RegisterGet access to exclusive articles, research reports, updated directories and more!

Register

LeadershipInnovationTechnology

Big Data AnalyticsIoTCyberSecurityCloudDigital TransformationConnected GovernmentSmart CitiesGeospatial

Public SafetyHealthcareEducationFinance

subscribe

AustraliaHong KongIndiaIndonesiaMalaysiaNew ZealandThe PhilippinesSingaporeThailandVietnam

Home » A*STAR’s InfiniCortex paving the way for Singapore’s National Supercomputing Centre to be launched this yearLeadership / Smart Cities / Digital Transformation / Technology / Singapore

A*STAR’s InfiniCortex paving the way for Singapore’sNational Supercomputing Centre to be launched this yearOpenGov spoke to Dr. Marek Michalewicz, CEO of A*STAR A*CRC about the plans to launch the NSCC

20/01/2016By Jacqueline Kelleher

OpenGov recently announced that the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is working to launchSingapore’s National Supercomputer Centre. This will be the most powerful computer in Asia- providing newopportunities for research initiatives to process data at a tremendous speed.

When we arrived to the A*STAR Computational Resource Centre (A*CRC) for our visit, we were happy to hear that 40racks (the Supercomputer) had just arrived the previous day. The process to build the region’s fastest computer wasunderway, with just a few months left until its launch.

Now, how did A*CRC get to this level of supercomputing power and prestige? They first developed the InfiniCortex.

OpenGov spoke to Dr. Marek Michalewicz, CEO ofA*CRC, about how the InfiniCortex was conceptualised,and learned more about the recent developments towards thelaunch of the National Super Computer Centre (NSCC).

InfiniCortex and a Galaxy of Supercomputers

Before we understand more about the NSCC, we mustunderstand the road A*CRC took to get to this point.

InfiniCortex is concurrent supercomputing across the globeutilising trans-continental InfiniBand and a Galaxy ofSupercomputers. The InfiniCortex allows for runningworkflows and applications on such a distributedcomputational infrastructure.

InfiniCortex was conceptualised out of the ACA 100 challenge, announced January 2014. This challenge prompted theR&E community to create a high bandwidth network (100 Gbps per second) between Asia and the US.

A*CRC took on this challenge, and less than one year, InfiniCortex was demonstrated in November 2014 on a showfloor in the United States, running a connection from Singapore. This is when such high bandwidth intercontinentalconnectivity between Asia and the USA was verified for the first time.

InfiniBand technology worked over trans-continental distances using range extenders and connected separate InfiniBandsub-nets with different net topologies to create a single computational resource, the Galaxy of Supercomputers.

“InfiniCortex is not grid, it is not cloud, and certainly not internet,” Dr. Gabriel Noaje, Senior ComputationalScientist, A*CRC, emphasised, “This is a scientific network… and it is in close connection to research work oninterconnected topologies.”

The second phase of the InfiniCortex created a connection from Europe to Asia, completing a circle around the world. Thiswas done early 2015 through a network of native Infiniband across continents.

Since its establishment, InfiniCortex has upheld a standard for setting up the first high bandwidth network reaching fromAsia to America, and all the way across the world.

These achievements have allowed for greater scientific and technological research capabilities and has paved the waytowards the development of Singapore’s National Supercomputing Centre which is to be unveiled later this year.

National Supercomputer Centre Coming Mid-2016

Singapore’s National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) will be a state-of-the-art national facility with computing, data andresources to enable users to solve science and technological problems, and stimulate industry to use computing for problemsolving, testing designs and advancing technologies.

The National Supercomputing Centre, as it will be provisioned by the Science, Technology and Research Network (STAR-N), is expected to provide:

A high bandwidth network to connect the distributed login nodesHigh speed access to users (both public and private) anywhereSupport in the transfer of large data sets (both locally and internationally)Local and international network connectivityAccess to genomic data located in ASEAN, USA, Europe, Australia, Japan, and Middle East

Several institutes of higher learning, such as NUS, NTU, SUTD, and polytechnics, are partnering with A*STAR to utilisethe facilities at the National Supercomputing Centre, once it is unveiled. They will be able to be granted access thesupercomputer centre when it launches at Fusionopolis in 2016.

With National Supercomputing Centre expected to feature +1 PetaFLOP, 10+ PB of Storage, and 500 Gbps flash burstbuffer, the new facilities will meet the greater demands of research and provide greater opportunities to outside industries.

Leading up to the introduction of Singapore’s National Supercomputing Centre, A*CRC will host SupercomputingFrontiers 2016. This gathering will explore global trends and innovations in high performance computing in convolution ofseveral important areas.

“We have worked so hard over the past several years in order to get here,” said Dr. Marek Michalewicz, “We willhave the largest supercomputer in this region of the world.”

The A*CRC is expecting to host huge game changers in the super computing arena, and others, including Baroness SusanGreenfield. Baroness Greenfield is known for her research in brain physiology.

“It won’t be just geeks talking about supercomputing, but experts in areas like neuroscience, talking about artificialintelligence,” said Dr. Marek Michalewicz.

A long term reach goal for the supercomputing community is to create Global Brain. Global Brain would represent a globalsupercomputing network that will enable speeds and processing beyond any current capabilities.

(Photo- From the left: Lai Loung Fong (A*STAR), Lim Seng (A*CRC), Dr. Gabriel Noaje (A*CRC), Jon Lau (NSCC), Dr Marek T. Michalewicz (A*CRC), AndrewSorensen (NCI, Australia), Tan Geok Lian (A*CRC), Dr Ben Swift (NCI, Australia) Lukasz P. Orlowski (A*CRC), Dr.  Liou Sing­Wu (A*CRC), Prof. Tan Tin Wee(NSCC and A*CRC), Dr. John Kan (A*STAR), Jason Gunthorpe (Obsidian Strategics), Dr. Jonathan Low (A*CRC), Firat Coskun (Stony Brook U.) and Steve Tolnai(HP Enterprise))

Author

Jacqueline Kelleher   

Jacqueline, originally from the United States, is based in our Singapore office and works as a Content Producer. She writesabout how government, healthcare, and education sectors are integrating new and advanced technology. 

Recent Articles by Jacqueline Kelleher

Hon Bill Marmion on Western Australia's journey towards DigitalTransformation

SMART-MIT Research Group developing technology to monitor Singapore'smaritime environment using bio-inspired robots and sensors

Inside look into Singapore Government’s Innovation Lab, IDA Hive

Related Articles

A*STAR prepares for launch of the National Supercomputer Centre inSingapore

Singapore’s GCIO on his focus for 2016 and the role of the CIO inSingapore’s Smart Nation

A*STAR: Providing Technical Tools to Supply the Next Generation ofResearchers

Related Events

Singapore OpenGov Leadership Forum 2016

128 18