ECMWF to Use DDN EXAScaler Storage and Atos’ BullSequana XH2000 Supercomputer to Help Predict Extreme Weather Events
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 26, 2020 — DDN®, the global leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and multicloud data management, has collaborated with Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, to enhance weather prediction capabilities for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). ECMWF will be equipped with an enhanced computing capacity to help predict the occurrence and intensity of extreme weather events significantly ahead of time, with an improved infrastructure comprised of more than 91PB of DDN EXAScaler® storage, connected to BullSequana XH2000 supercomputer from Atos.
“Weather forecasting is computationally expensive and demands the best in high-performance computing power,” said Florence Rabier, director-general at ECMWF. “Our new supercomputing capabilities will enable us to deliver much-improved numerical weather predictions while maximizing energy efficiency.”
The BullSequana XH2000 supercomputer from Atos will be deployed at the ECMWF data center in Bologna, Italy, in 2020 and will be one of the world’s most powerful meteorological supercomputers, supporting weather prediction researchers from over 30 countries across Europe. With the new platform utilizing DDN EXAScaler, ECMWF will be able to run higher resolution weather forecasts in under an hour, improving their ability to predict increasingly severe weather phenomena.
“Scientists and researchers are continuously pursuing new ways to improve weather predictions and research. DDN’s EXAScaler storage solutions will accelerate one of the most powerful meteorological services supercomputers in the world,” said Paul Bloch, President and Co-Founder at DDN. “DDN EXAScaler is designed and uniquely engineered to meet the demands of data-intensive climate and weather simulations. Our collaboration with Atos and ECMWF will provide solutions that deliver the ultimate performance to reduce time to discovery and unlock innovation.”
In addition to DDN EXAScaler, the BullSequana XH2000 is equipped with AMD EPYC™ processors and Mellanox HDR InfiniBand (200Gb/s) solutions, enhancing the system’s overall speed, efficiency and stability.
“Our BullSequana XH2000 and DDN EXAScaler combined solution, provides more computing power to support users to go beyond the limits of traditional simulation,” said Agnès Boudot, senior vice president, Head of HPC & Quantum at Atos. “As the leading European supercomputer manufacturer, we are proud to be working together with DDN and ECMWF to not only boost Europe’s weather prediction capabilities and take proactive precautions as needed, but to also explore new technologies to be prepared for next-generation applications.”
About DDN
DataDirect Networks (DDN) is the world’s leading big data storage supplier to data-intensive, global organizations. For more than 20 years, DDN has designed, developed, deployed and optimized systems, software and storage solutions that enable enterprises, service providers, universities and government agencies to generate more value and to accelerate time to insight from their data and information, on premise and in the cloud. Organizations leverage the power of DDN storage technology and the deep technical expertise of its team to capture, store, process, analyze, collaborate and distribute data, information and content at the largest scale in the most efficient, reliable and cost-effective manner. DDN customers include many of the world’s leading financial services firms and banks, healthcare and life science organizations, manufacturing and energy companies, government and research facilities, and web and cloud service providers.
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