CSAR Bulletin issued in August 2003

Altix System Update

Code porting is continuing on Reynolds, our 32 CPU Altix, and the performance of the codes continues to improve as new versions of the compilers and libraries are installed.

We have recently started benchmarking on Newton, our 256 CPU Altix (currently still in the USA). Codes are running very well, significantly outperforming both Green and Turing. Although we have not directly benchmarked against HPCx yet, from our preliminary results, we expect most codes to be very competitive running on Newton compared with HPCx.

Development of documentation and training material is in progress, and some of this can be found on our website (please see the article on training below). You can apply for time on Reynolds or Newton now, and help is available with code porting/testing if desired.

As you may be aware, the Research Councils have recently announced a virement opportunity to move resources from HPCx to CSAR. Please contact the CSAR Helpdesk if you are interested in this opportunity.

For more information see insert link for newton page or contact the helpdesk.

Capacity Planning

PIs are reminded about the importance of keeping capacity plans up to date. The capacity plans are used by the service as a guide to the future needs of projects and they can have a positive affect on the priority your project receives on the machines.

Please try to fill out the plans for the periods up to the close of your project. When you have completed it the figures in the unplanned units column should be zero.

If you need any help or advice with capacity planning please contact the CSAR Helpdesk.

MRCCS/NSF Summer School: High Performance Computing in Finite Element Analysis

The Manchester Research Centre for Computational Science (MRCCS) in conjunction with the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the USA are jointly organising a one-week Summer School on High Performance Computing in Finite Element Analysis. It will be held from 1st September to 5th September 2003 at the University of Manchester.

The invited speakers are from Japan, France and Germany, as well as from the UK and the USA. The format of the Summer School will be a mixture of lectures and practical sessions and will also include demonstrations in the virtual reality laboratory.

Further information and details of how to apply are available from http://www.mrccs.man.ac.uk/summer_school/2003

Please contact us (either via the Summer School contact names or via the CSAR Helpdesk) as soon as possible if you are interested.

CSAR Focus

The Summer edition of CSAR Focus is now available.

Printed copies are currently being distributed to those on the circulation list. If you would like to receive a printed copy of this edition, or be added to the mailing list for future editions, please contact Claire Green with details of your postal address.