IBM headsTop500 supercomputer list

An IBM system holds the top rank in the TOP500 Supercomputer Sites List, and the company’s systems accounted for 237 of the 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world and almost half of the list’s total processing power.

With a sustained performance of 280.6 teraflops, or trillions of floating point calculations per second, the IBM Blue Gene/L system, developed with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and installed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, led the list.

“IBM’s leadership in supercomputing continues, attributable to our ability to offer customers the widest array of high performance computing solutions in the industry today,” said Dave Turek, vice president, Deep Computing, IBM. “IBM systems — in many cases designed and deployed in partnership with our clients — are pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery, enabling the emergence of virtual worlds and advanced simulation and driving deep innovation among our
commercial clients.”

Also in the top five slots of the TOP500 list are IBM’s own Blue Gene/L Watson system at 91.29 teraflops; ASC Purple supercomputer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, now with 75.76 teraflops; and the MareNostrum supercomputer at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center with 62.63 teraflops. The Blue Gene/L system and the Purple system are systems in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Advanced Simulation and Computing Program, dedicated to ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear stockpile without underground testing.
Learn more: IBM “Powers” to Victory on TOP500 Supercomputer List (press release)