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New supercomputer simulates whole battles

Imagine 10,000 desktop computers linked together and you’ve got some idea about the power of a new supercomputer up and running at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

With the addition of the SGI Altix 4700 computer, the Aeronautical Systems Center’s Major Shared Resource Center will house one of the Defense Department’s largest supercomputers, base officials said.

“More than a thousand researchers will rely on the Major Shared Resource Center’s powerful SGI installation to simulate entire battles, aircraft and weapons systems with unprecedented fidelity,” said Dr. Eng Lim Goh, chief technology officer for SGI.

Officials said the computer will be available for limited production this summer, with full production targeted for Oct. 1.

The SGI Altix 4700 is a 9,216-processor-core supercomputer with 20 terabytes of shared memory and 440 terabytes of usable disk space.