DEEP-EST Project Started

The aim of DEEP-EST, an EU project launched on 1 July 2017, is to create a modular supercomputer that is able to efficiently run both HPC codes and data analytics applications. Following on from the successfully concluded DEEP and DEEP-ER projects, DEEP-EST will focus on the development of hardware and software components in intensive co-design with applications.

In addition to the Cluster and Booster components of the predecessor projects, which address the needs of low- and high-scalable HPC applications, respectively, the DEEP-EST hardware prototype will include a new computing module tailored to the requirements of high-performance data analytics codes. DEEP-EST will also create a software environment suitable for enabling the three modules to act jointly as a single system. In particular, the scheduler and resource management software SLURM will be extended to allow applications to allocate nodes in every module. Advanced scheduling techniques will ensure that a diverse portfolio of applications being run simultaneously on the modular supercomputer will be able to fully and efficiently exploit the available resources.

Six co-design applications will influence the hardware and software design, and will also benefit from optimizations over the course of the project. They will reveal to what extent highly complex simulations profit from the modular supercomputer architecture, in which codes can freely select the best-suited mix of nodes.

Coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich, the DEEP-EST consortium consists of sixteen partners. Among other activities, JSC participates in the architectural (both hardware and software) designs, the installation of the prototype at Jülich, the extension of SLURM, and the guidance and support of the application developers. Further information can be found at http://www.deep-projects.eu.
(Contact: Dr. Estela Suarez, e.suarez@fz-juelich.de)

JSC News No. 251, 18 July 2017