Table Of ContentVol.IV,No.6 1995
Federal High Performance
Computing 1995 Update
-
Introduction informationtechnology(IT)anditseconomic
leadershipintheworld. Mostofthefederal
Thisbulletinisintendedasanupdateto government'soverallcomputerR&Dfunding
INPUTsreport,"FederalHighPerformance residesintheHPCCbudget.
Computing1994-1999,"publishedin
December1994. INPUTrecentlyattendedthe WhiletheHPCCprogramisnotspecifically
1995HighPerformanceComputing& mentionedintheContractwithAmerica,itis
Communications(HPCC)Conference. The assumedthattheHPCCbudgetmaybe
purposeoftheconferencewastoemphasize adjustedonanagency-by-agencybasisas
communicationsamongmanufacturers,users, someunpopularapplicationsareterminated.
academia,andgovernmentagencies. This Thereis generalagreementbetweenthe
bulletinbrieflysummarizesHPCCprogram ClintonAdministrationandthenew
accomplishmentsandissues,arecently congressionalleadershiptocontinuethe
completedstudythatanswerscongressional program. Thereis,however,a
concernsandrecommendations,andarecapof recommendationtostopgovernmentR&D
theHighPerformanceModernizationProgram fundingofcomputermanufacturersfor
attheDepartmentofDefense,oneofthemore hardwaredevelopment. Theywillcontinue
activeagenciesintheHPCCProgram. Copies fundingindustry-universityteamsfor
ofmaterialsreceivedattheconferenceare hardwarearchitectureresearchandsoftware,
availableatINPUT'SlibraryinVienna, algorithmandapplicationdevelopment.
Virginia.
Highperformancecomputinghardware
Summary technologycontinuestoadvanceonschedule
towardaoneteraflopcapabilityby1998.
TheHPCCProgramisgenerallywellthought Software,algorithmandapplication
ofbythenewCongress,theClinton developmentcontinuetolag. Therecurrently
Administration,academiaandbyindustry, maybemoretechnologicalcapabilitythanthe
whobelievethatthelongterminvestmentin communityknowshowtouse. Massively
ResearchandDevelopment(R&D)inhigh parallelprocessingcanmakesoftwareand
performanceinformationtechnologyhaspaid applicationdevelopmentmoredifficult,but
off,andhasbeencrucialtoUnitedStates willeventuallyallowforthedevelopmentof
©1995byINPUT.Reproductionprohibited. MMAF-B
I
morehighlydata-intensiveapplicationswith researchersarenowabletostudyphenomena
muchgreatercomputationalcapability. The 1000timesmorecomplex." ManynewHPCC
governmentisactivelyencouragingindustry applicationswillbediscussedinthesoon-to-
anduniversityparticipationintheprogram. be-republisheddocument,"HPCC: Technology
fortheNationalInformationInfrastructure,"
HPCCProgramAccomplishments availablefromtheHPCCNational
CoordinatingOffice(NCO)at(301)402-4100.
Someinterestingtechnologytrendsand
programaccomplishmentswerepresentedat Issues
theHPCCconference. Accordingtothe
NationalResearchCounciloftheNational Therearenumerousconcernsinvolvedinany
AcademyofSciences,theHPCCprogramhas: projectaslargeandcomplexastheHPCC
program. Thesearewellrecognizedbythe
• madeparallelcomputingwidelyaccepted HPCCNationalCoordinatingOffice(NCO)
asapracticalroutetoachievinghigh andtheagenciesandarebeingaddressedin
performancecomputing strategicplanningandimplementationplans.
Manyoftheissueswillbehandledasaresult
• demonstratedthefeasibilityofparallel oftherecommendationsforwardedbythe
databases;initiateddeploymentofthese "EvolvingHPCCStudy,"conductedbythe
databases NationalResearchCouncil'sComputerScience
andTelecommunicationsBoard.
• droveprogressonchallengessuchas
cosmology,molecularbiology,chemistry Aprimaryconcern,ofcourse,isthestatusof
andmaterialssciences theHPCCbudgetinCongress. R&Dbudgets
• developednewcomputationalmeansin nfueteudret.obTeyppilcaalnlnye,ditmtaankyesyfeiavrestiontteontyheearsfor
earthsciences,medicineandengineering R&Deffortstoemergeintothemarketplace.
