Source URL: https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/17/hlrs_supercomputer_hunter/
Source: The Register
Title: Germany unleashes AMD-powered Hunter supercomputer
Feedly Summary: €15 million system to serve as testbed for larger Herder supercomputer coming in 2027
Hundreds of AMD APUs fired up on Thursday as Germany’s High-Performance Computing Center (HLRS) at the University of Stuttgart announced the completion of its latest supercomputer dubbed Hunter.…
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The announcement of Germany’s new supercomputer, Hunter, showcases its capabilities in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Funded by government bodies, this advanced system is intended to support research across various domains with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and performance enhancements, particularly for AI applications, including large language models (LLMs).
Detailed Description:
The text highlights the introduction of Hunter, a significant achievement in high-performance computing, especially in the context of AI research capabilities. Here are the major points of this development:
– **Supercomputer Overview**:
– The Hunter supercomputer was recently launched at the High-Performance Computing Center in Stuttgart, Germany.
– Financed by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Science, Research, and Art, and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, costing approximately €15 million.
– **Technology and Configuration**:
– Built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) on a Cray EX4000 platform.
– It combines 752 AMD Instinct MI300A accelerated processing units (APUs) and 512 32-core Epyc Genoa CPUs, designed for extreme performance and efficiency.
– **Performance Metrics**:
– Hunter boasts a peak theoretical double precision performance of 48.1 petaFLOPS, which is significant for scientific applications.
– It aims to deliver exceptional performance for AI tasks, particularly model training, potentially reaching performance figures between 736 petaFLOPS and 1.47 exaFLOPS under specific conditions.
– **AI Applications**:
– The system will support public and private research, focusing on various fields, including engineering, weather modeling, and AI.
– It is already assisting the German AI startup Seedbox.ai in training open large language models (LLM) in 24 European languages.
– **Sustainability Innovations**:
– Hunter features a “dynamic power capping” functionality aimed at optimizing energy efficiency without compromising performance.
– Early tests indicated a 20% reduction in power consumption during operation, displaying a commitment to sustainable computing practices.
– **Future Developments**:
– Hunter is a transitional initiative intended to familiarize researchers with the capabilities of APU and GPU-optimized applications in anticipation of the forthcoming Herder supercomputer, which promises even higher performance.
The launch of Hunter marks a pivotal step in enhancing Germany’s supercomputing capabilities, particularly for AI and research applications, underlining the ongoing evolution and growing emphasis on sustainable computing. This development is particularly relevant for professionals in AI, cloud computing, and infrastructure security, as it aligns with trends in high-performance computing and the increasing demands for energy-efficient technology in research and development.