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Supercomputer "K computer" Takes Consecutive No. 1 in World Ranking

Achieving world's fastest processing speed of 10.51 petaflops and 93.2% operating efficiency

RIKEN,Fujitsu Limited

Tokyo, November 14, 2011

RIKEN and Fujitsu have taken the No. 1 position for the "K computer"(1) on the 38th TOP500(2) list announced today in the US (November 14, PST), for a consecutive two terms in a row. The K computer, currently under joint development, was designated as being the world's fastest supercomputer. The TOP500 was previously announced in June 2011.

The TOP500-ranked K computer system has 864 computer racks equipped with a total of 88,128 CPUs. The system achieved the world's best LINPACK(3) benchmark performance of 10.51 petaflops (quadrillion floating-point operations per second) with a computer efficiency ratio of 93.2%.

Top 10 Supercomputers on the TOP500 List

Top 10 Supercomputers on the TOP500 List
Rank Computer Site Vendor Country Maximal LINPACK
performance achieved
1 K computer RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS) Fujitsu Japan 10,510
2 Tianhe-1A National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin NUDT China 2,566
3 Jaguar DOE/SC/Oak Ridge National Laboratory Cray Inc. US 1,759
4 Nebulae National Supercomputing Centre in Shenzhen (NSCS) Dawning China 1,271
5 TSUBAME 2.0 GSIC Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology NEC/HP Japan 1,192
6 Cielo DOE/NNSA/LANL/SNL Cray Inc. US 1,110
7 Pleiades NASA/Ames Research Center/NAS SGI US 1,088
8 Hopper DOE/SC/LBNL/NERSC Cray Inc. US 1,054
9 Tera-100 Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA) Bull SA France 1,050
10 Roadrunner DOE/NNSA/LANL IBM US 1,042

The certification ceremony will be held at SC11, the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis, being held in Seattle, Washington in the United States. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on November 15, 2011 PST (November 16, 2011 in Japan).


  • [1] K computer:

    The K computer, which is being jointly developed by RIKEN and Fujitsu, is part of the High-Performance Computing Infrastructure (HPCI) initiative led by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Configuration of the K computer began in the end of September 2010, with availability for shared use scheduled for 2012. The "K computer" is the nickname RIKEN has been using for the supercomputer of this project since July 2010. "K" comes from the Japanese Kanji letter "Kei" which means ten peta or 10 to the 16th power. The logo for the K computer based on the Japanese letter for Kei, was selected in October 2010. In its original sense, "Kei" expresses a large gateway, and it is hoped that the system will be a new gateway to computational science.

  • [2] TOP500

    The TOP500 list is a project that periodically ranks the 500 fastest supercomputers in the world, using LINPACK as a benchmark. The project, begun in 1993, publishes current rankings twice a year (in June and November). http://www.top500.org/

  • [3] LINPACK

    A program developed by J. Dongarra, Ph.D., of the University of Tennessee, for solving a system of linear equations using matrix computation. It is the benchmark program used to create the TOP500 list, which ranks the performance of the world's supercomputers (announced in June and November of every year).

About RIKEN

RIKEN is Japan's flagship research institute devoted to basic and applied research. Over 2500 papers by RIKEN researchers are published every year in reputable scientific and technical journals, covering topics ranging across a broad spectrum of disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, medical science and engineering. RIKEN's advanced research environment and strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration has earned itself an unparalleled reputation for scientific excellence in Japan and around the world. For more information, please see: http://www.riken.jp/.

About Fujitsu

Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. Over 170,000 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 4.5 trillion yen (US$55 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com

Press Contacts

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Phone: Phone: +81-78-940-5623, 5624
Company:RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science


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.

This press release has been revised as of December 17, 2018.

Date: 14 November, 2011
City: Tokyo
Company: RIKEN, Fujitsu Limited, , , , , , , , ,