Rostec develops first supercomputer based on Elbrus processor

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The Bruk Institute for Electronic Control Computers (INEUM) (part of State Corporation Rostec’s Avtomatika Concern) together with RSC Group developed the first supercomputer based on the Russian 8-core Elbrus-8S microprocessors.

It is designed for high-performance computing, processing big data and solving problems involving maximum levels of information security. The announcement was made during the CIPR-2019 Conference.

The supercomputer is built on racks consisting of blade servers, each equipped with four processors. The solution uses liquid cooling system, which allows to reduce the size of the module and fit a total of 153 computing nodes to one server rack with the total performance is 75 teraflops in double precision, i.e. allowing to calculate 75 trillion floating point operations per second. The total power of the supercomputer is practically unlimited, since the racks can be combined into a single computing cluster.

Each of the Russian Elbrus-8S microprocessor’s eight cores can perform 25 operations in one cycle. The processor architecture allows to significantly increase software performance through optimization.

“The fourth generation of our domestic Elbrus microprocessors is suitable for performing complex mathematical calculations and modeling of neural networks, which are the building blocks of modern artificial intelligence technology. The main difference of our IT systems is their high level of information security. The Elbrus is guaranteed not to contain any ‘backdoors’ that could allow an illegal remote access to the computer system. This allows us to use our supercomputer in sensitive fields related to the processing of confidential information”, said Oleg Yevtushenko, Executive Director of Rostec.

One distinctive feature of the supercomputer is its high energy efficiency – less than 6 % of the consumed electricity is used on cooling. The design uses an integrated, rack-level monitoring system and proprietary power management algorithms increasing energy efficiency and fault tolerance. The power subsystem provides the ability to operate in difficult conditions with an extended voltage range and increased level of interference. Servers also have built-in functionality for remote management and diagnostics.

The computer can be used with various switching technologies, including the use of a domestic M2M networks. The rack architecture allows one to replace computing nodes, power supplies and hydro-regulation modules by hot swapping, without interrupting the operation of the computer complex.

“Our supercomputer is an economical, reliable and very powerful solution for fields such as mathematical modeling for industry, medicine, big data, scientific calculations, neural networks and other areas, where high performance, energy efficiency and computing power are necessary. It is a completely domestic product with top-notch information security, yet it is compact, silent and has low service costs. We provide our customers with fast and long-term vendor support», commented Vladimir Kabanov, CEO of the AvtomatikaConcern.

The Avtomatika Concern specializes in information security, development and production of technical equipment and systems of secured communications, protected information and telecommunication systems, as well as special-purpose automated control systems. The company’s products include encryption devices, information security solutions, secure video conferencing systems, secure automatic telephone exchange facilities, such as Safe City, Smart City and Internet of Things systems, equipment for automation of electoral processes, system solutions for security and monitoring the status of infrastructure facilities, satellite equipment, and other products.