All About High-Performance Computing
At A Glance
High performance is the capability for processing data and performing complex calculations at high speed. To understand it better, a laptop with a 3GHZ processor can perform up to 3 billion calculations per second.
One of the best-known types of solutions of high-performance computing is the supercomputer. A supercomputer is one that contains thousand of compute nodes that perform together for completing one or more tasks.
It is something that you can call parallel processing. It is similar to having various PCs networked together and combining compute power for completing tasks faster.
Why HPC Is Crucial?
It is with the help of data that groundbreaking scientific discoveries are made, game-changing innovations are accelerated, and the quality of life can be improved for billions of people across the globe.
- High-performance computing is the foundation for scientific, industrial, and societal advancements.
- With the advancement in technologies like AI and IoT, the size and amount of data that organizations work with are growing at a rapid speed.
- For various things like streaming a live sporting event, tracking a developing storm, testing new products, and the ability to process data in real-time is significant.
In order to keep themselves ahead in the competition, organizations require lightning-fast speed, highly reliable IT infrastructure for processing, storing, and analyzing the massive amount of data.
How Does It Work?
The solutions of this computing have three main components:
- Compute
- Network
- Storage
For building a high-performance computing architecture, computer networks need to be together in the form of a cluster.
- Cluster is networked to the data storage for capturing the output.
- Together with these components, various tasks can be operated seamlessly.
- For operating maximum performance, every component must keep pace with the others.
- For instance, the storage component must have the ability to feed and ingest data to and from the compute servers.
- In a similar way, network components must have the ability to support the high-speed transportation of data between the servers
What Is The High-Performance Cluster?
This type of cluster includes hundreds or thousands of compute servers, which are networked together.
Every server is called a node. These nodes within each cluster work in parallel with each other, which boosts processing speed for delivering high-performance computing.
Uses Of High-Performance Computing
These solutions are deployed on-premises, at the edge, or in the cloud. They are used for a variety of purposes across multiple industries. A few examples include:
- Research Labs: This solution is used for helping scientists in finding sources of renewable energy and understand the evolution of our universe, predict storms, and create new materials.
- Media & Entertainment: This type of computing is used in editing feature films, rendering mind-boggling special effects, and streaming live events around the world.
- Oil and gas: These solutions are utilized for identifying more accurately where to drill for new wells and boost production from existing wells.
- AI and machine learning: The solutions from this computing are used for detecting credit cards frauds, teaching self-driving vehicles, and improving cancer screening techniques.