HPC – High Performance Computing

The field of high performance computing (HPC) deals with the cutting edge of computing technology. It incorporates the areas of processing, networking, storage and visualization, and is a critical enabler in numerous applications that advance the frontiers of science - from the simulation of nuclear reactions to data mining the human genome. Looking beyond the frontiers of science, our end-goal is however to contribute towards ironing out the wrinkles that keep this pipeline of new technologies from making a difference in domains that are less adventurous.

Supercomputers are not new to South Africa. Researchers and businesses have been exploiting the potential of large vector- and symmetric multi-processing computers for decades. The advent of commodity component-based cluster computing in the mid 1990's, have however enabled more users to gain access to affordable HPC. There are many local university departments, and a growing number of commercial and industrial R&D teams that utilize HPC in this manner. The national Department of Science and Technology has also driven the establishment of the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC), with the aim of providing local users with access to world-class HPC infrastructure while championing a programme of advanced skills development in this area of rapidly growing importance.

The Meraka Institute's activities in HPC include management of the above-mentioned CHPC as well as an R&D effort associated with the CSIR's organizational HPC infrastructure known as the CSIR Cluster Computing Centre (C4). Readers interested in the CHPC, are invited to visit the following website, www.chpc.ac.za.