For the first time in nine years, Japan finally secures the top spot for the world’s fastest supercomputer with their Fugaku System, which is developed by Fujitsu and the research institute RIKEN.
Installed at the RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R – CCS) in Kobe, Japan, the Fugaku System marks the successor to the K computer, which was previously crowned the world’s fastest back in 2011. As reported by TOP500, the new Fugaku scored a linpack (HPL) result of 415.5 petaflops, which is 2.8 times faster than the nearest competitor, Summit, that achieved 148.6 petaflops. powered by Fujitsu’s 48-core A64FX SoC, Fugaku has also become the first number one supercomputer to utilize ARM processors. furthermore, on HPCG (high performance conjugate gradient), fugaku reached 13,400 teraflops using 138,240 nodes, and on HPL-AI (the convergence of high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence), the system scored 1.421 exaflops, which is the first time a computer has even earned an exascale rating on any list, using 126,720 nodes (via RIKEN).
The supercomputer is stated to be fully operational by April of next year, but now it is already being used to help in current scientific issues by running simulations on how the coronavirus spreads.
(Image Credit: RIKEN/ DesignBoom)