Indiana is home to one of the fastest computers in the world

IU’s supercomputer, Big Red, looks more like a row of black refrigerators than the large, fast computer one might imagine. \nIn June 2006, Big Red was ranked the 23rd fastest in the TOP500 list of the world’s fastest computers. \nThe list is issued twice a year at the Supercomputing Conference. It is easy for a supercomputer to slip down the list. Big Red slipped to No. 31 due to new computers being introduced each year that debut in the top 50, but is now back up to No. 30. As of August 2006, Big Red was also the fastest academically-owned supercomputer in the United States.\nThe jump in ranking came after an upgrade the network received that doubled computing capacity and network switches and increased system performance, which resulted from an agreement between IU and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. IU now owns half of the capacity added with the upgrade, while Purdue owns the other half. \nDave Hancock described the Big Red supercomputer as more of a network of computers than a single one. Hancock is group manager of the High Performance Systems team within University Information Technology Services, which \noperates Big Red. \n“It’s all in one place and connects to not one central computer, but central network switches,” he said, referring to the large machine housed in Wrubel Computing Center in Bloomington. Hancock said that a supercomputer such as Big Red costs between $5 million and $10 million, with the network costing about one-third as much.\nHancock went on to explain that the computer and network operate as a kind of “puzzle,” to which different users have different “pieces.” Bringing those pieces together allows the supercomputer to operate at peak efficiency. He added that Big Red’s abilities are akin to connecting a bunch of laptops to a high-speed network. \n“It’s 1,000 times faster than your PC,” he said. \nThe computer, which IU purchased in 2006, serves Indiana as one network to which any private enterprises can connect, whatever their intentions. Locally, physicists, geologists and others studying the “hard sciences” as well as life sciences are among the main researchers using the supercomputer. \nInformatics Research Institute Director Beth Plale works within the IU School of Informatics to research weather using the Big Red network. The network allows forecasting programs to run more quickly in response to weather changes. Plale said Big Red is an essential component to the project. \n“It’s very important that a fast network be there,” she said. “It makes it easier to do (research) in the computer science department.” \nIn order to be even more accessible, Big Red is part of the TeraGrid network, which connects different supercomputers in a larger network. The network, where 30 percent of Big Red’s capabilities are allocated, is useful for researchers who may not have local abilities to use the supercomputer. \nPlale said Big Red is a draw for researchers in informatics and computer science. \n“IU’s attention to supercomputing makes it a good place to do informatics research,” she said. “That makes it attractive for informatics researchers to come to IU.”