NOVEMBER 2011 SUPER- COMPUTERS AT THE FRONTIERS OF EXTREME COMPUTING PUBLISHED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Research and Innovation with HPC Joint SMEs Laboratory HPC At the interface of computer science and mathematics, Inria researchers have spent 40 years establishing the scientific bases of a new field of knowledge: computational science. In inte- raction with other scientific disciplines, computational science offers new concepts, languages, methods and subjects for study that open new perspectives in the understanding of complex phenomena. High Performance Computing is a The work of this laboratory focuses Eventually, in order to boost techno- strategic topic for Inria, about thirty on development of algorithms and logy transfer from public research to Inria research teams are involved. software for computers at the peta- industry, which is part of Inria’s core flop scale and beyond. The laborato- mission, the institute has launched Inria has thus established large ry’s researchers carry out their work an «SME go HPC» Program, together scale strategic partnerships with- as part of the Blue Waters project. with GENCI, OSEO and four French Bull for the design of future HPC industry clusters (Aerospace Valley, architectures and with EDF R&D fo- It is also noteworthy that several Axelera, Minalogic, Systematic). cused on high performance simulation former Inria spin-off companies have The objective of the Program is to for energy applications. developed their business on this mar- bring high level expertise to SMEs wil- ket, such as Kerlabs, Caps Enterprise, ling to move to Simulation and HPC as At the international level, Inria and the Activeon or Sysfera. University of Illinois at Urbana-Cham- a means to strengthen their compe- paign (United States) created a joint titiveness.SMEs wanting to make use laboratory for research in supercom- of high-performance computing or puting, the Joint Laboratory for simulation to develop their products and services (design, modelling, sys- Petascale Computing (JLPC), in tem, test, processing and visualisation 2009. of data) can apply on the website devoted to this HPC-SME Initiative. www.inria.fr www.initiative-hpc-pme.org Inria is the only French national public research organization fully dedicated to digital sciences and it hosts more than 1000 young researchers each year. EDITORIAL 3 OUR STAKE IN THE FUTURE SUPERCOMPUTERRS igh-performance computing, or HPC, has gradually become a part of our daily Hlives, even if we are not always aware of it. It is in our medicines, our investments, in the films we go to see at the cinema and the equipment of our favourite athletes, the cars we drive and the petrol that they run on. It makes our world a safer place, where our resources are used more wisely, and, thanks to researchers, a world we can more easily understand. Yet these giant steps forward, notably by breaking DABURON the petaflops barrier, or one million FRANÇOIS BY PHILIPPE billion operations per second, VANNIER Chairman will soon seem modest indeed and CEO of Bull. as even greater technological upheavals lie ahead. Cloud Computing is revolutionising and broadening access to scientific computing. The exaflops, 1,000 times more powerful than a petaflops, will give a new dimension to digital simulations. Today the great regions of the world, with the United States and China in the lead, have taken significant steps to ensure control of future technologies. Up until now, Europe has remained on the sidelines. We need to act quickly if we want to hold on to this know-how, which is essential for our independence, our research and our industries, and preserve our jobs. SUPERCOMPUTERS LA RECHERCHE NOVEMBER 2011 N° 457 . The TERATEC Technopole Created by a CEA initiative to develop and promote high performance simulation and computing, the TERATEC technopole is located in Bruyères-le-Chatel, in the southern part of Île-de-France, and includes all the elements of the HPC and simula- tion value chain around three entities : The CEA Very Large Computing Center (TGCC) Infrastructure dedicated to supercomputers and equipped in particular with the CCRT machines and the European PRACE machine. It is also a place for exchanges and meetings with a «conference area» including a 200-seats auditorium. The TERATEC Campus In the TERATEC Technopole and facing the CEA Very Large Computing Center, the TERATEC Campus, with more than 13,000 m² , regroups : Industrial companies (systems, software and services) and a business center plus an incubator, Industrial research laboratories: Exascale Computing Research Lab (Intel / CEA / GENCI / UVSQ), Extreme Computing Lab (BULL / CEA)... A European HPC Training Institute, Platform Services accessible to all industrial companies and research organizations. The objective of the TERATEC Campus is to provide professionals in the field of high performance simulation and compu- ting with a dynamic and user-friendly environment to serve as a crossroads for innovation in three major areas : systems performance and architecture, software development and services. The TERATEC Association The TERATEC Association regroups more than 80 partners from industry and research, having in common