Supercomputer, “MANA” Tasked with the Power to Perform

By Wendy Osher

The Maui High Performance Computing Center dedicated a new Supercomputer today that doubles the center’s computing power.  The Dell platform system has 103 TeraFLOPs (103 trillion Floating operations per second),  That’s 13 thousand times the computational capability of the original 8-giga FLOP (8 billion Floating Point Operations per second) system that was introduced when the center opened 15 years ago.

Mana is based on Dell's new PowerEdge M610 series with half-height blade architecture, arranged in 1,152 compute nodes, each with two, 2.8 GHz quad-core Intel Nehalem processors and 24 GB RAM (3 GB/core) - a total of 2,304 processors with 9,216 compute cores. The interconnect fabric is Dual Data Rate Infiniband, and the system is configured with nearly 300 TB of direct-attached, DataDirect disk. Photo by Wendy Osher.

[flashvideo file=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovgva4nmP4s /] The computer is nicknamed Mana, the Hawaiian word for power, because it is tasked with the power to perform with influence and authority.

“This supercomputer…is the number one computer in the family of computers of the Department of Defense,” said U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye.  “We have demonstrated that the state of Hawaii, Native Hawaiians, the University of Hawaii in partnership, can deliver,” Inouye said.

University of Hawaii President, Dr. M.R.C. Greenwood thanked Inouye for his vision nearly two decades ago, saying, “We can see today just how much Maui and Hawaii are the beneficiaries of his foresight.  In fielding the largest supercomputer in the history of this center, the stage has been set for continued scientific advancement, new job development, new economic paradigms, and a high standard for national security.  It is this unique combination of the 103 TeraFLOPs of supercomputing power, dedicated staff, and strong government support, that will lead us all to a brighter and more secure future,” said Greenwood.

On the 50^th anniversary of statehood, Inouye identified the technological advancements of today as one of the ways Hawaii has become a different place since 1959.

“Fifty years ago, I think I’d be exaggerating if I said that this county was home for 20 high tech specialists,” said Inouye.  “Today, I’ve been told that there are about 1,700 men and women who declare themselves to be involved in High Technology on this island-primarily because of the supercomputer,” said Inouye.

The Maui computing center is one of six supercomputing resource centers aimed at accelerating the development of Department of Defense technologies.  The center will allocate more than 70,000,000 computational hours with the introduction of Mana.

“Maui is no longer a tourist destination, it is the home of the highest technology of this world,” said Inouye.

MHPCC Executive Director Gene Ball explains the power of Mana, saying it is 13,000 times more powerful than the first generation supercomputer installed at the center in 1993. Photo by Wendy Osher.

U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (left) and Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares (right) participate in the blessing ceremony for Maui's newest supercomputer. Photo by Wendy Osher.

Computing Center officials say the computational capacity of Maui's newest supercomputer will advance MHPCC to the forefront of High Performance Computing and re-establish it among the leaders in the Department of Defense research and development community. Photo by Wendy Osher.

On the 50th anniversary of statehood, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye identified the technological advancements of today as one of the ways Hawaii has become a different place since 1959. He was among the speakers during the unveiling of Maui's newest supercomputer. Photo by Wendy Osher.