This month, SURF announced the start of the production of their new supercomputer. The ODISSEI secure supercomputer (OSSC) now runs on the current supercomputer Cartesius. The new supercomputer, that will be called Snellius, will have almost ten times more computing power than the current supercomputer. In the future, the OSSC will be transferred to the new supercomputer, to enable social scientists to also make use of this enormous amount of extra computing power.
For users of the OSSC, who can analyse Statistics Netherlands microdata in a highly secure environment, this transition has several advantages. The faster nodes enable the aforementioned increase in computing power. The new environment moreover offers users access to the latest hardware technologies and possibilities. Furthermore, it will be even easier to trace your data in the secure environment and to migrate and move data within the environment. The new supercomputer is very well suited to machine learning. Finally, the new supercomputer will likely be easier to use for OSSC users who want to start their research in this environment.
In addition to these enhancements, when choosing the new supercomputer SURF has made it a priority to lower the energy use. The new supercomputer is currently being built. It is expected that it will be operational by mid-2021.
Relevant links
- ‘SURF starts installation of new supercomputer‘, SURF website, 8 February 2021.
- ‘New supercomputer to be named Snellius,’ SURF website, 5 March 2021.
- ‘Using the ODISSEI Secure Supercomputer‘, ODISSEI website.
Image: The current supercomputer Cartesius, by SURF