World’s Most Powerful Computer Deploys Over 2PB of Panasas Parallel Storage

Panasas, Inc. announced that the Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) plans to utilize Panasas Parallel Storage for its newest record-setting Roadrunner computer system which is the most powerful supercomputer in the world.

The new 1 Petaflop system is designed to run complex, scientific calculations solving problems related to defense, energy, environment, infrastructure and national security concerns. The Panasas ActiveStor parallel storage system with its embedded parallel file system is an essential component in the Roadrunner deployment that maximizes I/O performance for simulation and modeling applications. Roadrunner will become a critical national security resource for some of the most important scientists in the United States and has the potential to fundamentally change scientific innovation.

LANL is one of the world’s leading supercomputer facilities and part of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The newest Roadrunner supercomputer, supplied by IBM, is a 3000 node hybrid Linux Cluster with over 12,900 processors, comprised of a combination of x86 and Cell microprocessors.

"We will be connecting the new system to our site-wide file system solution to enable global parallel access to our existing Panasas storage. Additionally, we will be adding significant Panasas storage resources to the global file system service to handle the additional parallel I/O load Roadrunner will generate. Panasas has been our production global parallel file system solution used concurrently by all our supercomputers for a number of years and Roadrunner will take advantage of the production Panasas storage system to make the new supercomputer useful quickly for scientists,” said Gary Grider, Deputy Division Leader of the Los Alamos High Performance Computing Division.

Panasas has installed its products in more than 30 countries across six continents as parallel storage is being adopted globally as the preferred solution for high-performance computing environments. All Panasas ActiveStor parallel storage systems include the award-winning object-based PanFS parallel file system. PanFS, which solves performance and scalability issues through direct parallel data paths, is the foundation of the emerging pNFS (Parallel NFS) industry standard endorsed by every major storage and system provider.

"Panasas has a deep history of meeting the demanding storage requirements of large-scale clustered computing environments at both commercial and government research organizations," said Victor Perez, chief executive officer at Panasas. "Our commitment to high performance storage, superior reliability, and simple manageability sets Panasas apart from alternative storage solutions as evidenced by organizations such as LANL who are solving major global issues."

The Panasas ActiveStor 5200 and ActiveStor 3200 deliver 20 TBs of storage capacity per 4U shelf, and up to 200 TBs in a single-rack system which can be easily installed in as little as 15 minutes.