Skip to main content

Fujitsu

Australia

‘Gadi’ achieves Australia’s highest ranking in the Global 500 Supercomputer index

News facts:
  • Australia’s fastest supercomputer, designed and commissioned by Fujitsu for the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), has been ranked 25 in the world in the latest Global 500 Supercomputer index.
  • The supercomputer has ranked 25 in the global TOP500 list, which is most powerful supercomputer in the Southern Hemisphere and 8 times more powerful than the National Computational Infrastructure’s (NCI) previous supercomputer, also supplied by Fujitsu in 2012.
  • The supercomputer will help solve some of the most complex and pressing challenges facing the world and time has already been allocated to new research projects focused on COVID-19 as well as climate modelling, renewable energy and astrophysics.
  • The machine was named ‘Gadi’, which means ‘to search for’ in the language of the Ngunnawal, the traditional owners of the Canberra region.
  • The supercomputer was purpose-built for the NCI from technology sourced from Fujitsu and other vendors.
Canberra, June 23, 2020 - Fujitsu today announced that Gadi, Australia’s fastest supercomputer, has achieved a ranking of 25 in the TOP500 project worldwide supercomputer ranking, which is published twice yearly. This was announced at the International Supercomputing Conference, which was hosted as a virtual event for the first time.

Gadi, which has been operational since January this year, is playing a key role in the advancement of Australian research, with computing time already allocated to recipients of research grants for projects including drug design, drug discovery and vaccine development in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research projects focused on climate modelling, renewable energy and astrophysics have also been allocated an additional 180 million units of compute time, which is equivalent to one computer doing constant calculations for 20,000 years.

The supercomputer, housed at The Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra and operated by the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), represents a successful collaboration between NCI, Fujitsu and its vendors. The high-end computing expertise of Fujitsu and its vendors complements the rich portfolio of research carried out by universities, government agencies and industry.

Gadi provides a transformative collaborative platform to advance the outcomes and ambition of Australian research. The new machine is currently operating 8 times more powerfully than the previous supercomputer, which was also provided by Fujitsu. This means Australian researchers will continue to have access to world-class, high-end computing services to power their work.

NCI operates as a formal collaboration between ANU, CSIRO, Geoscience Australia, and the Bureau of Meteorology, whose researchers will use Gadi to search for answers to the most important questions facing Australia and the world.

Mike Foster, CEO, Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand, said, “We are proud that Gadi has achieved this impressive result in the TOP500, and that Fujitsu is continuing to play a role in the advancement of Australian research. This project is a true collaboration between Fujitsu, NCI and the many other organisations that made this leading-edge development possible.

“Following on from the success of its predecessor, Gadi is shaping up to be another important milestone in the relationship between Fujitsu and the NCI. Australia leads the world in many research areas and it is encouraging that this project has been made possible with Australian government funding under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). Fujitsu looks forward to seeing the positive outcomes that will be made possible by Gadi.”

Fujitsu’s relationship with the ANU and NCI dates back more than 30 years to the 1980s when Fujitsu provided one of the university’s first supercomputers. Although one of Australia’s most powerful computers at the time, in today’s terms it had the processing power of an early iPad. Gadi is tens of millions of times faster than that computer.

In addition to the ranking of Gadi as the fastest supercomputer in Australia, Fugaku, the supercomputer jointly developed by Fujitsu and RIKEN, has been ranked #1 in the global TOP500 list. Fujitsu was also well represented in the TOP500 supercomputing index with 13 Fujitsu machines included in the ranking this year.

Professor Sean Smith, Director of NCI Australia, said “Gadi represents a milestone for Australian research. We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with Fujitsu and its network to offer Australian researchers world-class computing resources to take us into the next decade.”

The other organisations working with Fujitsu in creating Gadi include:

  • Lenovo
  • Intel
  • NVIDIA
  • NetApp
  • DDN (Lustre)
  • Altair
  • APC by Schneider Electric.

Gadi uses both Fujitsu and Lenovo innovative direct liquid cooling technologies with warm water, allowing for high-density computing. The system features Fujitsu PRIMERGY CX2570 M5 servers. Click here to watch the timelapse video of the Gadi installation.

Online resources

About Fujitsu

Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. Approximately 130,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.9 trillion yen (US$35 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. For more information, please see www.fujitsu.com.

About Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand

Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand is a leading service provider of business, information technology and communications solutions. We partner with our customers to consult, design, build, operate and support business solutions. From strategic consulting to application and infrastructure solutions and services, Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand have earned a reputation as the single supplier of choice for leading corporate and government organisations. Fujitsu Australia Limited and Fujitsu New Zealand Limited are wholly owned subsidiaries of Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702). See www.fujitsu.com/au.

Media contacts

Collin Duff-Tytler
Marketing Programs and Communications Manager
Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand

Phone: Phone: +61 2 9113 9346
Mobile: Mobile: +61 409 953 349
E-mail: E-mail: collin.duff-tytler@au.fujitsu.com


All other company or product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Information provided in this press release is accurate at time of publication and is subject to change without advance notice.

Date: 23 June, 2020
City: Canberra