The supercomputer of the AGH University of Science and Technology Academic Computer Centre CYFRONET was 88th in the prestigious ranking of TOP 500 world’s most powerful computers. 

The first place, as in the previous ranking in June, belongs to the Japanese supercomputer "K".

Compared to the previous ranking, "Zeus" fell by eight positions, but it is still the highest ranked Polish computer. The ranking was announced in Seattle (U.S.) at the conference "Supercomputing 11".

The Kraków supercomputer with a theoretical capacity of 162.41 TFlops (computer performance unit - PAP) is equipped with 22 TB (terabytes) of RAM. "It is used for calculations the field of chemistry, biology, nanotechnology, astrophysics, quantum physics, as well as complex problems in other areas of science that require large computing resources" - informs AGH.

In 2011, "Zeus" was extended with a modern "versatile SMP" environment, which allows to create virtual SMP machines, shared memory systems adjusted to different user needs. Huge memory capacity allows to perform calculations that require instant access to large amounts of data.

With the gradual expansion of "Zeus", Polish scientists can use its enormous power to solve the increasingly complex scientific problems.

The beginnigs of CYFRONET, to which the supercomputer belongs, dated back to 1973, when Community Computational Centre "CYFRONET" was established in Kraków. Since 1 January 1999 it is an organizationally and financially independent unit reporting to the Rector of the AGH University of Science and Technology.

CYFRONET’s primary task is to provide computing power and other IT services to research centres and educational institutions. This is the main purpose of operating so-called supercomputers, including "Zeus", at CYFRONET.

The ranking, published since 1993 and updated twice a year, included five other Polish computers. 279th place went to "Galera Plus" computer from Gdańsk, supercomputer of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling in Warsaw ranked 364th. The computer of the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center was 298th, supercomputer of the Allegro Group ranked 348th, and the machine of the Wroclaw Centre for Networking and Supercomputing was 360th.

The fastest supercomputer in the world was again the Japanese "K" built by Fujitsu, whose power exceeded 10 Pflops. TOP500 list of supercomputers is clearly dominated by the U.S. (263 units), followed by China (74 units) and Japan (30 units).

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

ekr/ agt/ bsz

tr. RL