• dadIonentumdeborlannidsenvttgartnaoofcteektddeheegnpinegetuatwpbwoiwortirkntkehbtatwchokerbkyoentaeerssltyobfeds TtCdqueheoirvemcmepkHslaloPnyopifCsmetyCeshsnrtptieenretmootstghobrecefaaiccmnvooembnmypeeeeuemaatdrasepsdrrteofoiofnrikodtpntuaeeosbrcltwahertnyhipooorltnowohadgiluynckitin.nin
• obragcaknbiozneedttoratnhseitpiroinvaotfetsheectIonrt,erannedt oicsrrideteiirtcahtleormsicshosnoitworniC,bouontrgirmnegesedstiirtenhcgattlsyaotnmoeRac&nrDuacgiaeacnltciyv'isty
• createdMosaicBrowserfortheWorld societalproblem. Theprogramneedsmore
WideWebwhichincreasesaccesstothe rapidsystemsdevelopment;thenext100days
Internet. isnhotuhlednteelwlpwohliitcihcaHlPeCnvCiraognemnecnytaipnplCiocnagtiroensss
AccordingtoDr.LarrySmarr,directorofthe willremainfundedandatwhatlevel.
NationalScienceFoundation's(NSF)National
C(eNnCtSeAr),fotrhSeruepehracvoempbueteinnhguAgpepliimcpartoivonesments TinhveesbtalmaennctesoifnpHrPivCaCtecvoenrtsiunsuepsubtloicbea
inhighperformancecomputingoverthelast concern. Thegovernmentisincreasingefforts
tenyears: speedhasincreasedover150fold, toworkcloselywithvendorsandacademiato
manedmopraryalsliezleisshmahvaesiinnccrreeaasseeddoovveerr78000ffoolldd., eHnPcCouCrapgreogarddaimtinoeneadlspatretaimcispattoidoen.velTohpe
"Consideringalgorithmimprovements, software,national(informationintensive)and
2 ©1995byINPUT.Reproductionprohibited.
INPUTResearchBulletin
grand(computationalintensive)challenge supportthenation'sInformation
applicationsystemssoftwareandtheabilityto Infrastructure." Thisdocumentcanbe
incorporatethirdpartycode. TheHPCC obtainedfromtheNationalAcademyPressby
AdvisoryCommitteewillensurethat calling(800)624-6242orbyorderingitviathe
coordinationeffortsaresteppedup. Internet: [email protected]. The
reportitselfcanbeaccessedontheInternetas
SomemembersoftheHPCCprogrambelieve follows:
thatintheefforttoattainthegoalofone
terafiopsupercomputingbytheyear1998, FTP.NAS.EDU
somevendorswilldropoutoftherace. They GOPHER.NAS.EDU
believethatthemarketwillbeunforgivingto HTTP://WWW.NAS.EDU
vendorswhodonotunderstandtheconceptof
"metacomputing,"thatis,thesystems CongresshasquestionedtheHPCCprogram's
integrationofmultiplecomputerstodoa basicunderlyingrationales,includingthe
singlefunctionforauser. balancebetweenvariouselementsofthe
program,theeffectivenessofobtaininginput
Itisdifficulttopredictthesuccessandsocietal fromtheindustryandusers,themanagement
impactofmanyoftheapplicationsbeing andcoordinationoftheprogramacquisitions
developedundertheHPCCumbrella. Wewill andotherfederalsupportofHPCC,andthe
seeincreasedemphasisonquicklybringingup likelihoodofachievingsuccessintheprogram.
newapplicationsthatareacceptableto
Congress,andontheeducationofnewpeople, StudyResults
policymakers,organizationsandnewusers.
