So, you have this nice shiny new HPC cluster — or you are in line for development cycles on a powerful supercomputer — loaded up with the latest parallel processors and co-processors, impressive amounts of on-board memory and a fabric to die for. You spend hours daydreaming about running your applications at blinding speeds. So, you reach down into the duffel bag where you store all your apps — and a moth flies out. You’re a candidate for code modernization.

The fact is that hundreds of codes and legacy applications have not kept pace with advances in HPC hardware, in particular with the parallel processing capabilities of today’s multicore and manycore architectures. Running outdated serial code on today’s systems is like dropping a ‘56 Chevy transmission into a Ferrari — you’ll look good but you won’t be going very fast.

Without a Modern Code approach, your organization will be leaving money on the table. Run times are slower, more test and design iterations are required, operating costs are higher, and your organization’s competitive capabilities will diminish.

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What to do? Luckily members of the HPC community are stepping up to the plate and Intel is one of them. After all, the company has a lot at stake with its lineup of advanced Xeon and Xeon Phi processors that are taking high performance computing and data analytics to new levels.

For example, Intel has just launched the Intel Modern Code Developer Community to help HPC developers code for maximum performance on current and future hardware. The initiative is targeted to more than 400,000 HPC-focused developers and partners.

As part of Intel’s Modern Code initiative, you will have access to the tools, training, knowledge and the expert support you need to move ahead with your code modernization efforts. This includes modernization techniques such as vectorization, memory and data layout, multi-threading and multi-node programming.

But that’s not all. Coming up in August is a conference you won’t want to miss.

Intel Developer Forum (IDF)

The dates: August 18-20, 2015

The place: San Francisco, Moscone Center

Become a Modern Code Expert

If you’re immersed in or contemplating code modernization, this year’s IDF should be at the top of your to do list. Join your colleagues, innovators and community experts in learning how you can modernize your existing code and write new code to achieve breakthrough performance on your HPC systems.

IDF will showcase the experiences of intrepid HPC pioneers who have or are in the process of full-on code modernization. Learn about scalable systems solutions while you meet the experts. Find out what’s next in HPC — its hot new technologies and their impact on tomorrows innovations.

Here are a few important sessions you’ll want to attend:

• Code Modernization Roundtable — A panel discussion with Intel Black Belt software developers. They will discuss: why parallel performance is important; the need to modernize your code; which applications can benefit; and how Intel can help.

• Parallel Programming Pearls —– Inspired by the Intel Xeon Phi Products Course, which dives into real-world parallel programming optimization examples from around the world. Experience the wit and wisdom of enthusiast, author, editor and evangelist James Reinders.
• Hands-on Lab — An introduction to programming and optimization with Intel Xeon and Intel Xeon Phi processors.
• Code Modernization Best Practices — A course on multi-level parallelism for Intel Xeon and Intel Xeon Phi processors. This session with Robert Geva, Intel Principal Engineer, will provide details on the growth in hardware resources and characterize performance using different levels of parallelism
• Software-Defined Visualization: Fast, Flexible Solutions for Rendering Big Data — Get the latest information on industry progress for an open-source software-defined visualization rendering stack on Intel Xeon processors and the Intel Xeon Phi product family without the need for specialized hardware such as GPUs.

And those are just for openers. There are many more great talks, poster chats and keynotes at this event.

To learn more, visit the IDF Web site: Intel Developer Forum

See you in the City by the Bay.

John Kirkley, President of Kirkley Communications, is a writer and editor who specializes in HPC. He may be reached at editor@ScientificComputing.com.