TheNationalStrategicComputingInitiative

OfficeofScienceandTechnologyPolicy

June,2016

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Overview

• The“What”and“Why”ofNSCI

• RetrospectiveonYear1

• FeedbackfromCommunityatAnniversaryevent

• Gettingto“What’sNext?”

• DwarfsandGiants

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ExecutiveOrder13702July29,2015

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EXECUTIVEORDER- - - - - - -

CREATINGANATIONALSTRATEGICCOMPUTINGINITIATIVE

BytheauthorityvestedinmeasPresidentbytheConstitutionandthelawsoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica,andtomaximize

benefitsofhigh-performancecomputing(HPC)research,development,anddeployment,itisherebyorderedasfollows:

TheNSCIisawhole-of-governmenteffortdesignedtocreateacohesive,multi-agencystrategicvisionandFederalinvestmentstrategy,executedincollaborationwithindustryandacademia,

tomaximizethebenefitsofHPCfortheUnitedStates.

NSCIPolicyPrinciples

ItisthepolicyoftheUnitedStatestosustainandenhanceitsscientific,technological,andeconomicleadershippositioninHPCresearch,development,anddeploymentthroughacoordinatedFederalstrategyguidedbyfourprinciples:

(1) TheUnitedStatesmustdeployandapplynewHPCtechnologiesbroadlyforeconomiccompetitivenessandscientificdiscovery.

(2) TheUnitedStatesmustfosterpublic-privatecollaboration,relyingontherespectivestrengthsofgovernment,industry,andacademiatomaximizethebenefitsofHPC.

(3) TheUnitedStatesmustadopta"whole-ofgovernment"approachthatdrawsuponthestrengthsofandseekcooperationamongallFederaldepartmentsandagencieswithsignificantexpertiseorequitiesinHPCinconcertwithindustry.

(4) TheUnitedStatesmustdevelopacomprehensivetechnicalandscientificapproachtoefficientlytransitionHPCresearchonhardware,systemsoftware,developmenttools,andapplicationsintodevelopmentand,ultimately,operations.

ThisorderestablishestheNSCItoimplementthiswhole-of-governmentstrategy,incollaborationwithindustryandacademia,forHPCresearch,development,anddeployment.

4SaulGonzalezMartirena/NSCI

StrategicObjectives

(1) Acceleratingdeliveryofacapableexascale computingsystemthatintegrateshardwareandsoftwarecapabilitytodeliverapproximately100timestheperformanceofcurrent10petaflopsystemsacrossarangeofapplicationsrepresentinggovernmentneeds.

(2) Increasingcoherencebetweenthetechnologybaseusedformodelingandsimulationandthatusedfordataanalyticcomputing.

(3) Establishing,overthenext15years,aviablepathforwardforfutureHPCsystemsevenafterthelimitsofcurrentsemiconductortechnologyarereached(the"post-Moore'sLawera").

(4) IncreasingthecapacityandcapabilityofanenduringnationalHPCecosystembyemployingaholisticapproachthataddressesrelevantfactorssuchasnetworkingtechnology,workflow,downwardscaling,foundationalalgorithmsandsoftware,accessibility,andworkforcedevelopment.

(5) Developinganenduringpublic-privatecollaborationtoensurethatthebenefitsoftheresearchanddevelopmentadvancesare,tothegreatestextent,sharedbetweentheUnitedStatesGovernmentandindustrialandacademicsectors.

FederalAgencyRoles

Theorderidentifieslead agencies,foundational R&Dagencies,anddeployment agencies:

• Lead agencies(DOE,DOD,NSF)arechargedwithdevelopinganddeliveringthenextgenerationofintegratedHPCcapabilityandwillengageinmutuallysupportiveresearchanddevelopmentinhardware,software,andworkforcetosupporttheobjectivesoftheNSCI.

• Foundational R&Dagencies(IARPA,NIST)arechargedwithfundamentalscientificdiscoveryworkandassociatedadvancesinengineeringnecessarytosupporttheNSCIobjectives.

• Deployment agencies(NASA,FBI,NIH,DHS,NOAA)willdevelopmission-basedHPCrequirementstoinfluencetheearlystagesofdesignofnewHPCsystemsandwillseekviewpointsfromtheprivatesectorandacademiaontargetHPCrequirements.