Thestudyfoundthatmostofthefundingfor
Theextremelyrapidacceptanceandgrowthof computingresearchisfoundundertheHPCC
theInternet hascausedsomeparticipantsto programandthatanychallengetoorquestion
predictthe"meltdown"ofthenetworkbefore ofcontinuedfundingwouldbeacatastrophic
theyear2000-adifficultpredictionatthis losstoU.S.informationtechnological
timebecauseofactivitiesunderwayto leadership. Thestudyalsostatesthat
privatizethenetwork. SuccessofInternetand governmentfundingshouldbeusedon
theWorldWideWebdependsonthespeedof technologicaldevelopmentthatpushesthe
users'computers,thespeedandcapacityof limitsofhighperformancecomputing.
servers,andonthebandwidthsprovidedby Projectsshouldbechosenonlyiftheyaddress
thetelecommunicationscompanies. World agencymissionaccomplishmentand/or
WideWebserversareneededtolinkallHPCC societalproblems.
paadrdtriecsispeadtiinngtshiteesN.atSieocnuarlitIynfisorbmeaitnigon Specifically,thestudyfoundthattheHPCC
Infrastructure(Nil)SecurityPlan. programgoalsanddirectionhaveproved
highlyproductiveandshouldnotbestopped.
HPCC: StatusofaMajorInitiative HPCChasadvancedU.S.information
technologyleadership,whichhasbecome
AnAprd, 1995studybytheComputer criticaltotheU.S.economy. Thebalanceof
SciencesandTelecommunicationsBoard, effortsbetweentheprivateandpublicsectoris
NationalResearchCouncilattheNational appropriate,butgovernmentfundedresearch
AcademyofSciences,addressescongressional incomputerhardwareshouldbedoneby
queriesonthestatusoftheHPCCprogram. universities. Hardwarearchitecture,software
Resultsofthestudyarepublishedina andalgorithmresearchcanbesharedamong
documententitled,"EvolvingtheHPCC1to
3 ©1995byINPUT.Reproductionprohibited.
INPUTResearchBulletin
teamsofprivateindustry,academiaand Finally,theboardrecommendsthatcomputer
government. purchasesbebasedonlyoneachagency's
missionneedsandthattheacquisition
StudyRecommendations decisionsbemadeatthelowestpracticallevel.
TheboardhasrecommendedtoCongressto HPCCStrategicPlanandFunding
continuesupportofresearchanddevelopment
ininformationtechnologyandtheHPCC AccordingtoJohnToole,directoroftheHPCC
program,especiallymaintainingtheemphasis NationalCoordinationOffice,thevisionofthe
ontheNationalInformationInfrastructure ClintonAdministrationisforthe"acceleration
(Nil). Itrecommendedcontinuingastrong oftheevolutionofexistingtechnologyand
experimentalresearchprogramonsoftware innovationthatwillenableuniversal,
andalgorithmdevelopmentforparallel accessible,affordableapplicationof
computingmachines,buttostopfunding informationtechnologytoensureAmerica's
commercialresearchbycomputervendorson economicandnationalsecurityinthe21st
hardware. Theboardsupportsindustry- Century." TheCommitteeonInformationand
universitycollaborationsincomputer Communication(CIC)underthepresident's
architectureandapplicationsoftware NationalScienceandTechnologyCouncil
research. Theteraflopcomputershouldbe (NSTC)hascompletedadraftstrategicplan
treatedasaresearchdirection,andthe whichhasasprimaryfocusareas: global-
governmentshouldincreasetheHPCCfocus scaleinformationinfrastructuretechnologies,
oncommunicationandnetworkresearch. The highperformance/scalablesystems,high
programshoulddeveloparesearchprogramto confidencesystems,virtualenvironments,
buildverylarge,reliable,highperformance, usercenteredinterfacesandtools,human
distributedinformationsystems,andensure resourcesandeducation.
thatHPCCfocusesonNationalChallenge
applicationsthatcontributetothe Thisstrategicplanandthenewlyrepublished
dCheavlelleonpgmeenatppolficNaltIiotneschsnhooluolgidesb.efGurnadneddwhen "InHfPoCrCm:atiToenchInnoflraosgtyrufcotrutrhee"Ndaotciuomneanltcanbe
theycontributetothedevelopmentofnew obtainedattheNCObycalling(301)402-
HPCChardwareorsoftware. 4100.
