Supercomputers; are they fact or fiction?

When people hear about supercomputers, the majority of people think about complex machines from action films. Contrary to popular belief, supercomputers complete relatively mundane, yet incredibly important tasks that support businesses all around the world. Learn more about what a supercomputer is and what supercomputers do below.

 

Gemma Skelley
Head of Marketing

May 19, 2022

One of the biggest transitions in computing is the shift towards AI. AI and machine learning use large amounts of data and simulations as a means of creating new responses to challenges.

A range of different organisations are making full use of this, with everything from games companies seeking more challenging AI to production businesses using AI as a means of finding more efficient responses to productivity challenges. Where the majority of this work takes place through the use of standard desktops, supercomputers offer an extra degree of insight and ability.

WHAT IS SUPERCOMPUTING?

A supercomputer is a particularly powerful mainframe computer, making use of either a cluster of devices or a single powerful device to complete a selection of tasks. Some supercomputers operate at a rate of 100 petaFLOPS, making them thousands of times faster than the average desktop PC. The majority of supercomputers are in educational and government institutions.

Supercomputing is the process of using these systems to achieve better outcomes, whether in a business context or as a matter of driving science forwards with the simulation and discovery of new laws and theories.

  • THE INDUSTRIES TAKING IT ON

    Thanks to the range of uses of supercomputers, more and more industries are taking on the advantages of better processing speeds in their innovation projects. The importance of supercomputing in these industries shouldn’t be underestimated, with high-performance computing playing a key role in decision making. Just some of these industries include:

    1. The automotive industry: Car manufacturers see more supercomputer uses when simulating the impact of crashes on their cars.

    2. The aerospace industry: Fluid dynamics plays a key role in aerospace, with supercomputer simulations establishing key factors such as lift and drag in new designs.

    3. The pharmaceutical industry: When creating new solutions to medicinal issues, the pharmaceutical industry uses molecular modelling to plan and create new medicines and compounds.

  • On 18 May 2022, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced its ongoing commitment in Europe by building its first factory in the region for next-generation high performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to accelerate delivery to customers. The new site will manufacture HPE’s industry-leading systems as custom-designed solutions to advance scientific research, mature AL/ML initiatives, and bolster innovation.

    The dedicated HPC factory, which will become the fourth of HPE’s global HPC sites, will be located in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic, next to HPE’s existing European site for manufacturing its industry-standard servers and storage solutions.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

As supercomputer uses are wide ranging, there are many questions people ask about the use of supercomputers. Read on to find out some of the most commonly asked questions and see if we answer your query:

  • 1. How easy is adapting to supercomputer findings?
  • 2. How easy is implementing supercomputing?
  • 3. How do small businesses benefit?