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Discover

The Discover system is an assembly of multiple Linux scalable units built upon commodity components. The first scalable unit was installed in the fall of 2006, and the NCCS continues to expand this highly successful computing platform.

Discover derives its name from the NASA adage of "Explore. Discover. Understand."

Discover System Details

System Architecture
As mentioned above, the system architecture is made up of multiple scalable units. The list below describes the total aggregate components of the system and its individual scalable units.
Aggregate
  • 49 Racks (compute, storage, switches, and more)
  • 111 Tflop/s
  • 10,840 Total Cores
File System and Storage
  • IBM GPFS
  • 2.46 PB Storage
Operating Environment
  • Operating System: SLES
  • Job Scheduler: PBS
  • Compilers: C, C++, Fortran (Intel and PGI)

Individual Scalable Units

Base Unit
  • Manufacturer: Linux Networx/SuperMicro
  • 3.33 Tflop/s
  • 520 Total Cores
  • 2 dual-core processors per node
  • 3.2 GHz Intel Xeon Dempsey (2 flop/s per clock)
  • Production: 4Q 2006
Scalable Unit 1
  • Manufacturer: Linux Networx/Dell
  • 10.98 Tflop/s
  • 1,032 Total Cores
  • Dell 1950 Compute Nodes
  • 2 dual-core processors per node
  • 2.66 GHz Intel Xeon Woodcrest (4 flop/s per clock)
  • Interconnect: Infiniband DDR
  • Production: 2Q 2007
Scalable Unit 2
  • Manufacturer: Linux Networx/Dell
  • 10.98 Tflop/s
  • 1,032 Total Cores
  • Dell 1950 Compute Nodes
  • 2 dual-core processors per node
  • 2.66 GHz Intel Xeon Woodcrest (4 flop/s per clock)
  • Interconnect: Infiniband DDR
  • Production: 3Q 2007
Scalable Unit 3
  • Manufacturer: IBM
  • 20.64 Tflop/s
  • 2,064 Total Cores
  • IBM iDataPlex Compute Nodes
  • 2 quad-core processors per node
  • 2.5 GHz Intel Xeon Harpertown (4 flop/s per clock)
  • Interconnect: Infiniband DDR
  • Production: 3Q 2008
Scalable Unit 4
  • Manufacturer: IBM
  • 20.64 Tflop/s
  • 2,064 Total Cores
  • IBM iDataPlex Compute Nodes
  • 2 quad-core processors per node
  • 2.5 GHz Intel Xeon Harpertown (4 flop/s per clock)
  • Interconnect: Infiniband DDR
  • Production: 4Q 2008
Scalable Unit 5
  • Manufacturer: IBM
  • 46.23 Tflop/s
  • 4,128 Total Cores
  • IBM iDataPlex Compute Nodes
  • 2 quad-core processors per node
  • 2.8 GHz Intel Xeon Nehalem (4 flop/s per clock)
  • Interconnect: Infiniband DDR
  • Production: 3Q 2009

Systems

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