个GPU核心，面积为40平方英尺，与该机构目前的系统(约2003年)相比，峰值性能提高35倍，功率效率提高70倍，空间效率提高14倍，同时通过大规模千兆像素显示器和适当变化的人机交互程度实现发现，从而提供多功能性。创建新的社会研究形式，以及用于评估和承诺提供跨多个学科的研究进展的假设情景，结果将通常实时生成，从而允许在十亿像素显示器上立即进行现场可视化。广泛影响：该仪器将覆盖广泛的社区，预计将预示着多用途和跨学科计算仪器的新纪元，创建一个计算生态系统，简化大众对该仪器的访问和使用。学生，包括女性和代表性不足的少数族裔，将学习节能计算、可视化和大规模互动。除其他项目外，该项目还将利用专门服务于更广泛影响的项目：MAOP(多文化/少数族裔学术机会计划)、CTech2(VaTech的计算机和技术)和CRA-W的CREU(本科生合作研究体验)。此外，它还将延长一门实验性的GPU课程，并提供在线教学的研讨会版本。其他活动包括K-12外联，以及CREU通过虚拟计算和VaTech-STEM K-12外联倡议向农村和经济困难地区提供信息技术。

"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009(Public Law 111-5)."Proposal #: 09-60081PI(s): Feng, Wuchun Hilu; Khidir W.; King, Scott D.Institution: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Title: MRI-R2/Acq:Heterogeneous Supercomputing Instrument for Transformative Interdisciplinary ResearchProject Proposed :This project, acquiring a versatile heterogeneous supercomputing instrument, called HokieSpeed, in which each compute node consists of CPUs (central processing units) and GPUs (graphics processing units), aims to empower faculty, students, and staff across disciplines to tackle problems previously viewed as intractable or that required heroic efforts and significant domain expertise to solve. The instrument is expected to catalyze new approaches for conducting research via synergistic amalgamation of heterogeneous supercomputing and cyber-enabled tools that enhance ease of use. In particular, it should allow end users to:- Make commonplace the ability to perform in-situ visualization for rapid visual information synthesis and analysis, and- Control their level of immersion in the discovery process from being immersed (a la 'human in the loop' intuitively making real-time decisions via a large-scale gigapixel display), to observing the instrument automatically collect, organize, and analyze data of visual analytics.Recent trends have exposed the CPU as a 'jack of all computing trades, master of none,' thus giving rise to heterogeneous computing instruments with multiple types of brains (e.g., CPUs and GPUs). Though conventional wisdom believed in 2007 that missing genes in 699 microbial genomes was computationally infeasible, the PI led a team of more than twenty interdisciplinary researchers from eight institutions around the world and developed software cybertool instruments to integrate a set of distributed supercomputing with more that twelve thousand CPUs to complete the task in ten weeks. Coupled with the existing cybertools and those available from NVIDIA the instrument should enable completion of the task in a day with only two researchers. HokieSpeed will have 8,192 CPU cores and at least 61,440 GPU cores in 40 square feet and deliver 35 times better peak performance, 70 times better power efficiency, and 14 times better space efficiency than the current system at the institution (circa 2003) while offering versatility by enabling discovery through a large-scale gigapixel display and appropriately varying degrees of interaction between human and machine. Creating new forms of social research, and 'what if' scenarios for evaluation and promising to deliver research advances across multiple disciplines, the results will be generated often in real time allowing immediate in-situ visualization on a gigapixel display.Broader Impacts: Reaching a broad community, the instrument is expected to herald a new age in multi-purpose and interdisciplinary computing instrumentation creating a computational ecosystem that simplifies access and use of the instrument to the masses. Students, including females and underrepresented minorities, will learn about energy-efficient computing, and visualization and interaction at large scale. Among others, the project will also utilize programs that specifically service broader impacts: MAOP (Multicultural/Minority Academic Opportunities Program), CTech2 (Computers and Technology at VaTech), and CRA-W's CREU (Collaborative Research Experience for Undergraduates). Additionally, it will extend an experimental GPU course and offer a workshop version for on-line instruction. Other activities include K-12 outreach, and delivery by CREU of information technology (IT) to rural and economically disadvantaged areas via virtual computing and the VaTech-STEM K-12 Outreach Initiative.