Aurora Exascale Install Update: Cautious Optimism

The twice-annual TOP500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers is not universally loved, arguments persist whether the LINPACK benchmark is an optimal way to assess HPC system performance. But few would argue it serves a valuable purpose: for those installing leadership-class supercomputers, the TOP500 poses a challenge and a looming deadline that “concentrates the mind wonderfully.”

Aurora on Schedule? Intel Says it’s Shipping Ponte Vecchio-Sapphire Rapids Blades to Argonne

The rumors had begun to cirulate – October is near, that starts the fourth quarter, 2023 isn’t far behind, all of which means Intel is coming up against a hard deadline to deliver its delayed Aurora exascale-class supercomputer to Argonne National Laboratory by the end of the year. Is another delay in the offing?
Then, yesterday, Intel tweeted this out: “Server blades with Intel 4th Gen Xeon and Ponte Vecchio, which uses Intel’s most advanced IP and packaging technology, are now shipping to Argonne National Labs to power the Aurora supercomputer!” And the tweet was backed by comments to the same effect from CEO Pat Gelsinger

Intel Architecture Day: Details Revealed on Sapphire Rapids and ‘Powered on’ Ponte Vecchio

Harried data center and HPC server market dominator Intel today unveiled what the company said is its biggest shifts in Intel architectures in a generation. The Architecture Day event included looks at the two chips that will power the delayed Aurora exascale supercomputer, to be installed at Argonne National Laboratory; those chips are: Sapphire Rapids, […]