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RetrospectiveonYear1

• July29,2015 – Executive13702OrderIssued• July30,2015 – NSCIPrivateRoundtable(Academia,PrivateSector,

Government)attheWhiteHouse• August26,2015 – InauguralmeetingoftheNSCIExecutiveCouncil• September15,2015 – RFIonScienceDriversforCapableExascale issued• October20-21,2015 – WhiteHouseNSCIWorkshop(Academia,Private

Sector,Government)• February,2016 – President’sFY2017budgetrequestsubmitted• June20,2016– SunwayTaihuLight leadsnewTop500ranking• July26,2016 – PublicImplementationPlanissued• July30,2016 – NSCIAnniversaryWorkshop

NSCIExascaleRequestforInformation(RFINOT-GM-15-122)

• Specificscientificandresearchchallengesthatneed100-foldincreaseinperformance

• Potentialimpactoftheresearchtothescientificcommunity,nationaleconomy,andsociety.

• Specificlimitations/barriersHPCsystemsmustovercome

• Relatedresearchareasthatwouldbenefitfromthislevelofaugmentedcomputationalcapability.

• Importantcomputationalandtechnicalparametersofcomputationalproblemsin10years

• Alternativemodelsofdeploymentandresourceaccessibilityforexascalecomputing

• Capabilitiesneededbytheend-to-endsystem,includingdataanalyticsandvisualizationtools,shareddatacapabilities,anddataservices

• Otherissues,e.g.,training,workforcedevelopmentandcollaborationenvironments.

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HighlightedApplications:• AssuringNationalCyberSecurity• SelfAssemblybasedNano-manufacturing• RapidDesignoforganic-polymerbasedThermoelectrics• OptimizingthePowerGrid• RealisticHypersonicflowforFlightVehicles• RegionalScaleSeismicpredictions• HighResolutionAtmospheric&ClimateModels• N-by-NComparisonofAllPatientsinUS

DOENationalLaboratoriesResponses:135AcademicResponses:94IndustryResponses:8ForeignResponses:2Others:5

NSCIWorkshopAWhiteHouseWorkshopontheNationalStrategicComputingInitiative washeldOctober20-21,2015,witharound250participantsrepresentingindustry,government,academia,andotherorganizations.Duringtheworkshop,manyindividualopinionswereexpressed.SeveralideasemergedthatcouldpotentiallyinformtheNSCIimplementation:

• TheevolutionarypathforHPCismoreuncertainthanduringthepreviousdecades.Therewillbedifferentwaysofcouplingsimulationwithdataanalytics.

• ThereisreasontobeoptimisticforconvergenceofanalyticsandHPC inthelongterm–butdiversityofapproachiskeyintheshortterm.

• Anumberofhardwaretechnologyandarchitecturalinnovationswillbeattemptedtoovercomephysicallimitationsforcharge-basedCMOS.NSCImustaccommodatethisbreadthofchoiceandavoidanyprematuredownselectoftechnology.

• AlthoughexistingcloudslacktheperformancerequiredtosatisfythemostdemandingHPCapplications,theyhavealreadyprovedsuitableforanumberofscientificworkloads.CloudscouldbeaviablemodelforNSCIbroaddeployment.

• Deeperengagementwiththeindustrial(non-computing)sectorwillbekeytoachievebroaddeploymentandadvancetheNation’seconomiccompetitiveness.

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NSCIintheFY2017President’sBudgetThe2017President’sBudgetRequestwassenttoCongressonFebruary9,2016.Thetotalfundingexplicitly allocatedtotheNSCIwas$318million.• DOENationalNuclearSecurityAdministration,($95million)

– AdvancedSimulationandComputing:Activitiesandresearchleadingtodeploymentofexascale capabilityfornationalsecurityapplicationsintheearly2020’s

• DOEOfficeofScience($190million)– AdvancedScientificComputingResearch($154million)R&Danddesignto

ultimatelyachievecapableexascale systemswith1000xperformanceofcurrentHPC

– BasicEnergySciences($26million):basicresearchresultingincodestopredictivelydesignfunctionalmaterialsandchemicalprocesses

– BiologicalandEnvironmentalResearch($10million):developsciencebaseforincreasinglycomplexclimatemodelinganddataanalyticapplications

• NationalScienceFoundation($33million):– Multi-directorate:ScientificdiscoveryforHPC,HPCforscientificdiscovery,the

broaderHPCecosystem,andworkforcedevelopment

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Aboveinaddition to existingcoreprogramsalignedwithNSCIgoals

ThemesfromNSCIAnniversary(1/3)

• PerspectivesontheTop500– Don’trespondasifTaihuLight isastunt.Haveaplan,playthelonggame,and

innovate.– It’snotaboutFLOPS,itsaboutperformantsoftware.– Leadership.It’snotabouttheTop500,it’sabout“materialstoapplication”

leadership.

