LSU Melete Among First Interactive Supercomputers

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

 
Even the world’s most powerful supercomputers today mostly lack one very coveted feature: interactivity. That may change thanks to NSF-funded research at Louisiana State University’s Center for Computation & Technology.

At the heart of the project is Melete, a system that integrates an interaction-oriented compute cluster with tangible interfaces to support collaborative research and the classroom.

Typically, a high-performance computer would feature one head node coupled with several slave nodes,” said CCT’s IT consultant Chris Branton. “In contrast, Melete features several interactive face nodes in addition to the head node. These are a combination of dynamic screens, passive printed visuals, addressable LEDs, and other interactive elements. They are planned to be placed in labs, meeting spaces, and classrooms both at CCT and elsewhere on LSU campus to give interactive control of the machine to authorized users,” he said.

Read the Full Story.

Comments

  1. Clusters with multiple customer facing login nodes(10+), each equipped with GPUs and remote desktops have been the norm for all of the commercial accounts I have worked at for over 5 years. This coupled with tools like VNC, WINSCP and/or Filezilla along with an advanced reservation allow even a Windows/Mac user to treat a cluster as an interactive extension of their workflow. Not sure why LSU thinks they are the first, also recall TACC leading the way with their SUN cluster.