ERDC MSRC Resource. Spring 2005

Abstract : This issue of the Resource sheds some light into an often neglected - but critical - corner of the ERDC MSRC's research efforts by taking an in-depth look at the benchmarking process used to acquire new hardware for our users. Acquiring systems to serve the very diverse needs of the High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) user community is a challenging task. ERDC has played a leading role in the Program's benchmarking efforts for the yearly Technology Insertion since the first joint acquisition in 2001, and that leadership role continues today. Through assessing the performance of potential technical solutions via benchmarks - both real and synthetic applications - we are able to construct technical solutions to meet your computational needs and to provide a quantitative framework for measuring the effectiveness of that solution. But ERDC's involvement in benchmarking has benefits for users that extend beyond the acquisition of the best machine for the job. Each year the ERDC Computational Science and Engineering group spends a tremendous amount of time analyzing, porting, building, and running the HPCMP user community's most important computational applications. This experience has given us an understanding of your applications, the way in which you do your work, and the science you are trying to accomplish that is one-of-a-kind in its depth and breadth. This is experience that we rely on every day as we improve our services to you in administration and configuration of the systems, in data analysis and visualization, in computational science, and in customer service.