TACC Rolls Out Lonestar6 Supercomputer

The Texas Advanced Computer Center (TACC) is rolling out a next-generation supercomputer that can perform roughly three quadrillion operations per second, with help from Dell Technologies and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

What does three quadrillion mean?

To match what Lonestar6 “will compute in just one second a person would have to do one calculation every second for 100 million years,” TACC said.

TACC, operating out of the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), sees Lonestar6 as supporting a wide range of University of Texas (UT) Research Cyberinfrastructure initiatives, as well as work conducted through the Department of Energy Predictive Science Academic Alliance Program at UT-Austin.

“Two decades ago, UT made a big bet on TACC and supercomputing. It’s an investment that’s paid off handsomely,” said UT President Jay Hartzell in a release. “And, given the proliferation of data science, AI and machine learning across fields and throughout society, there’s no limit to TACC’s impact over the next 20 years,” he said.

According to TACC, Lonestar6 will “pick up the computational mantle” on a lot of research conducted at the center, including:

• Astronomers using TACC systems for analyzing data and confirming the Event Horizon Telescope’s first-ever image of a black hole;
• TACC supercomputers confirming the first observation of gravitational waves by detectors at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO);
• Supporting more than 50 COVID-19 research teams; and
• Producing urgent storm surge simulations for hurricanes and guiding first responders after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

“TACC’s growth has been remarkable and is a testament to the people who work here and the organizations that have supported us, notably UT Austin, UT System, the National Science Foundation, the O’Donnell Foundation, and Dell Technologies — our longest and most consistent champions,” said Dan Stanzione, TACC Executive Director and Associate Vice President for Research, UT-Austin.

The Lonestar6 supercomputer launch builds on TACC’s long-running partnership with Dell Technologies to design systems and tools for the academic research community in Texas. Earlier Dell Technologies systems deployed at TACC include: Frontera, which deployed in 2019 as the fastest academic supercomputer in the U.S.; the Stampede2 supercomputer that launched in 2017; and the Wrangler which came online in 2013.