ecns [expanded by feedex.net]: China seeks homegrown expertise as U.S. bans supercomputer chip sales

ecns [expanded by feedex.net]

ecns

China seeks homegrown expertise as U.S. bans supercomputer chip sales
http://www.ecns.cn/2015/04-21/162497.shtml
Apr 21st 2015, 02:15





Chinese supercomputer builders have downplayed a U.S. government ban on selling Intel processors to China and said the ban may instead boost homegrown expertise.


Lu Yutong, chief designer of Tianhe-2, currently the world's most powerful supercomputer system, said the system will "definitely achieve its upgrade goal" despite the ban.


"Supercomputer upgrades are not solely decided by CPUs, though the ban will have some negative impact," said Lu.


Chinese engineers had planned to upgrade Tianhe-2's processing power from its current 55 petaflops per second (55,000 trillion calculations per second) to more than 100 petaflops in 2015.


The Tianhe-2 system is the world's largest assembly of Intel Xeon CPUs and Xeon Phi accelerators, both of which were banned for sale to four Chinese organizations including the National University of Defense Technology by the U.S. Department of Commerce in early April.


The upgrade was expected to continue to use Intel Xeon CPUs, but now it seems that Chinese engineers will have to find another way.


"We already have a technical solution for the upgrade and we will reveal it when the time is right," said Lu, adding that China's supercomputer developers will meet any challenges.


Zhang Yunquan from the Institute of Computing Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the ban may encourage China to make better use of homegrown technology. "From a long-term perspective, it is good for the development of Chinese supercomputing."


In 2012, China launched the Sunway Bluelight, a supercomputer that uses processors designed and built in China. It was ranked No. 14 on the Top 500 list that year.


China also has the FT-1500 CPU, which was used in Tianhe-2 but only has processing prowess equal to Intel CPUs from back in the Tianhe-1 era.


"Independent acquisition of key technology is a national strategy," said Lu, adding the U.S. ban won't change the goal.


Fundamental change requires breakthroughs in more than just a few products. Chen Jian, chief executive officer of Beijing Paratera Tech Co. Ltd., said Intel not only has the best chips, but also the best engineers.


Lu also rejected the U.S. allegation that Tianhe-2 was used to conduct nuclear explosions. He said the system has been used for seismic simulation and in research on HIV/AIDS treatment.



Related news



Chinese firm creates key telecom chip




ARM unveils latest chip design aimed at 2016 smartphones




Samsung to be main chip supplier for Apple's next iPhone: S Korea media




Chip sales help cushion Samsung Q4 profit decline




Tiny chip will put Beidou system on phones
2014-11-28



China's chip industry awaits boom despite challenges
2014-11-10




Detailed plans for four FTZs announced


Chinese president arrives in Islamabad for state visit


March hottest month worldwide since 1880


Chinese lawmakers weigh harsh regulation on baby formula


Japanese PM sends ritual offering to notorious war-linked shrine


U.S. stocks rebound strongly on China stimulus


43 dinosaur egg fossils unearthed in south China


E-books overtake paper in China


Pakistan dispatches 8 fighters to escort Xi's plane on state visit











X



选择其他平台 >>
Share





ShareX





QQ Miniblog




bSync




Sina Miniblog





Qzone


Sohu Miniblog


Xinhua Miniblog


Shou Ji


Netease MB


Kaixin001


Douban




phone fast transmit


Renren


Tianya


IFeng MB


QQ Friends


WeChat


QQ friend





More... (133)


bShare







You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at https://blogtrottr.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe here:
https://blogtrottr.com/unsubscribe/qhG/Zc7fXt