{"id":27071,"date":"2024-07-12T07:05:52","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T23:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives"},"modified":"2024-07-12T07:05:52","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T23:05:52","slug":"australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives","title":{"rendered":"Australia Deploys Its Most Advanced Supercomputer for AI and Research Objectives"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Australia launches &#8216;Virga&#8217;, a high-performance supercomputer revolutionizing AI and research, setting new standards for computational prowess Down Under.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_67_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69df8feb97dfb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69df8feb97dfb\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#Short_Summary\" title=\"Short Summary:\">Short Summary:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#Australia_Unleashes_%E2%80%98Virga_Supercomputer\" title=\"Australia Unleashes &#8216;Virga&#8217; Supercomputer\u00a0\">Australia Unleashes &#8216;Virga&#8217; Supercomputer\u00a0<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#A_Modest_Start\" title=\"A Modest Start\">A Modest Start<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#Inside_the_Beast\" title=\"Inside the Beast\">Inside the Beast<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#An_Evolution_of_Power\" title=\"An Evolution of Power\">An Evolution of Power<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#The_Lighter_Approach\" title=\"The Lighter Approach\">The Lighter Approach<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#A_Vision_for_the_Future\" title=\"A Vision for the Future\">A Vision for the Future<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#Historical_Ties\" title=\"Historical Ties\">Historical Ties<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#Funding_the_Future\" title=\"Funding the Future\">Funding the Future<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#Swimming_with_the_Big_Fish\" title=\"Swimming with the Big Fish\">Swimming with the Big Fish<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\/#Looking_Ahead\" title=\"Looking Ahead\">Looking Ahead<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Short_Summary\"><\/span>Short Summary:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Virga is Australia&#8217;s $14.5M supercomputer, ranked 72nd globally.<\/li>\n<li>Built by CSIRO, it enhances AI and machine learning capabilities.<\/li>\n<li>Housing cutting-edge hardware, it advances Australia&#8217;s scientific research.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Australia_Unleashes_%E2%80%98Virga_Supercomputer\"><\/span>Australia Unleashes &#8216;Virga&#8217; Supercomputer\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>Australia&#8217;s leapfrogging in the computational world with its new supercomputer, Virga. Although it stands as the 72nd fastest globally, this machine is a game-changer for Australia&#8217;s scientific landscape. What\u2019s cooking behind the scenes is truly transformative.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Modest_Start\"><\/span>A Modest Start<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Virga&#8217;s story starts with its $14.5 million price tag. Compared to the top dog, the Frontier supercomputer in the United States, which cost a staggering $600M, Virga seems modest. But don\u2019t be fooled by the numbers. Money isn&#8217;t everything.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Virga&#8217;s entry signals a new era of computational prowess,&#8221; noted SJ, chief editor of scijournal.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Inside_the_Beast\"><\/span>Inside the Beast<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Virga flexes 60,000 CPU cores, driven by Intel\u2019s 4th Gen 36-core Xeon processors, and muscled further by NVIDIA H100 GPUs. These beasts pack 94GB of memory each. According to Cosmos, Virga required 50 tons of IT hardware to be operational.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;High-performance computing systems like Virga play an essential role in robotics and AI developments, crucial to our National Robotics Strategy,&#8221; stated Elanor Huntington, CSIRO&#8217;s Executive Director of Digital, National Facilities, and Collections.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"An_Evolution_of_Power\"><\/span>An Evolution of Power<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Despite its current position, Virga outperforms Australia&#8217;s prior HPC systems: Bracewell and Petrichor, which featured 25,000 CPU cores. Virga delivers almost 15 petaflops of computational performance, setting a new benchmark in Australia&#8217;s computational capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our data needs have ballooned. We needed Virga to step in and shoulder the computational load for our ambitious research goals,&#8221; remarked Huntington.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Lighter_Approach\"><\/span>The Lighter Approach<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Located at the Canberra Data Centre (CDC), Virga isn&#8217;t just about raw power. It\u2019s a feat of engineering efficiency. Hybrid direct liquid cooling keeps the machine cool without relying heavily on energy-consuming air systems, crafting an eco-friendly computing behemoth.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;With the H100 GPUs, our AI models were transforming from sluggish crawlers to sprinters. Virga is essentially a steroids shot to this AI powerhouse,&#8221; commented Angus Macoustra, CSIRO&#8217;s Chief Technology Officer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Vision_for_the_Future\"><\/span>A Vision for the Future<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>CSIRO eyes a brighter horizon with Virga, focusing on AI, machine learning, digital science, and much more. From dissecting MRI scans to propelling the National Robotics Strategy, Virga is the fulcrum of Australia&#8217;s innovative leap in research.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Historical_Ties\"><\/span>Historical Ties<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>CSIRO\u2019s HPC journey dates back to 1949 with CSIRAC, and since then, Australia&#8217;s commitment to high-performance computing has only escalated. Bracewell\u2019s deployment in 2017 was notable, but Virga sets a new precedent.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Funding_the_Future\"><\/span>Funding the Future<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Australia isn&#8217;t stopping at Virga. The government recently infused $70 million to replace ageing systems at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre. Magnus and Galaxy, which currently handle a myriad of scientific research, are on their way out to make room for more powerful successors. Additionally, another $70 million was allocated to replace Australia\u2019s top-performing Raijin supercomputer.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;With fresh funding, Australia can solidify its global research position and maintain competitiveness,&#8221; expressed John Langoulant, Pawsey Supercomputing Centre Board chairman.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Swimming_with_the_Big_Fish\"><\/span>Swimming with the Big Fish<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Despite its modest standing, Virga signals Australia\u2019s intent to swim with the big fish. Modernizing their infrastructures with investments, Australia is gearing up to offer scientists performance facets that were once considered out of reach.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Looking_Ahead\"><\/span>Looking Ahead<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Virga&#8217;s arrival marks an exciting chapter. Australia&#8217;s computational drive, led by CSIRO, aligns with global trends focusing on AI, machine learning, and digital economies. Nurturing these domains will invigorate industry, inspire innovation, and uphold Australia\u2019s future-proof scientific stride.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;The installation of Virga is not merely about upgrading IT. It&#8217;s about driving Australian innovation front and center,&#8221; emphasized Macoustra.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>SJ, your tech aficionado, signs off. Until the next tale of silicon and circuits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Australia launches &#8216;Virga&#8217;, a high-performance supercomputer revolutionizing AI and research, setting new standards for computational prowess Down Under. Short Summary: Virga is Australia&#8217;s $14.5M supercomputer, ranked 72nd globally. Built by CSIRO, it enhances AI and machine learning capabilities. Housing cutting-edge hardware, it advances Australia&#8217;s scientific research. Australia Unleashes &#8216;Virga&#8217; Supercomputer\u00a0 Australia&#8217;s leapfrogging in the computational &#8230; <a title=\"Australia Deploys Its Most Advanced Supercomputer for AI and Research Objectives\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/australia-deploys-its-most-advanced-supercomputer-for-ai-and-research-objectives\" aria-label=\"Read more about Australia Deploys Its Most Advanced Supercomputer for AI and Research Objectives\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[466],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27071"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27071\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scijournal.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}