The Evolution Of Supercomputing: Top500 List Reveals Shifts In Vendor Landscape And Technology …

The latest Top500 list of supercomputers worldwide has been released, showcasing the current landscape of high-performance computing. Research institutions continue to dominate the list, with vendors vying for bragging rights. Over the past 31 years, the list has undergone significant changes. In 1994, Thinking Machines supercomputers, famously featured in the movie “Jurassic Park,” held a strong presence, with custom RISC designs and no x86 processors in sight.

Today, x86 processors have become the norm. A closer examination of the list reveals notable gains and losses among vendors. HPE, Dell, and Nvidia have made significant strides, with HPE adding 10 new systems, Dell picking up 8, and Nvidia acquiring 6 new systems over the past year. Nvidia’s Grace processor, built on the Arm architecture, has made a remarkable debut, going from zero deployments to 18 in just one year, finally giving Arm a presence on the list.

However, a comprehensive understanding of the networking landscape is challenging due to the “other” category, which accounts for a third of all networking. Despite this, it is clear that Ethernet is losing favor as an interconnect for high-performance computing.