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RIKEN Launches First Version of "Virtual Fugaku" - A Major Step Towards Building an Ecosystem Leading to the Next-Generation Supercomputing Infrastructure -
RIKEN Launches First Version of "Virtual Fugaku" - A Major Step Towards Building an Ecosystem Leading to the Next-Generation Supercomputing Infrastructure -
JapaneseRIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS) is working on the "Virtual Fugaku" project with the aim of establishing the supercomputer Fugaku[1] as a social infrastructure and further accelerating the resolution of social issues.
Today, RIKEN has been released the first version of “Virtual Fugaku.”
With "Virtual Fugaku," users can utilize the highly prepared and adjusted software suite for Fugaku on cloud services and non-Fugaku computers, making it easier for anyone to access Fugaku's research results and advanced research computing platforms. This is expected to further contribute to scientific and technological innovation and industrial development.
By making "Virtual Fugaku" available to cloud services and domestic and international supercomputers, we aim to build an ecosystem of supercomputers.
The initial version of "Virtual Fugaku" released today supports the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing services, providing a suite of software highly prepared and adjusted for science platform “Fugaku”.
Additionally, Fugaku users can now conduct testing and trials of these software suites on AWS cloud services.
Overview of the First Version of "Virtual Fugaku"
The first version of "Virtual Fugaku" support "AWS Graviton" [2] a CPU (Central Processing Unit) provided by AWS. AWS Graviton is compatible with “A64FX”, a CPU of Fugaku. This allows software developed for Fugaku to run seamlessly on Graviton.
The first version of "Virtual Fugaku" provides frequently used open-source software prepared and adjusted for Fugaku, integrated as a container image for distribution.
By deploying Virtual Fugaku on AWS, users can build a private "Fugaku" environment. For example, research and development applications developed on Fugaku can be used in a highly secure AWS’s environment for product development without significant modifications. Conversely, basic program development and testing can be performed in a small-scale AWS’s environment before conducting large-scale computations on Fugaku.
RIKEN has also launched cloud resources centered around the AWS Graviton3E-based "Amazon EC2 Hpc7g instance" as a trial environment for “Virtual Fugaku”. This trial environment is available to all Fugaku users, allowing them to test Virtual Fugaku. Software developers considering providing their software for future Virtual Fugaku versions can also use this as a development environment. By widely using this trial environment, RIKEN will continuously review and update the software components of Virtual Fugaku.
Future Developments
"Virtual Fugaku" aims to define, deploy, and maintain industry standards for supercomputer software based on Fugaku’s achievements. Virtual Fugaku, distributes the software suite used in the active, cutting-edge Fugaku system as binary image, avoiding obsolescence.
Satoshi Matsuoka, Director, RIKEN Center for Computational Science, commented:
"Virtual Fugaku" is one of RIKEN's platform strategies aimed at greatly expanding the societal contributions of Fugaku's achievements. The results achieved using Fugaku, such as infectious disease control, weather forecasting, drug discovery, and new material development, are well-known. However, the insights gained from the continuous software maintenance and operations carried out since the development of Fugaku are also significant achievements. We believe it is RIKEN's mission to give back these achievements to society, including those resulting from such efforts. The initiative of "Virtual Fugaku" is also an effort to ensure that the current technologies and research resources are reliably inherited by the next-generation computing infrastructure currently under consideration. We are pleased to announce the first step of this initiative and encourage everyone to make full use of it.
Ushio Usami, Country Leader Japan, Worldwide Public Sector, Director, Japan Public Sector, Amazon Web Services Japan G.K., commented:
AWS is honored to support RIKEN's efforts to leverage the full potential of cloud computing through "Virtual Fugaku" and to pioneer new horizons in research and development. By expanding the cutting-edge research results cultivated with Fugaku and incorporating the latest cloud services, the forefront of academic research and society will be connected through the cloud. AWS will serve as a bridge, ushering in a new era of computational science and contributing to the infinite possibilities of Japan's research fields.
Supplementary Information
- [1] Supercomputer Fugaku The successor to K computer, Fugaku aims to contribute to Japan's growth in the 2020s by solving social and scientific issues and producing world-leading results. Shared use began in March 2021 as the world's top supercomputer in terms of power efficiency, computational performance, user convenience, groundbreaking achievements, and comprehensive capabilities for big data and AI acceleration. Currently, "Fugaku" is utilized as an essential HPC infrastructure to achieve Japan's goal of Society 5.0.
- [2] AWS Graviton ARM based CPU developed and offered as a cloud service by AWS adopts SVE (Scalable Vector Extension) technology as Fugaku's A64FX processor. AWS Graviton provide highly compatible with Fugaku, therefore applications developed on Fugaku can run on AWS Graviton without modifications.
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（Aug 5, 2024）