• Fundingandfundingstability– IfwebelieveintheNSCI,weneedrealinvestments.– Byprovidinglonger-termgrants,wecanbettertapintothestrengthsofacademia.– Tosucceed,theNSCIneedslong-terminvestmentsandpartnerships,notjustone

yearUSGmoney.

• Moonshots– Majorprogramscandrivecapabilitydevelopmentandaccessibility.– Asmallnumberofoutcomebased“moonshots”shouldbedevelopedtodrivethe

effortsforward,whichwouldalsoprovidecontextualbasisforprograms.

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ThemesfromNSCIAnniversary(2/3)

• Software– Standardinterfacesthatenablecontributionsfromthebroadercommunityareurgently

neededtoensureimpactsofnewHPCsystemshavemaximumvalue.– Moreinvestmentinsoftwareisneeded,withattentiontopruningwhatwedon’tneedinthe

future.Oftenwearenotgoodatdown-selectsbutthismaybeatimetodosowithmoreintent.

– Needtofundend-to-endcommunitycodes,creatingapipelinefromprogramminglanguagestoproblems.

– ApplytheworkflowconcepttoHPCsoftware– howcanwegetmoreefficiencyfromcodersANDenablemorescientiststoleverageHPC?

• Partnerships– Enduringpublic-privatecollaboration,emphasizingeffectivesharingofinformationbetween

USG,industry,andacademiaisnecessarybutnotsufficient.StrongcommitmentintheExecutiveBranchwillalsobenecessaryfortheNSCItosucceed.

– Opportunitiestothinkabouthubs/institutesacrossnationallabs,universitiesthatareopentoprivatesectortocreate“onestopshopping”ecosystemthatlowersbarrierstoentrybyprovidingthe“right”levelofabstraction

– Differentiatedpartnershipsareneeded– “notpeanutbutteracrossallperformers”

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ThemesfromNSCIAnniversary(3/3)

• Access/broaddeployment– Foreconomiccompetitiveness,theNSCImustdriveHPCintosmallandmedium

enterprises.– GovernmentcandomoretoincreaseaccesstoHPCsystems.– Needtoleveragedifferentsectorstoacceleratepaceofdevelopmentandbroaden

deployment.– Makeitaccessible!

• Workforce– WemustgeneratemorepeoplethatcanexploitHPC.Perhaps100timesasmany

aswedotoday.– Weneedpeopleteachingotherstoteach.– Therearetrainingandeducationopportunitiesbypartnershipsbetween

universitiesandprivatesector,butwecandobetter.

• HPCdevelopmentanddeploymentisbecomingmoreexpensiveforeveryone.PrivatesectorislookingformoreunityfromtheFederalGovernmentintermsofrequirementsandprocurementstrategies.

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Gettingto“What’sNext?”

• Workingonanewgovernanceandcollaborationmodel,whereleadagencieswouldcontributesomemodeststaffingforjointNSCImanagementactivities

• AgenciesareactivelyreviewingandrevisingtheirFY17plans

• OSTPandagenciesarecontinuingoutreach

• OSTPandNITRDareworkingonasoftwaredevelopmentconcepttoincreaseproductivityandportabilityofHPCapplications

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DwarfsandGiants

• SevenDwarfs– In2004,PhilColellaidentifiedsevennumericalpatternsforhigh-end

simulationinthephysicalsciences

• SevenGiants– In2013,theNationalResearchCouncilidentifiedsevencomputationaltasks

formassivedataanalysis

• Recallthat– NSCIAnniversaryWorkshopparticipantsrepeatedlyhighlightedthe

importanceofreducingthebarriertoentryforHPCprogramming– TheNSCIseeksconvergenceofdataanalyticsystemswithsimulationand

modelingandbroaddeploymentforleadershipinscientificcomputingandeconomiccompetitiveness

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Opportunity:Petascale inaRack

• Lowpowerrevolutioninhardware(cellphones)nowreachingHPC.– By2024:Petascale for$200K,20KW(1%ofwhatitisnow).– Costof2-3yearsofapostdoctoralresearcher,oroneyearofamid-level

engineer.– Power/coolingneedsaremodest.– Thisprice/performancepointmakesHPCpotentiallyaccessibletoamuch

broaderrangeofusers.

