High Performance Computing

at
UCF
Brian Goldiez, Ph.D.
bgoldiez@ist.ucf.edu
September, 2008
Background
Directed Federal Program
Funded for 2 years
Maximize Campus Participation
Competitive Procurement (7 Bids)
IBM Selected
Machine Named STOKES
After Sir George Gabriel Stokes (Mathematician & Physicist)
Participate in the HPC Community
SURAgrid
Supercomputer Conference
UCF Objectives
Support Scientific Exploration & Interaction
Science Based M&S
Human Centered M&S
Synergies Between the Above
Build a Diverse Community of Users
Increase System Capabilities
Increase Research Scope & Funding
Attract External Faculty & Users
Become Self Sufficient in 2010
Current Management Approach
Research Computing is a Specialize Field
Research Computing Needs to be Professionally Managed (e.g. GSU,
Purdue)
We Have Some Unique Opportunities
Interaction in HPC
Real Time Storm Effects on Coastal Areas
Crowd Modeling
Games (Serious & Entertainment)
UCF Can Become a Major Player and Be Viable for Funding
Recommendations:
UCF Centrally Facilitate/Manage Research Computing for Improved Efficiency &
Use of Resources
UCF Designate a Person to Become Active in SURA HPC Group & Work With
Campus Entities on Rsch Computing
Use Existing Grant Resources to Fund the Initial Effort
Plan for University & External Support and Growth over the Next 3 Years


Stokes Current Capabilities
Current System
(90% Utilized)
Processor, Xeon 3 GHz,
64b
~2.2 Tflops
240 Cores
4 Visualization Nodes
528 GB Memory
22+ TB Storage
O/S RHEL 5.0
Interconnect
IB 20Gbps
GigE
NFS ~220MB/s

Expanded System
Processor, Xeon 3 GHz,
64b
~6.4 Tflops
648 Cores
4 Visualization Nodes
1.424 TB Memory
42+ TB Storage
O/S RHEL 5.1
Interconnect
IB 20Gbps
GigE
GPFS w/RDMA ~500 MB/s
Usage Groupings
Science Based M&S
Usage
Nano Technology
Civil Engineering
Physics
Batch Processing
Existing Programs (e.g.,
MatLab)
New Data
Large Runs
Segue to Larger Systems
Human Centered M&S
Usage
IST
Army
Partnering Industry
Interactive
Human in the Loop
Modeling Human Activity
Multi-modal I/O
Multi-user
No Existing HPC
Programs or Data

Interactive Simulation
Needs
Real time capability using fast processors and high-speed interconnects
High fidelity
Low latency/High bandwidth interconnects
Real time I/O
Connection to real world assets
Fixed frame rates (some apps)

Strategies
Message Passing Interface (MPI) or Scalable Link Interface (SLI)
Ltd shared memory processing (SMP) or distributed processing

Interfaces with sensory processors (e.g., interactive visualization,
haptics, )

Scalability in terms of HPC architecture and simulation entities
Other Considerations
Lets remember the human factor
How will a user interact with an HPC?
How will multiple users interact with an HPC &
maintain coherence of I/O?
How will interim results be gathered?
How can timely and relevant HF experiments
be developed to influence the design?
Get developers involved
Current Users
IST
Physics
Mathematics
Chemistry
Nanoscience
Civil Engr
Mech. Engr
Industrial Engr
Electrical & Computer
Engr
CREOL
SAIC
Forterra
Current Human Centered M&S
Research
Apparent Parallelizable Systems (SAF/Games)
Approaches to Parallelization
Spatial & Temporal Coherency
Performance Assessment & Optimization
Interactive & Visualization
Review Lit in Sci Vis & Comp Steering
Leverage Existing Software (e.g., OLIVE, DCV)
Consider & Baseline Different Approaches
LVC Modeling
Possible Areas of Future Research
Multi-core Programming for M&S Applications
Tight Timing Constraints
Low Latency
I/O Bound
Use of Cell Processor for M&S
Multi-World Systems
LVC Implementations/Experimentation
Terrain Correlation
Granular Propagation Mitigation Methods
Multi-scale Simulations
Benchmarks
De-coupling SAF Models
????

Getting Involved
(Notional for Discussion)
Relevance to UCF Interests
UCF M&S (Fully Supported)
Other UCF (Partially Supported)
Other Entities (Profit and Non-Profit)
With UCF M&S (Fully Supported)
With Other UCF (Partially Supported)
Other Users (Lower Queue Priority)
University/Non-Profits (Case by Case)
For Profit Proprietary
Provide Funds for Staff
Constrained Use of Software
Joint Proposals
Issues
Facilities
Power & Cooling Infrastructure
Obsolescence
Parallel Programming
Long Term Support
State Funding?
Other Sources?
Back Up Charts
High Performance Computing for Simulation
Training Systems

Purpose
1. Enhance the Universitys facilities in the area of HPCC
systems
2. Support faculty research for parallel simulation of complex
scientific data in the areas of Physics, Chemistry, Civil and
Nano-technology
3. Study large scale interactive simulations that require real-
time processing of hundreds of entities on complex terrain
databases
4. Support RDECOM research on gaming and training system
development such as OneSAF

Benefits to the Army
1. Establish a capability to address M&S relevant issues in
Multi-scale simulation, interactivity and visualization.
2. Offer a unique opportunity to synthesize the research efforts
of the various departments at the University by facilitating a
shared high performance computing infrastructure

Federal and Private Endorsements
1. Project funded and supported by RDECOM and PEO-STRI
2. Association with national super-computing grids such as
Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA)
3. Collaboration with private companies like Forterra systems


Deliverables

1. HPCC computing platform with quad-core
processors, 4GB memory, 10 TB storage,
high-speed interconnect and graphics
capabilities.
2. Scientific studies on using HPC in interactive
M&S

The Top 10 Machines
November 2007
Rmax is in TeraFLOPS = One Trillion (10
12
) Floating Point Operations per second
Projected Top 500 computing power
Some perspective: Computing Power and Capabilities
The Hans Moravec vision
Areas for Investigation
Extents of single image environments
Terrain/Environment
Interacting entities
Live, virtual, constructive experimentation
Scalable simulations
Multi-scale simulations
Control of propagating granularity
HPC architectures for interaction
Map HPC types to applications
Techniques for porting interactive applications to HPC
platforms
Tools for interaction