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InfoSession

Hardware Technology Information Session

Last Update: April 6, 2016

Synopsis: The Exascale Computing Project will launch a competitive procurement for vendor-led hardware architecture R&D called PathForward to improve the competitiveness of the Offeror’s HPC exascale system proposals in response to DOE 2019 system acquisition RFPs.  This information session will provide potential PathForward vendors with information concerning the PathForward Hardware Architecture R&D program (strategy, process, and timeline) and draft PathForward technical requirements.  

Attachments

Please see PathForward Draft Technical Requirements attached at the bottom of this document


Executive Summary

The Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Office of Science (SC) are collaborating to establish the Exascale Computing Project (ECP) to target the R&D, product development, integration and delivery of at least two exascale computing systems for delivery in 2023.  A multi-laboratory team provides the technical leadership of the ECP.  The overall project has four focus areas: Application Development, Software Technology, Hardware Technology and Exascale Systems.  A key opportunity of the ECP is to apply co-design principles to change the design of future hardware architecture concepts.  

 

The ECP will launch a competitive procurement for vendor-led hardware architecture R&D called PathForward.  PathForward seeks solutions that will maximize energy and concurrency efficiency while improving the performance (including overall time to solution and scientific delivery), productivity, and reliability of key DOE extreme-scale applications by 2022 for operation in 2023. PathForward responses should describe R&D that will;

 

1.     Substantially improve the competitiveness of the Offeror’s HPC exascale system proposals in 2019,  where application performance figures of merit will be the most important criteria.

2.     Improve the Offeror’s confidence in the value and feasibility of aggressive advanced technology options that they are willing to propose   for the HPC exascale system acquisitions. 

3.      Communicate the quantitative information to identify the most promising technology options to that would be included in proposals for the HPC exascale systems in 2019.  

 

PathForward draft Technical Requirements will be posted soon at http://www.exascaleinitiative.org/pathforward/

 

Purpose of the Information Session

The purpose of this session is to provide potential PathForward Offerors with information concerning the PathForward Hardware Architecture R&D program (strategy, process, timeline) and draft PathForward technical requirements.  This meeting will allow potential PathForward Offerors to comment on the draft technical requirements either in the public session or in private sessions. To meet fairness of opportunity requirements, all Q/A discussions will be captured, sanitized of proprietary content and posted on the PathForward public website.  Requests for private sessions must be requested one week in advance of the meeting.  If you are unable to attend, please contact William Besancenez <besancenezwr@ornl.gov> to make alternative arrangements.  Since space is limited, vendors are asked to limit their attendance at the public session to five people.

 

Who Should Attend?

The PathForward vendor meeting should be attended by companies that have a track record of Hardware Architecture R&D that impact advanced computing systems used in production by the leading HPC sites for DOE, DOD or other U.S. government agencies.  System integrators should have experience with integration and delivery of large scale integrated systems to the DOE and DOD.   Computing component providers should have experience with providing the building blocks for node designs that are integrated into first-of-a-kind, large scale deployments, and should have an established relationship as a major supplier of components to likely responders who would act as the system integrators for exascale computing platforms.

 

Draft Agenda

8:00-8:30 - Coffee/Tea

8:30-9:00 - ECP Overview - Paul Messina

9:00-9:45 - Hardware Technology Focus Area  - Jim Ang

     and PathForward Goals and Objectives

9:45 - 10:00  Break

10:00-10:45 - Overview of PathForward draft Technical Requirements - John Shalf

10:45-11:30 - Q/A with Jim, John and the ECP IPT

11:30-12:30 - Lunch Break

12:30 - 7:30 - Twelve Vendor private meetings of 30 minutes each,

With 5 minute buffers for ECP and PathForward proposal team to have Bio breaks, and transition time between vendors

Afternoon for one-on-one meetings between ECP and Vendors. We will have 30 minute slots. Assuming we start at 1PM we can accommodate ~12 vendor meetings. These times are ET.  Additional meeting can be scheduled with vendors should there not be time to meet with all interested parties during the afternoon.  

 

Please refer to http://www.exascaleinitiative.org/ for updates to the agenda.


Info Session Location

The Washington Dulles Airport Marriott will host the event.

The event will begin promptly at 8:30am on April 6, 2016.

 

45020 Aviation Drive, Dulles, VA 20166-7506

Hotel Phone:(703) 471-9500

Reservation line: 1-800-228-9290

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