What is High Performance Computing (HPC)?
Interested in software solutions that integrate seamlessly into your workflow? With the rapid advancements in the digital world, boosting productivity and efficiency is critical for all kinds of businesses. For those who want to stay organized and accomplish more in less time, this comprehensive guide will help you understand what High Performance Computing (HPC) is, how it works, key benefits, and more.
What is High Performance Computing?
High Performance Computing is a technology that processes data and performs intensive calculations by using supercomputers and computer clusters. Essentially, HPC systems are made up of nodes connected by a high-speed network. These systems simultaneously work together in a cluster to run algorithms and software in real time. In comparison to desktops or laptops, an HPC system typically runs at speeds more than one million times faster. They can process data and calculations on premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid model.
One of the best HPC types is a supercomputer. A supercomputer is a purpose built computer that contains thousands of compute nodes working together to complete one or more tasks. This process is called “parallel processing”, which works like connecting thousands of computers into a network, combining their computing power to finish tasks more quickly.
How Does High Performance Computing Work?
Most HPC systems have three main components: compute, network, and storage. In an HPC environment, the common workloads come in two different types being loosely coupled and tightly coupled.
Firstly, loosely coupled workloads(parallel or high throughput jobs) consist of a large number of smaller jobs that simultaneously run across the system. Even if the tasks share common storage, they are not context-dependent so this process is done with little to no communication between them when done. Example use cases for loosely coupled workloads are image processing, genomics analysis, and Electronic Design Automation (EDA).
Secondly, tightly coupled workloads have many small processes. Each process is handled by different nodes in a cluster and are dependent on each other to complete the overall task. This workload type typically requires low-latency networking between nodes and fast access to shared memory and storage. Additionally, inter-process communication is handled by a Message Passing Interface (MPI), using software such as OpenMPI and Intel MPI. Example use cases for tightly coupled workloads are computational fluid dynamics, weather forecasting, automobile collision emulations, and traffic management.
The Benefits of High Performance Computing
Incorporating high-performance computing into your business operations yields several advantages. Even though HPC has enhanced efficiency across various business areas, there are still businesses that don’t understand how HPC can assist with more than merely boosting their production operation’s speed. High Performance Computing (HPC) offers numerous benefits across various fields. Here are 6 key advantages:
1. Increased Speed and Efficiency
First, HPC systems are designed to perform complex computations much faster than standard computers. This reduces the time required to solve problems and process data. Additionally, HPC uses parallel processing, allowing multiple calculations to simultaneously be done. Parallel processing further speeds up tasks, which is ideal for those who want to accomplish more in less time.
2. Reduced Physical Testing
Most modern-day applications require a lot of physical testing before it is released. For those who don’t want to perform physical tests, it is easier and less expensive for developers and testers to use HPC systems for creating simulations instead.
3. Scalability
HPC systems can scale to accommodate increasing data volumes without having a significant loss in performance. Depending on your needs, workloads are scaled up or down.
4. Competitive Advantage
By speeding up research and development processes, HPC enables businesses to market their products faster, which results in a competitive advantage. This leads to effective decision making. Businesses that utilize HPC systems have an advantage over their competitors because they can quickly process and analyze data while also making informed decisions.
5. Cost Efficiency
While the initial investment in HPC infrastructure may require a significant upfront cost, it typically results in long-term cost savings by optimizing resource usage and reducing the need for physical prototypes. Additionally, businesses can access HPC resources through cloud services. This helps to reduce the need for significant upfront investments in hardware.
6. AI and Machine Learning
And lastly, HPC is also beneficial for training models and real-time processing. With HPC, it can be efficiently used for training large and complex machine learning models. It also allows for real-time data processing, which can be essential for applications such as autonomous vehicles and real-time analytics.
