MS University’s Supercomputer Count Rises to 11 as Ahmedabad’s PRL Gifts ₹2-Crore Machine to Boost Research Capabilities
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
The Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda now has 11 supercomputers, with the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, gifting the university a supercomputer worth around ₹2 crore to strengthen its research infrastructure.
The new machine has been installed at the university's computer centre and will be made available to researchers for complex calculations, computational modelling and other research activities.
The university's research cell had been in discussions with PRL about acquiring a supercomputer. After learning about the research being conducted at MSU, the Ahmedabad-based laboratory offered the machine to the university.
Research Cell Director Prof PK Jha said PRL had been using the supercomputer since 2015. The older machine will now be used by the laboratory, while MSU will procure a replacement. Based on its computing capacity, the new supercomputer is estimated to be worth around ₹2 crore.
Computing Capacity of 5.2 Trillion Calculations Per Second
The supercomputer is divided into six nodes, each equipped with two processors operating at 2.30 GHz, 24 CPU cores and 256 GB of RAM.
Each node can perform 883 billion calculations per second, taking the combined computing capacity of the six nodes to 5.2 trillion calculations per second.
Each blade has 144 CPU cores and 1.5 terabytes of RAM, while every node has 900 GB of hard disk storage.
The machine is expected to support research requiring intensive computing power, particularly complex calculations and virtualisation.
Supercomputer to Support Research Across Disciplines
The new facility is expected to benefit researchers working in physics, chemistry, material science, computational modelling and artificial intelligence.
Prof Jha said it was a matter of pride that PRL had selected MSU to receive the supercomputer, given the laboratory's standing as one of the country's leading research institutions and its association with academic institutions across India.
The facility could also extend research computing support to scholars from outside the university, although MSU is still considering whether to allow external researchers to use it.
How MS University Built Its Supercomputing Infrastructure
MSU received its first supercomputer from the Gujarat government around five years ago.
More recently, IIT Bombay and the Central Government's Anusandhan Research Foundation provided nine supercomputers to the university's physics department.
With the addition of the machine gifted by PRL, the university's total supercomputer count has risen to 11, expanding its capacity to support advanced research and computational work.
