Tianhe-2: The World's Fastest Supercomputer

Introduction

Are you curious about the fastest and most advanced supercomputer in the world? This article introduces you to Tianhe-2, China’s breakthrough in supercomputing. Let’s dive into its features and why it stands as the top performer in the world of computing.

What is Tianhe-2?

Tianhe-2, also known as Milky Way-2, was developed by China’s National University of Defense Technology. It has recently been ranked as the world’s fastest supercomputer, a title it holds on the TOP500 list of supercomputers.

This world-record-breaking machine was unveiled during the International Supercomputing Conference held in Germany on June 17th of this year.

Performance and Speed

Tianhe-2 is capable of achieving 33.86 petaflops on the Linpack benchmark, making it more than double the speed of the previous American world record holder, Titan.

For comparison, while an average computer performs about 100 million calculations per second, Tianhe-2 can perform an astounding 33,860 trillion calculations per second. To put this in perspective, the performance of Tianhe-2 for just one hour is equivalent to the work of 1.3 billion people working on their computers for 1,000 years.

Key Specifications

• Tianhe-2 consists of 16,000 computer nodes, each featuring two Intel Ivy Bridge Xeon processors and three Xeon Phi chips for a total of 3,120,000 crores.
• Each node is equipped with 88 GB of memory for the Ivy Bridge processors and 8 GB for the Xeon Phi processors.
• The supercomputer’s total CPU plus GPU memory is an impressive 1,375 TiB.
• Its peak performance is calculated at 54.9 petaflops, expected when the system is fully operational.
• The Tianhe-2 system requires 17.6 megawatts of power during peak usage, with an additional 24 megawatts for external cooling.
• Its physical footprint covers an area of 720 square meters.

Tianhe-2, the world's fastest supercomputer, developed by China's National University of Defense Technology.

Environmental Impact

Despite its immense power, Tianhe-2 is designed to be environmentally friendly. It runs on Kylin Linux, an operating system developed by NUDT, with resource management handled by the Simple Linux Utility for Resource Management (SLURM).

The supercomputer will be used at the National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou, contributing to cutting-edge research in biomedicine and the development of new materials.

Tianhe-2 represents a monumental achievement in supercomputing, not only because of its speed but also due to its contributions to scientific and industrial advancements. From environmental sustainability to revolutionary computational power, it continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in the digital age.