Industries That Use High Performance Computing
High Performance Computing supports a wide range of industries due to its ability to quickly and efficiently process vast amounts. From data analysis to cutting-edge research, here are some key industries that utilize HPC:
- Healthcare – Help medical professionals provide high-quality care to patients. HPC also supports research in genomics, drug discovery and research, personalized medicine and vaccines, biomedical imaging, and developing treatments for rare and common diseases.
- Media and Entertainment – Create animations and immersive entertainment, realistic simulation, render special effects for movies, transcode media files, TV shows, and video games.
- Automotive – Create efficient, innovative, and safe vehicles regarding vehicle design, crash simulations, and autonomous driving technologies. It helps accelerate the development and safety features of new models.
- Weather and Climate Science: Process vast amounts of meteorological data for weather forecasting, climate modeling, and environmental monitoring. Predicts weather patterns and studies climate change.
- Manufacturing – Perform simulations to support the design, manufacture, and testing of new products.
- Financial Services – Perform complex risk analyses, high-frequency trading, financial modeling, and fraud detection, algorithmic trading, and financial forecasting. It significantly impacts trading strategies and risk management.
- Aerospace – Create complex simulations and designs spacecraft, satellite simulations, and aerodynamic testing. It helps with advancements in space exploration and aviation.
- Defense and Security: Supports simulations for military training, cryptography, surveillance, and strategic planning. Enhances security and defense capabilities.
- Education – Universities and research institutions use HPC for academic and research purposes. This includes large-scale data analysis and complex simulations across disciplines.
- Retail – Analyze customer data to provide personalized product recommendations and improved customer service.
HPC in Hyperscale Data Centers
Furthermore, high performance computing plays a key component in modern and hyperscale data centers. This is especially beneficial for businesses that require lots of computing power. HPC enables organizations to tackle complex computational challenges and efficiently process large datasets. With data centers housing large amounts of servers, storage systems and devices, it often deploys HPC resources to handle intensive computational tasks. If you need a hyperscale solution, our HyperShelves and Modular Rack Shelves allow you to easily and quickly expand your setup in data centers or testing labs.
Modular Shelf
Developers use modular shelves for mobile device test labs when designing apps, software, and websites to work across a wide array of electronic devices. Based on your real device testing needs, our Modular Rack Shelf is designed to house multiple devices on a single shelf with flexible options. We provide a variety of brackets for mobile devices, home entertainment, computers, accessories, and more. With this rack shelf, you can maximize space, organize multiple devices, and increase density and scalability.
HyperShelf
Our HyperShelves are a high density and cost saving PC rack mounting solution for enterprise deployments and hyperscale data center environments. Rather than using multiple 1U rack shelves to manage your devices, a 5U HyperShelf is great for increasing shelf density, decreasing deployment times, and achieving a massive amount of computing power. You can rack mount multiple small form factor (SFF) devices into a shelf while running at full load. From the quick mount rail mechanism to designated cable pathways and removable side panels, this high density shelf enhances airflow, cable management, and machine density.
Additional Mounting Equipment
To help manage your servers and storage systems, we provide a wide range of server racks, server rack rails, and rack shelves for your data center needs.
- Racks: Our 4 Post and 2 Post racks are an effective way to mount your equipment. We provide open frame racks, enclosed racks, and wall mount racks.
- Shelves: We provide rack shelves that come in different sizes and configurations to serve a wide variety of needs. To store your servers on the rack, you can choose between our fixed shelf or sliding shelf.
- Rails: Server rack rails are a great way to mount your servers in a 4 post or 2 post rack.
We provide a large selection of rails, rail kits, and universal rails.
FAQs: HPC
How does HPC differ from traditional computing?
HPC systems simultaneously perform multiple calculations and handle large-scale problems, whereas traditional computing systems are for single-user tasks and less demanding applications.
How does cloud computing relate to HPC?
Cloud computing provides scalable resources for HPC tasks. It allows you to access high-performance resources on-demand without having to invest in physical hardware. However, it may involve different performance characteristics and cost considerations.
