FRITZ and ALEX

New computing resources to run molecular dynamics simulations and applications for machine learning.

FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg

The HPC system was delivered and installed at NHR@FAU by spring 2022 and will support sophisticated simulations, particularly atomistic simulations in biochemistry.

We are optimizing the operating parameters in cooperation with MEGWARE, especially those relevant to high energy efficiency.
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Wellein | Professorship for High Performance Computing, Head of NHR@FAU | FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg

KPI's

Fritz
5.22 PFlops Rpeak (CPU-only)	Overall computing power
944	Compute nodes
67,968	CPU cores
236 TByte	Total memory

Alex
4.99 PFlops Rpeak (A100 GPU-only)	Overall computing power
70	Compute nodes
8,960	CPU cores
51 TByte	Total memory

With almost 1000 Intel compute nodes and 600 NVIDIA GPUs, the new NHR supercomputer, consisting of „Fritz“ and „Alex“, is used at FAU for molecular dynamics simulations as well as applications for machine learning. With 5.22 PFlops R_PEAK (CPU-only) the new HPC cluster provides 8-times higher performance than the current most powerful HPC system at FAU.

MEGWARE was already awarded the contract in mid 2021.

One major advantage of Intel solutions is the renowned high computing power of their processors and especially the compatible software environment. Alex comprises 600 NVIDIA GPUs that have been integrated into nodes with a large memory.

This complementary architecture offers researchers both at FAU and across Germany a new level of quality in their simulations.