'Raptor' Supercomputer Unveiled At WPAFB

The Department of Defense's largest supercomputer was unveiled by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Supercomputing Resource Center at a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday.

The Cray, Inc. XE6 model supercomputer designated as "Raptor," after the Air Force's F-22 fighter, is powered with 43,712 2.4 GHz AMD Magny Cours computer cores.

The new Raptor supercomputing system will be used in a variety of ways. It will help to to facilitate weapon systems design, advance design concepts and accelerate modification programs for critical warfighting systems.

Through the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program researchers and scientists have the opportunity to use the new technology like the Raptor to conduct investigations that may not otherwise be feasible.

To put the computer's power in perspective, consider that a typical desktop has a single processor, and can contain upwards of eight Gigabytes of memory. The Raptor has 87.7 Terabytes of memory, equal to 89,804.8 Gigabytes, and 1.6 PetaBytes of usable disk space.

In addition to the Magny Cours eight-core processors, Raptor boasts the new Gemini interconnect which allows the processors to communicate with each other at speeds on the order of 16 Gigabytes per second.

Raptor uses the unique, revolutionary, and environmentally friendly ECOphlex™ technology, incorporating high-efficiency liquid-cooled cabinetry. Through this innovative approach, Raptor reduces cooling costs and provides additional cooling options that other HPC systems simply don't possess.