A supercomputer has been launched in Russia for the rapid development of new materials

2024: Launch of supercomputer for rapid development of new materials

On February 16, 2024 Novosibirsk State University (NSU) , he announced that the company's specialists K2Teh had created the Oracle high-performance computing complex for the university. This supercomputer is designed to accelerate the development of new types of materials and the design of products based on them for industrial enterprises.

The system is located in the Center of the National Technological Initiative (NTI) for New Functional Materials on the basis of NSU (TsNFM). The supercomputer configuration includes 11 nodes - seven compute nodes, two control nodes and two storage nodes. The computing part combines seven high-performance servers with a total of 392 cores. Devices based on central processors (CPU) and graphics accelerators (GPU) for processing visual data are involved.

source = K2Tex

The first Russian interconnect "Angara" developed by JSC "NITSEVT" is responsible for the exchange of information between the servers. The nominal data transfer rate is at least 75 Gbps (without locks and with low delays). The capacity of fault-tolerant NFS storage is 40 TB or more. The virtualization environment based on the Russian Orion soft zVirt platform is involved for efficient utilization of computing power. K2Tekh specialists designed the uninterrupted power supply subsystem for continuous power supply of equipment.

Peak cluster performance is at least 47 Tflops. Supercomputer resources are used to develop innovative composite electrochemical coatings, promising magnetic and refractory materials. In addition, the system helps in solving problems related to the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies. This, in particular, the development of a prototype of a digital material passport and its informatization, the creation of digital twins of technological processes.^[1]

2023: University-Based Supercomputer Deployment

On July 19, 2023, the company K2Teh announced the deployment supercomputer computing complex for the Center for National Technology Initiative (NTI) New Functional Materials at the base. Novosibirsk State University (NSU) The cluster infrastructure is built on high-performance computing nodes of Russian production, combined by the high-speed network "Angara" developed by JSC "." NICEVT The cluster will allow employees of the NTI Center to perform complex mathematical calculations, process the resulting arrays data and ultimately use them in the artificial intelligence design of materials and structures for industrial enterprises.

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As reported, the expansion of computing power was required by the NTI Center to solve a number of strategic tasks. Among them - the development of functional materials with specified properties: innovative composite electrochemical coatings, promising magnetic materials and materials with refractory properties. In addition, the supercomputer was required for key NTI Center projects related to the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies. These include the development of a prototype of a digital passport of material and its informatization (material as an element of the Internet of Things), the creation of digital twins of technological processes.

For July 2023, the NTI Center aims to create and accelerate the launch of other types of materials and products based on them. Their use in the design of parts, structures and other products contributes to the development of domestic aviation, space, energy and other industrial industries, ensuring technological sovereignty. Therefore, not only the optimal performance of the computing cluster, but also its component and software independence was important to us. This means compliance with the requirements of import substitution. We are pleased that the formation of such a complex architecture of computing power was made by K2Tekh specialists, who are experts in the implementation of comprehensive full-cycle projects, as well as the selection of the best Russian solutions to achieve their goals and objectives. commented Amiran Vekua, director of the NTI Center

K2Tekh deployed a supercomputer complex of 11 computing nodes in a data center based on NSU. The computing subsystem of the complex consists of 392 processor cores installed in 7 high-performance servers. They include both CPU-based servers and graphics with GPU accelerators for processing visual data. Data exchange between the servers is provided by the first Russian interconnect - the Angara network developed by NITSEVT JSC. The nominal data transfer rate is at least 75 Gbps, without locks and with low delays. The expected peak performance of the supercomputer is 47 Tflops. Failover NFS storage provides at least 40 TB of data.

Projects related to the introduction of supercomputers, single in our country. And each of them is unique, because supercomputers are focused on fulfilling complex, sometimes innovative strategic tasks. Our project with Novosibirsk State University is no exception. The supercomputer in the NTI Center will speed up mathematical calculations, minimize the number of errors and, as a result, reduce the development time of materials and products. At the same time, during the design of the computing cluster, K2Tex experts provided for the possibility of its further scaling. We support the IT team of the NTI Center, advise on the specifics of working with the cluster and look forward to further cooperation. noted Alexey Zotov, Head of IT Infrastructure at K2Tekh

In addition, K2Tex specialists deployed and configured a virtualization environment based on the zVirt platform of the domestic developer Orion soft. This will effectively utilize the computing power of servers designed for the operation of supercomputer control services. The zVirt platform is included in the Register of domestic software and is provided by service support of the developer, which provides the customer with technological sovereignty and stability of the solution.

zVirt includes all the necessary functionality for managing servers and virtual machines. The use of the platform opens up opportunities for infrastructure virtualization and will allow the university to implement large-scale technical projects. zVirt copes with peak loads, which is about stable operation and optimal cluster performance when implementing the most complex computing tasks. Thanks to the Russian-language interface, users of the NTI center will be convenient to work with the platform. stressed Maxim Berezin, Business Development Director Orion soft

K2Tekh specialists also designed the engineering infrastructure in the cluster. The uninterrupted power supply system provides continuous power supply to the computing infrastructure equipment. In addition, it prevents damage or loss of information in the event of a shutdown of the external power supply system.