EPSRC and Cray have signed an agreement to add a Cray XC40 Development System with Intel Xeon Phi processors to ARCHER, the UK National Supercomputing Service.
The ARCHER Service started in November 2013 and is expected to run for 5 years. Based around a Cray XC30 supercomputer, ARCHER provides a capability resource to allow researchers to run simulations and calculations that require large numbers of processing cores working in a tightly-coupled, parallel fashion.
“The upgrade will be achieved by reconfiguring and separating the two cabinets of the existing Cray XC30 Test and Development System (TDS) in order to provide a separate 12-node system with Intel Xeon Phi processors. The resultant single cabinet Test System will have all the components of the original TDS and the same number of nodes. The new Development system will have a very similar environment to the main ARCHER system, including Cray’s Aries interconnect, operating system and Cray tools, meaning that interested users will enjoy a straightforward transition.”
Work has commenced already and the Cray nodes with Intel Xeon Phi processors are expected to be available for use in October. The Cray Centre of Excellence will be available to assist users prepare their codes for the new technology.
