Los Alamos unveils new supercomputer
Apr. 15—Los Alamos National Laboratory cut the ribbon Monday on Venado, its new supercomputer.
The new HPE Cray EX supercomputer was unveiled to representatives of the Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Administration, co-designers Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Nvidia, the maker of its GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips . Those superchips promise to outperform past chip technology by executing millions more instructions per second with lower power consumption.
"Venado adds to our cutting-edge supercomputing that advances national security and basic research, and it will accelerate how we integrate artificial intelligence into meeting those challenges," said Thom Mason, director of Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Los Alamos officials said the Venado system was built to prioritize performance and workflow efficiency. Its HPE Cray software improves modeling and simulation workloads, and it can help researchers make new discoveries with the aid of AI and machine learning. The new supercomputer is also ideal for high-resolution astrophysics simulations, high performance computing and giant-scale artificial intelligence applications.
Designed and manufactured in HPE's facility in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Venado takes its name from one of the highest peaks in New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The system was delivered to Los Alamos in March.
Nvidia designs artificial intelligence systems. The Los Alamos system will use 920 Nvidia Grace CPU Superchips, making it the first large-scale system with Nvidia Grace CPU superchips deployed in the United States. Those chips are expected to deliver "groundbreaking performance and energy efficiency," said Ian Buck of Nvidia.
"Through our continued work with Los Alamos and HPE, Venado will be a magnificent scientific instrument for researchers to achieve breakthroughs in materials science, renewable energy, astrophysics and more," said Buck.
A spokesman for Los Alamos labs declined to provide the cost of the project, saying LANL typically does not disclose contract values.
