Affordable supercomputing options from HPE and NEC

[Bill_Seidle]

Learn how HPE and NEC are working together to bring affordable supercomputing solutions to HPC applications, both new and traditional.

Key takeaways: How this HPC solution delivers reliability, a smaller footprint per performance, and lower cost

• Up to 7x better performance with shortest execution time and excellent energy efficiency using NEC Vector Engine*
• Higher scalability and flexibility (compared to existing vector computing systems) with next generation of modular supercomputers using vector processing*
• Affordable supercomputers to help solve big data problems fit in a server chassis, thanks to denser computational systems that consume less power and take up less space*

If you are seeking to achieve sustained high performance with standard C / C++ / Fortran programming, then the new HPE and NEC Vector Engine solution is right for you. HPE and NEC are working together to develop a high-end HPC portfolio that integrates HPE ProLiant DL380 and HPE Apollo 6500 Gen10 systems with NEC Vector Engine card.

Delivering a new choice in high performance computing solutions

The new solutions feature a complete multi-core vector processor in the form of a card-type Vector Engine (VE), based on NEC’s high-density interface technology and integrated in HPE's high performance server technology. A proven technology, NEC’s vector processor has been in the market for more than 30 years, with more than 11,000 nodes are currently deployed around the world.

“We are pleased to join forces with NEC in this partnership that combines vector-optimized expertise with our global HPC leadership,” says Bill Mannel, vice president and general manager, HPC and AI, HPE. “This complete, scalable solution fully integrates HPE Apollo or ProLiant servers with Vector Engine processing units. Together, HPE and NEC bring unique capabilities to deploy the Vector Engine at scale, with HPC expertise, supply chain and support services.”

New vector supercomputing power in a server chassis

The joint HPE and NEC solutions address the needs of scalar computational capability (SCC) which gives customers the ability to take advantage of both scalar and vector systems flexibly, while still delivering the efficiency of a vector architecture.

The NEC Vector Engine brings key advantages to HPC solutions, including bottleneck reduction and memory offload models with standard C / C++ / Fortran programming.The Vector Engine achieves approximately 5x better performance when compared competitive offerings in recent STREAM benchmarks measuring sustainable memory bandwidth in high performance computers.*  

Designed for both legacy and new HPC applications

The HPE and NEC solution supports both traditional application areas, such as universities, research laboratory, seismic data processing, and science, as well as newer, dynamic applications for AI, machine learning, and big data analytics. The solution increases scalability and performance in malware detection and click prediction—all important to real-world applications.

“NEC is excited to deliver state-of-art vector technologies to HPC market with HPE,” says Shigeyuki Aino, executive director, NEC. “By collaborating together with HPE, we expect that we can expand business opportunities in the global HPC market, especially in the North American market. Most importantly, our vector processors offer additional options to HPC customers who are always eager for higher performance with low power consumption and a normal programming language. We believe our vector technology contributes to advanced scientific research now and in the future.

Coming to ISC 2019? Find out why HPE and NEC are better together

NEC is presenting the Vector Engine products at ISC 2019, the International Supercomputing Conference and exhibition happening June 16 to 20 in Frankfurt, Germany.

The integrated solutions will first be offered to customers in U.S., followed by the rest of the market at a later time.

• Check out the QuickSpecs for the NEC Vector Engine for HPE ProLiant and Apollo Servers now.
• Please visit the NEC Aurora Forum for more details about NEC Vector Engine.

*All performance metrics and comparative benchmark references provided by NEC