Today the ASC Student Supercomputer Challenge (ASC16) announced details from their Preliminary Contest on January 6. College students from around the world were asked to design a high performance computer system that optimizes HPCG and MASNUM_WAM applications under 3000W as well as to conduct a DNN performance optimization on a standalone hybrid CPU+MIC platform. All system designs along with the result and the code of the optimization application are to be submitted by March 2.
- DNN (Deep Neural Network) is one of the most important deep learning algorithms in artificial intelligence. Deep learning, as an emerging HPC application that requires high computational efficiency, has recently attained broad interests. In many cases, DNN is set up on either CPU or GPU. However for the ASC16 Preliminary Contest, students will have to develop DNN on a MIC (Many-Integrated-Core) platform. This will undoubtedly bring the already difficult task to a different level.
- MASNUM-WAM is a surface wave numerical model that is newly developed in oceanography research for applications ranging from sea transportation to ocean exploration, marine weather forecasting, etc. The scientists anticipated that the ASC competition will spark more creative ideas and better performance optimizations.
- HPCG (High Performance Conjugate Gradients) is the latest international benchmark standard for supercomputing. HPCG demands a balance between CPU computing performance, memory capacity, memory bandwidth, and interconnection capability. Although more complicated than the previously used HPL test, HPCG is considered more suited for supercomputer system performance evaluation trends, in that it can better demonstrate real application performance such as finite element computation and fluids analysis.
First launched in 2012, ASC has quickly become the world’s largest supercomputing contest, with more than 160 teams from all over the world for the latest competition. Closely following the most leading-end technologies, ASC has attracted more and more talent to supercomputing and has greatly promoted communications in the HPC community throughout the world.
