Intel processors to power next-generation DOE supercomputers

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) selected next-generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors (code-named, “Sapphire Rapids”) to power the supercomputers used within NNSA’s Life Extension Program for mission-critical efforts in stockpile stewardship.

The NNSA’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory awarded a subcontract to Dell Technologies to supply the Intel-powered computing systems that will be deployed at the NNSA’s Tri-Labs (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories).

This news supports the NNSA’s Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program operated at the NNSA’s Tri-Labs. The Commodity Technology Systems contract (CTS-2) awarded will enable these three national laboratories to build more powerful, energy-efficient computing systems that will focus on performing extensive modeling and simulation capabilities in support of NNSA’s stockpile stewardship program.

Initial system deliveries are scheduled to begin in mid-2022 and continue through 2025. The systems will replace the current ASC commodity systems that were sourced by the 2015 CTS-1 contract and are nearing retirement.

The computing systems being built through CTS-2 will incorporate next-generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors with next-generation Dell EMC PowerEdge servers. The Xeon Scalable processors are optimized for high-performance computing workloads, with built-in acceleration for modeling and simulation, artificial intelligence and high-performance data analytics.