High Performance Computing Modernization Program
Abstract
The Department of Defense (DoD) High Performance Computing (HPC) Modernization Program (HPCMP) supports warfighter needs for technological superiority and military dominance on the battlefield by providing advanced computational services to U.S. weapons system scientists and engineers. Exploiting continuous HPC technology advances, the DoD research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) community is able to resolve critical scientific and engineering problems more quickly and with more precision. This feeds directly into the acquisition process by improving weapons system designs through an increased fundamental understanding of materials, aerodynamics, chemistry, fuels, acoustics, signal image recognition, electromagnetics, and other areas of basic and applied research as well as enabling advanced test and evaluation (T&E) environments that allow synthetic scene generation, automatic control systems and virtual test environments. HPC has been identified as a key enabling technology essential to achieving the DoD's science and technology (S&T) and T&E objectives. To emphasize the common missions and responsibilities of DoD high performance computing centers, the Department of Defense undertook administrative actions to designate the Major Shared Resources Centers (Air Force Research Laboratory, Army Research Laboratory, Engineering Research and Development Center, and Naval Oceanographic Office) together with the Maui High Performance Computing Center and the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center collectively as DoD Supercomputing Resource Centers (DSRCs). One center, established by congress does not receive programmed support through HPC Modernization Program funding, but provides supercomputing services to the DoD. The Space and Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, AL, receives support for operations through the Army. Additionally, funding for specialized programs is provided through dedicated HPC project investments (DHPCPIs). DHPCPIs support a one-time need and have no legacy within the HPC Modernization Program. DSRCs and DHPCPIs directly support the DoD S&T and T&E laboratories and test centers and are accessible to local and remote scientists and engineers via high-speed network access. In FY2009 and continuing into FY2010, significant investments will be made in mass data storage systems to replace systems reaching the end of their useful life. An integral part of the program is providing for the adaptation of broadband, widely used applications and algorithms to address S&T and T&E requirements, along with continued training of users in new system designs and concepts. The HPCMP pursues continuous interaction with the national HPC infrastructure, including academia, industry, and other government agencies to facilitate sharing of knowledge, tools, and expertise. HPCMP users average 5,000 scientists and engineers at approximately 180 locations (DoD Laboratories, Test Centers, academic institutions and commercial businesses). The integrated HPCMP consists of Supercompting Resource Centers; the Defense Research and Engineering Network; and Software Application Support. SRCs are responsible for as large a part of DoD`s S&T and T&E computational workload as feasible. SRCs provide extensive capabilities to address user requirements for hardware, software, and programming environments. DHPCPIs augment the SRCs to form total HPCMP computational capability. DHPCPIs address critical HPC requirements that cannot be met at DSRCs, such as real-time, and near real-time computing requirements, and leverage significant HPC and mission expertise located at these remote sites. All elements of the HPCMP are interconnected with all S&T and T&E user sites via the Defense Research and Engineering Network. The Software Application Support component develops critical common DoD applications programs that run efficiently on advanced HPC systems, supports technology transition activities with academic and commercial institutions, trains users, builds collaborative programming environments, and develops mechanisms to protect high value HPC application codes. The Computational Research and Engineering Acquisition Tools and Environments (CREATE) will produce supercomputer-based engineering design and test tools, improving the acquisition process for major weapons systems across the DoD. Modernization of DoD HPC capability and fulfillment of the program's vision and goals requires an on-going strategy that addresses all HPC aspects. While advancing the level of hardware performance is critical to success, the higher objective is enabling better scientific research, test and evaluation environments, and technology development for superior weapons, warfighting, and related support systems. Program goals are to acquire, deploy, operate and maintain best-value supercomputers; acquire, develop, deploy and support software applications and computational work environments that enable critical DoD research, development and test challenges to be analyzed and solved; acquire, deploy, operate and maintain a communications network that enables effective access to supercomputers and to distributed S&T/T&E computing environments; continuously educate the RDT&E workforce with the knowledge needed to employ computational modeling effectively and efficiently; and promote collaborative relationships among the DoD computational science community, the national computational science community and minority serving institutes. HPCMP RDT&E funding primarily supports government and contractor labor. Due to a general, multi-year reduction to the HPCMP Budget of ~$5,000,000, it is anticipated that the program will reduce staff positions by 40 to 50 full-time equivalents beginning in FY2011.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2011
- Source ID
- 0603755D8Z_3_0400_PB_2011
- Change Summary Explanation
- Service Agency Name
- Office of Secretary Of Defense
Related Documents
- Child Project: High Performance Computing Modernization Program
- Child Accomplishment: Department of Defense Supercomputing Resource Centers
- Child Accomplishment: Networking
- Child Accomplishment: Software Applications