DUG Selects Intel to Build Its Latest Cloud-Based Supercomputer Tailored for Oil and Gas Exploration
Intel Images: Intel Tailors High-Performance Computing System for the Geophysics Community
DownUnder GeoSolutions* (DUG) on Thursday announced its new Intel-based high-performance computing (HPC) system tailored for the geophysics community. The system was unveiled in a ceremony that took place at the Skybox* Houston data center, where the supercomputer will be housed.
Harnessing the power of Intel technology, the 250 petaflop (single-precision) supercomputer, known as “Bubba,” will join other DUG data centers around the world to form DUG’s McCloud service — a global network of cloud-based high-performance computing systems used by the oil and gas industry for geophysics research and exploration.
The supercomputers that make up the DUG McCloud global network feature over 40,000 Intel® Xeon® processor-based nodes, and are some of the most powerful, energy-efficient HPC systems in the world that are optimized for geophysical research. Geophysical research relies heavily on advanced computing resources to obtain a more detailed picture of the earth’s subsurface. Intel Xeon processors deliver companies like DUG highly optimized computing, artificial intelligence and analytics capabilities for advanced simulation and modeling.
Like other supercomputers in the DUG McCloud global network, Bubba is housed in a purpose-built facility that leverages immersive cooling technology. The computing nodes are submerged in more than 700 specially designed tanks filled with polyalphaolefin dielectric fluid. The facility features 10 20-foot tall cooling towers with over 13 miles of pipes to cool the system.
Intel Xeon-based computing nodes are submerged in DownUnder GeoSolutions's (DUG) specially designed immersion system tank in DUG’s Perth McCloud installation. DUG on Thursday, May 16, 2019, announced its new Intel-based high-performance computing system tailored for the geophysics community. (Credit: DownUnder GeoSolutions)
Mark Lommers, DownUnder GeoSolutions (DUG) chief engineer, submerges an Intel Xeon-based computing node in an immersion system at the Skybox Data Center in Houston. DUG on Thursday, May 16, 2019, announced its new Intel-based high-performance computing system tailored for the geophysics community. (Credit: DownUnder GeoSolutions)
Dr. Matthew Lamont (left), DownUnder GeoSolutions (DUG) managing director, and Phil Schwan, DUG CTO, stand among the cooling tanks that make up the "Bubba" supercomputer at the Houston Skybox data center. DUG on Thursday, May 16, 2019, announced its new Intel-based high-performance computing system tailored for the geophysics community. (Credit: DownUnder GeoSolutions)
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