AMD EPYC™ Processors Picked by Argonne National Laboratory to Prepare for Exascale Future

Rhea-AI Summary

AMD announced that the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has selected AMD EPYC processors for its new supercomputer, Polaris. Built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Polaris will utilize AMD EPYC 7532 and 7543 processors alongside NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs, achieving approximately 44 petaflops of peak double precision performance, which is four times faster than existing systems. Scheduled for delivery in August 2021 and operational in early 2022, Polaris will facilitate significant AI, engineering, and scientific research, paving the way for the upcoming exascale supercomputer, Aurora.

Positive

• AMD EPYC processors power the new Polaris supercomputer, enhancing AMD's credibility in high-performance computing.
• Polaris delivers approximately 44 petaflops of peak performance, significantly improving computational capability for researchers.
• Partnership with Argonne National Laboratory supports advanced research initiatives in low carbon technologies, medical research, and more.

Negative

• None.

—The new Polaris supercomputer will optimize AI, engineering, and scientific projects for forthcoming exascale supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory—

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) announced that the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) has chosen AMD EPYC™ processors to power a new supercomputer, called Polaris, which will prepare researchers for the forthcoming exascale supercomputer at Argonne called Aurora. Polaris is built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), will use 2^nd Gen EPYC processors and then upgrade to 3^rd Gen AMD EPYC processors, and will allow scientists and developers to test and optimize software codes and applications to tackle a range of AI, engineering, and scientific projects.

“AMD EPYC server processors continue to be the leading choice for modern HPC research, delivering the performance and capabilities needed to help solve the complex problems that pre-exascale and exascale computing will address,” said Forrest Norrod, senior vice president and general manager, Datacenter and Embedded Solutions Business Group, AMD. “We are extremely proud to support Argonne National Laboratory and their critical research into areas including low carbon technologies, medical research, astronomy, solar power and more as we draw closer to the exascale era.”

Polaris will use the AMD EPYC 7532 and EPYC 7543 processors, and NVIDIA® A100 Tensor Core GPUs, to deliver approximately 44 petaflops of peak double precision performance, which is 4x faster than Argonne’s current supercomputers.

Initially, Polaris will be used by research teams participating in initiatives such as the DOE’s Exascale Computing Project and the ALCF’s Early Science Program. User communities within the DOE’s Exascale Computing Project will also use Polaris for optimizing engineering tasks for Argonne’s forthcoming exascale supercomputer, which includes scaling of combined CPU and GPU-enabled systems and the integration of workflows combining modeling, simulation, AI and other data-intensive components.

Polaris is scheduled to be delivered and installed in August 2021 and will go into use starting early 2022. The broader HPC community will access the system in spring of 2022 to prepare workloads for the next generation of DOE’s HPC resources.

Supporting Resources

• See demos, videos and more about the AMD EPYC 7003 series processors
• Learn more about AMD High Performance Computing
• Read the HPE press release here
• Follow AMD on Twitter

About AMD
For more than 50 years AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics and visualization technologies ― the building blocks for gaming, immersive platforms and the datacenter. Hundreds of millions of consumers, leading Fortune 500 businesses and cutting-edge scientific research facilities around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work and play. AMD employees around the world are focused on building great products that push the boundaries of what is possible. For more information about how AMD is enabling today and inspiring tomorrow, visit the AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) website, blog, Facebook and Twitter pages.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo and EPYC, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

FAQ

What is the purpose of the Polaris supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory?

The Polaris supercomputer will optimize AI, engineering, and scientific projects in preparation for the Aurora exascale supercomputer.

What processors are used in the Polaris supercomputer?

Polaris uses AMD EPYC 7532 and EPYC 7543 processors along with NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs.

When will the Polaris supercomputer be operational?

Polaris is scheduled to be operational in early 2022 after its delivery and installation in August 2021.

How much performance will Polaris deliver?

Polaris will achieve approximately 44 petaflops of peak double precision performance.

What research initiatives will utilize Polaris?

Research teams involved in the DOE's Exascale Computing Project and the ALCF’s Early Science Program will use Polaris.