Two months after the decommissioning of Isambard 2, operator GW4 has already unveiled its successor.
Named after the legendary Bristolian engineer, Isambard 3 marks the third chapter of a supercomputer experiment spearheaded by the South West consortium which includes the University of Exeter.
The moment it commenced operations last week, the machine weighed in among the most powerful computers in Britain, with a remit for researching scientific concepts using its high-performance data handling system capable of AI training. The £10 million machine’s focus includes medical studies and clean energy, modelling the foundations for future innovations such as fusion power.
That the computer utilises UK firm Arm’s flagship Neoverse processors is no coincidence, raising the profile of Britain’s wider high tech sector amid government efforts to promote Britain as an independent science superpower.
The Bristol-based system dwarfs its predecessor’s computing power by over six times, boasting a total of 55,000 cores across its high-performance NVIDIA Grace CPUs. That the computer utilises UK firm Arm’s flagship Neoverse processors is no coincidence, raising the profile of Britain’s wider high tech sector amid government efforts to promote Britain as an independent science superpower. Isambard 3 continues GW4’s long-running relationship with the company, with the original Isambard machine being the first ever Arm-based supercomputer at its 2018 launch.
With Isambard 3’s predecessor operating for just six years, work on an even more powerful sister computer – Isambard AI – is already underway. Releasing back in May, the first phase of this AI-focused offshoot provides yet another boost to scientific modelling capacity in the South West’s ‘Silicon Gorge’.
Still, the brief lifespan of these machines leaves the door open for valid criticism; the average operational life of a supercomputer is just five years, with the world’s data centres funnelling over 100 megatonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere annually. For all its focus on green research, the machine itself could ironically serve to only harm the planet further.
The consortium has taken note of this paradox. GW4’s focus on energy efficiency – using liquid cooling in an effort to reduce consumption – has seen Isambard AI rank second in the global Green500 sustainability index, with further plans to harness Isambard’s heat to warm nearby buildings. The benefits Isambard 3 boasts, it seems, aren’t something we are going to have to wait long to see. With Arm’s Director of HPC for Infrastructure, David Lecomber, highlighting GW4’s role in driving ‘research advancements for the future of sustainable energy,’ the message sent by its latest machine is clear – clean energy progress no longer ignores its own costs.
