Sun deploys supercomputer in South Africa

Sun Microsystems today announced it’s begun deploying South Africa’s largest high-performance supercomputer yet.

Working in partnership with Eclipse Networks and Breakpoint Solutions, Sun is installing the supercomputer at the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) in Cape Town. The system’s hybrid architecture is expected to deliver about 27 teraflops of peak computing power.

“The deployment of the infrastructure for Phase II at the CHPC forms part of fulfilling the government’s goal to position South Africa as a beacon of research on the continent and meeting CHPC’s mission to enable South Africa to become globally competitive through the effective use of high-end IS infrastructure,” said Stefan Jacobs, South and Eastern Europe systems practice solution architect for Sun. “In doing so, the needs for the development of high-end IT skills in the region have been identified and Sun is working toward supporting these goals with its local partners.”

The CHPC helps conduct research on such areas as energy alternatives, weather prediction and healthcare.