Second Round of Workshops on Cray X1

Dr. Ray Orbach has often stated the Office of Science intent to strongly pursue "big science" through computational science research. A series of Access Grid meetings were held and 2 page white papers were generated, describing the "big science" that could be done with a 40 TF machine.

In pursuit of Ultrascale computing, DOE is taking a closer look at vector architecture. Following Dr. Orbach's announcement that DOE had chosen ORNL to evaluate the Cray X1 vector architecture, we held (as a first round) a set of 2-hour prototype mini workshops to identify codes for use in evaluation of an X1 testbed system. We also hosted an all-day tutorial introducing the Cray X1 architecture and covering issues associated with porting, vectorization, and tuning.

Now we are starting a second round of workshops to continue forward.These one day meetings will address details of how the "big science" might be achieved on the X1 system, how the evaluation will proceed within this context, and agreeing on individual responsibilities for the steps.

• Develop evaluation strategy
• Identify key people to be involved
• Identify key performance issues
• Discuss porting/vectorization strategies
• Relate strategy to "big science" goals

We will be scheduling this round of workshops in conjunction with other meetings as much as possible. Tentative dates for the first three being discussed so far:

Fusion:

Cray-Fusion UltraScale Computing Workshop
Feb 5, Garden Plaza, Salon A, Oak Ridge TN
in conjunction with prototype topical center planning meeting Feb 3-4
Apps contact: Lee Berry/Ed D'Azevedo; Mark Fahey and 1 other CCS to attend
Cray participant not yet confirmed

Climate:

DOE SciDAC workshop on porting CCSM to the Cray X1
February 6, at NCAR
in conjunction with Software Engineering Working Group meeting February 4-5
contact: Pat Worley; Trey White of CCS to attend
LeVesque,Schwartzmeier of Cray to attend

Materials:

Computational Materials Science: Early Evaluation of the Cray X1
March 2, 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Hyatt Regency, Big Bend A-B, Austin TX
in conjunction with APS meeting March 3-7
Apps contact: Schulthess/Stocks; Rebecca Fahey and 1 other CCS to attend
LeVesque of Cray to attend

Other Meetings

Other meetings planned in round 2 (probably starting in an April time frame): Chemistry, Astrophysics, Biology, broader Climate community. Round 3 meetings will begin after the X1 is installed at ORNL, and will include hands-on sessions.