• Opportunity:HPCforS&Tasaubiquitoustechnology(analogoustocellphoneapps)

• Challenge:HPCforS&Tispresentlyanicheactivity.Teamsofhighly-trainedspecialistsdevelopone-offapplicationscodes.Thisdoesn’tscaletoubiquitoustechnology!

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ReducingtheBarriertoEntry

• Low-powertechnologiesleadtomorecomplexarchitecturesonasinglechiporboard.– Highdegreeofparallelism(1000xonachip),hierarchicallyorganized.– Complexmemoryhierarchiesattheboardandchiplevel.– Programmingathighperformanceisachallenge.

• Complexityofarchitecturesleadstoever-wideningsemanticgap.– 1996:twolinesofmathematicsrequired20linesofcodetoobtainhigh

performance.– 2016:twolinesofmathematicsrequires100’s(upto1000)linesofcodetoobtain

highperformance.Thedetailsdependonthealgorithmandonthearchitecture.– Suchasemanticgapisabarriertoaproductiveandagilesoftwareenvironment.

• Isaproductive,agile,performantsoftwareecosystemtechnicallyfeasible?

• Closingthesemanticgapisanecessary(butnotsufficient)conditionforsuchanecosystem.

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IncreasingtheLevelofAbstraction

Ahigherlevelofabstractionintheprogrammingsystemisessentialtoclosethesemanticgap.• Algorithmicpatterns:combinationsofcomputationanddataaccessthatare

derivedfromtheunderlyingmathematicalstructureofparticularwaysofrepresentingS&Tproblemsonacomputer.– Simulationpatterns:denselinearalgebra,sparselinearalgebra,structuredgrids,

unstructuredgrids,FFT,particles.– Bigdatapatterns:basicstatistics,“n-body”,graphs,linearalgebra,optimization,

integration,alignment(e.g.genomics).

• Approach:programmingsystembasedonahigh-levelrepresentationofthesepatterns,combinedwithtoolstoautomatethegenerationofoptimizedcodefromHLpatterncode.– Economiesofscale:patternsarecommonacrossmultipleS&Tapplications.– Themathematicalstructureofthepatternsareavailabletotherestofthe

programmingsystemasaguidetothegenerationofoptimizedcode.– Therequiredsoftwaretechnologiesareavailable.

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LayeredSoftwareStack

Applications:uselibrariesandpattern-basedtoolset,general-purposesoftwarestack.

Libraries:usepattern-based toolset,general-purposesoftwarestack.

Pattern-basedtoolset:uses

general-purposesoftwarestack

Pattern1 … PatternNSharedtools:translationtools,autotuners,

performancetools

Hardwareandassociatedgeneral-purposesoftwarestack

MetricsforSuccess

• Expressiveness:nomorethan10xexpansiongoingfromamathematicaldescriptionofanalgorithmtoHLpatterncode.

• Performance:measuredperformanceofatleast50%oftheoreticalpeakperformanceforthealgorithm.

• Portability:nomorethan10%oftheHLpatterncodemustchangeinmovingtoanewplatform.

• Supportedsoftware:design,userdocumentation;regressiontesting,bugtracking;workedexamples.

• S&Tadoption.– Shortterm:scientificsuccessesbyearlyadopters.– Long-term:richly-populatedandwidely-usedsoftwareecosystem.

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BuildingaWhole-of-NationEffort

• WeareproudofthelevelofcoordinationandcollaborationwehaveachievedacrossFederalagencies,but…– Weknowwedon’thaveamonopolyongoodideas– Weneedallofthemtosucceed

• Mustestablishsimilarlevelofcoordinationandcollaborationwithacademia,privateindustry,andinternationalpartners– Haveheldoneindustryroundtable,andtwoNSCIworkshops– JointRequestforInformationintheFall– Continueoutreachtoindustryandacademiatohelpusshapeandpromotefollow-on

activities

Outlook:ALastingInitiative

• WehaveachievedahighlevelofcoordinationandcollaborationacrossFederalagencies

• Wearestillintheprocessofestablishingsimilarlevelofcoordinationandcollaborationwithacademiaandprivatesector,butareencouragedbythelevelofengagement.

• Ourlong-termstrategyforHighPerformanceComputing– Wasinitiallyestablishedinagovernment-onlyNSCIImplementationPlanat

theendofNovemberin2015;– WassharedinpartinthePresident’s2017budgetrequest;– WasexpandeduponwiththereleaseoftheStartegic Plan;and– Continuestoevolvetoreflectexternaleventsandinputsfromindustryand

academia

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