SEATTLE, WA and READING, UK — Cray Inc. has announced the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), one of the world’s premier numerical weather prediction and research centers, selected a Cray XC30 supercomputer and Cray Sonexion storage for their next operational facility. The new Cray system will improve ECMWF’s forecasting capabilities through increased resolution and model enhancements, as well as support ECMWF’s research program.
ECMWF is focused on the development and operation of global models and data-assimilation systems for the dynamics, thermodynamics, and composition of the Earth and its surrounding systems. An independent intergovernmental organization supported by 34 European nations, the center provides operational, extended-range, and seasonal global forecasts 365 days a year, as well as specialized research such as wave forecasts and global atmospheric composition.
“I am looking forward to working with Cray to enable us to continue improving the skill of our weather predictions. The Cray system will be a strong foundation to meet our strategic, operational and research objectives,” said ECMWF Director-General, Professor Alan Thorpe. “ECMWF’s history of using supercomputers dates back to 1979 when the Centre issued its first operational medium-range weather forecast. Our European member states will all continue to benefit from the ground-breaking weather research we can provide on this new system.”
The Cray multi-petaflops supercomputing infrastructure at ECMWF is designed for operational resiliency featuring two Cray XC30 systems and a multi-petabyte Cray Sonexion storage system. The Sonexion system is a fully integrated, scale-out Lustre system designed for a broad range of big data and high performance computing (HPC) workloads. It offers compact design for maximum density and can reduce the storage footprint by 50 percent for petascale systems.
Previously code-named “Cascade,” the Cray XC30 supercomputer is Cray’s most advanced HPC system and is engineered to meet the most demanding performance challenges of HPC users. The Cray XC30 supercomputer features the Aries system interconnect; a Dragonfly network topology that frees applications from locality constraints; an innovative cooling system that utilizes a transverse airflow to lower customers’ total cost of ownership; the next-generation of the scalable, high performance Cray Linux Environment that also supports a wide range of ISV applications; Cray’s HPC optimized programming environment; and the ability to handle a wide variety of processor types, including Intel Xeon processors, Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors, and NVIDIA Tesla GPU accelerators.
Consisting of products and multi-year services, the contract is valued at more than $65 million in total revenue and the system is expected to be put into production in 2014. The contract includes options for future upgrades and future technologies.
Additional information on the Cray XC30 supercomputer and Cray Sonexion storage system can be found on the Cray website.
About ECMWF
ECMWF is an intergovernmental organization supported by 34 European States. It provides weather services with medium-range forecasts of global weather to 15 days ahead as well as with monthly and seasonal forecasts. ECMWF’s computer system at its headquarters in Reading, United Kingdom, is one of the largest for meteorology worldwide and contains the world’s largest archive of numerical weather prediction data. It runs a sophisticated medium-range prediction model of the global atmosphere and oceans. The National Meteorological Services of Member States and Co-operating States use ECMWF’s products for their own national duties, in particular to give early warning of potentially damaging severe weather.
About Cray Inc.
Global supercomputing leader Cray Inc. provides innovative systems and solutions enabling scientists and engineers in industry, academia and government to meet existing and future simulation and analytics challenges. Leveraging 40 years of experience in developing and servicing the world’s most advanced supercomputers, Cray offers a comprehensive portfolio of supercomputers and Big Data solutions delivering unrivaled performance, efficiency and scalability. Cray’s Adaptive Supercomputing vision is focused on delivering innovative next-generation products that integrate diverse processing technologies into a unified architecture, allowing customers to surpass today’s limitations and meeting the market’s continued demand for realized performance. Go to www.cray.com for more information.