Theboardalsorecommendedcontinued HPCCBudget
bcfeuuntntdeaircnscgebsfysortatophpmelaiNtcauStrFiionnsguspaceirrecnchtioitmseptcsuttuserherosucleadnttbteehres, HagPeCncCyb-ubyd-gaegtenccutysbacsains,bedeepxepnedcitnegdoonncaenrtain
graduallywithdrawnfromfunding. NapupmliecraotiuosnsH'PpoCpCulaaprpiltiycaitniCoonnsgarreessw.ell
Thestudyrecommendstheappointmentofa thoughtof,suchasweatherandclimate
congressionallymandatedadvisorycommittee predictions,design,manufacturing,
consistingofindustry/academia/government visualizationandmedicalresearch.
personnel,andthattheHPCCNational DepartmentofDefenseapplications,discussed
CoordinatingOfficebestrengthenedbyafull- below,remainahighfundingpriority.
timedirector. Thesestepshavebeguntobe
implementedwiththeappointmentofJohn
Toole(formerlyofAJiPA)tobethenew,full-
timedirectoroftheNCO.
4 ©1995byINPUT.Reproductionprohibited.
Exhibitl Highperformancesoftwaretoolsand
HPCCBudget pbarsoigcrtaemcmhinonlgogayreinweDaokDainsdgoiomdm,abtuutrem.orTehe
Agency FY(1$9M9i6llRioenqsu)est wacotrivkitiisesn.eeTdheedeixnidsetsiinggns,ytsetsetmasnmdeeevtal2u2at%ioofn
DoDuserrequirementsforapproximately
ARPA 363 3,000usersacross50laboratories.
NSF 314
DOE 114 DoDplanstospend$60millionfordistributed
NASA 131 centersin1995-1996. Thisinvolveshighly
classifiedreal-timeandnearreal-time
NIH 78 applications,includingdistributeddata
NSA 40 storageandvisualizationtechnologies.
NIST 34
NOAA 16 TheDoDModernizationProgramincludestwo
EPA 12 majoracquisitions:theMajorSharedResource
VEAD 2147 uCEennngdtieenrrewsear(yiMnaSgnRNdCe)tthwpeorDroekcfue(rnDesRmeeEnNRte)siedsracarufcrthrRe&nFtPlywill
Source:HPCCNCO bereleasedshortly. DRNwillbuildupthe
networkfrom50labsandagenciescurrently
DoDHighPerformanceComputing morethan150locationsinahighperformance
Modernization Plan(HPCMP) environment. ThefundingisamixofR&D
andprocurementdollars:
TheDepartment,ofDefenseisactively
proceedingonitsmodernizationplanacross Exhibit2
tahgeenmciileist,arCyondgerpeasrstmaenndtst.heLGabAoOratsourpipeosr,tthe R&DProcurementExpenditures
program. Theacquisitionsareproceedingon Year Funding($Millions)
schedule.
1995 154
TheDoDisbasingallprocurementsonagency 1996 198
motfihesvseoirtoyhnecrnoemHepdPlsCe.xCTaahpgpeelnidcceaipteaisorndtsum,eesntutocdhitisfafsweirssdiegfnrraoalmnge 11999978 223024
andimageprocessing,computationalfluid 1999 309
dynamics,forcesmodeling/simulationonC4I, 2000 322
environmentalqualitymodelingand 2001 335
simulation,computationalelectronicsand Source:DoDHPCCModernizationProgram
nanoelectronics. Thedepartmentisalso
buildingacommonlibraryofscalable
applicationsoftware.
PorrTohCighsrraiRmse.tsoepIafhreycrohuFBohurlaelvseettiqantueiIssNtiiPsoUsnuTse.dor1a9sc2op1marmGtaelnolftosIwNsoPnRUoTtah'idSs,bFSueuldileterteian2l,5I0p,nlfeVoairsemenantcaai,lolnVyTAoeuc2rh2l1no8oc2la.logITyeNlMP.aUr(T7k0eo3tr)gA8an4na7il-zy6as8ti7i0so.n
©1995byINPUT.Reproductionprohibited.