advanced usage and development of systems, software or services dedicated to high-performance simulation and computing. TERATEC federates and leads the HPC community to promote and develop numerical design and simulation, and facilitates exchanges and collaborations between participants. Each year, TERATEC organizes the TERATEC Forum, the major event in this domain in France and in Europe (next edition planned on June 26 and 27, 2012 - more on : www.teratec.eu) If you are interested by joining the TERATEC Campus, contact TERATEC : [email protected] or +33(0)1 69 26 61 76. NEW HORIZONS 5 Supplement 2 of “La Recherche” cannot be sold separately from supplement 1 (LR N° 457). “La Recherche” is published 06 AN ONGOING 11 INRIA IS LEADING by Sophia Publications, a subsidiary CHALLENGE FOR THE WAY IN HPC of Financière Tallandier. SUPERCOMPUTERS Digital simulation on SOPHIA PUBLICATIONS Since the end of nuclear supercomputers is driving France 74, avenue du Maine 75014 Paris Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 10 10 10 testing, the CEA is taking up in the race to Exascale. Editorial office email: the challenge of ensuring [email protected] the reliability and security 12 TERA 100: A LEADER IN EFFICIENCY CEO AND PUBLICATION MANAGER of nuclear weapons through Philippe Clerget simulations alone. Tera 100 is 7 times more SUPERCOMPUTERS MANAGEMENT ADVISOR energy-efficient than Jean-Michel Ghidaglia 08 HIGH-PERFORMANCE its predecessor Tera 10. COMPUTING FOR ALL! To contact a member of the editorial Genci intends to provide 14 TRI-GATE 3D TRANSISTORS team directly by phone, dial IN THE RACE TO EXASCALE +33 (0)1 44 10 followed by the four digits all scientists access to high- after to his or her name performance computing. The development of EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Aline Richard exaflopic computers will depend on major technological EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Luc Allemand breakthroughs. DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF FOR SUPPLEMENT 2 Thomas Guillemain MAJOR CHALLENGES EDITORIAL ASSISTANT FOR SUPPLEMENT 2 16 MODELLING MOLECULES 28 UNDERSTANDING Jean-Marc Denis FOR MORE EFFECTIVE HOW A STAR IS BORN ARTWORK AND LAYOUT TREATMENTS A noir, +33 (0)1 48 06 22 22 Analysing what happens when galaxies collide and how stars are PRODUCTION Simulation should orient research Christophe Perrusson (1378) towards new drugs. born. SALES, ADVERTISING 30 THE PHYSICS OF SHOCKS AND DEVELOPMENT 20 USING SUPERCOMPUTERS Caroline Nourry (1396) TO IMPROVE TSUNAMI ON AN ATOMIC SCALE CUSTOMER RELATIONS WARNING SYSTEMS The mechanics of materials must Laurent Petitbon (1212) CONTENTS The effects of submarine be understood at the atomic level. ADMINISTRATIVE earthquakes on coastlines could 32 MARTENSITIC AND FINANCE DIRECTOR be predicted in just 15 minutes! Dounia Ammor DEFORMATIONS SEEN SALES AND PROMOTION 22 FUTURE NUCLEAR THROUGH THE PROCESSOR Évelyne Miont (1380) REACTORS ALREADY PRISM BENEFIT FROM HPC Headings, subheadings, presentation Metal alloys can spring back to texts and captions are written National security also relies on their initial shape after a major by the editorial office. The law of March 11, 1957 prohibits copying or reproduction three-dimensional modelling. transformation. intended for collective use. Any representation or reproduction in full 24 WATCHING MATERIALS 34 USING GRAPHICS or in part made without the consent PROCESSORS TO VISUALISE of the author, or of his assigns GROW, ONE ATOM AT A TIME or assignees, is unlawful (article L.122-4 LIGHT of the French intellectual property Code). Simulating growth at the Any duplication must be approved atomic level will lead to mastery Or the eternal question of how by the French copyright agency (CFC, 20, of nanoelectronics. laser beams behave… rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006 Paris, France. Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 07 47 70, Fax: +33 (0)1 46 34 67 19). The editor 26 CALCULATING NUCLEAR reserves the right to refuse any insert DISSUASION that would be deemed contrary to the moral or material interests of the Modelling and simulations publication. are the key tools in nuclear design. Supplement 2 of “La Recherche” Joint commission of Press Publications and Agencies: 0909 K 85863 THE FUTURE: EXASCALE COMPUTING ISSN 0029-5671 PRINTED IN ITALY BY 41 CORRECTING ERRORS G. Canale & C., Via Liguria 24, 35 THE NEXT CHALLENGE: 10071 Borgaro, Torino. CONTROLLING ENERGY IS A TOP PRIORITY Copyright deposit . CONSUMPTION In the run-up to Exascale, © 2011 SOPHIA PUBLICATIONS. Improving the energy efficiency simulation should help of memories and processors researchers confirm calculations, is a real challenge for tomorrow’s even in the event of failures. machines… SUPERCOMPUTERS LA RECHERCHE NOVEMBER 2011 N° 457 . z NEW HORIZONS 6 NEW HORIZONS CEA CADAM 1996: FRANCE DECIDES TO DEFINITIVELY STOP ALL NUCLEAR TESTING. THIS MEANS A NEW CHALLENGE FOR THE CEA: GUARANTEEING, BY 2011, THE RELIABILITY AND SECURITY OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS EXCLUSIVELY VIA SIMULATIONS. THE FOLLOWING IS A RECAP OF THIS FIF- TEEN-YEAR INDUSTRIAL AND RESEARCH ADVENTURE, WITH JEAN GONNORD FROM THE CEA.