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Chapter_3_questions
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Chapter_3_questions
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HPC Centers
Kysymys osion loppuun
Select all the correct options that are related to operating supercomputers and their services.
• = Running supercomputer services includes several types of tasks in which a person can specialise to, for example operating physical infrastructure, maintaining software packages,
and offering software/programming support for various user groups.
• = Maintaining a supercomputer and offering HPC services requires teamwork
• ~ To be able to work with supercomputers, a person needs to master a wide variety of skills, starting from HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning)
and ending with customer service about a specific Python library needed for modeling weather.
• ~ Administrating supercomputers is quite dull and monotonous work where architectures are straightforward and trivial to implement and maintain.
Energy and cooling
Kysymys osion loppuun
Energy consumption is one of the biggest challenges when designing and building more efficient supercomputers, and a large proportion of the energy used by a
computer is converted to heat. Which of the following statements about energy consumption and cooling are true?
• Serial computing and CPUs are preferably used in modern supercomputers because it provides better performance per energy (FALSE)
• The biggest supercomputer in the world in June 2020 was the Japanese Fugaku. It has an energy consumption comparable to roughly 10,000 average Finnish households. (TRUE)
• Air cooling is more complex and efficient method than liquid cooling (FALSE)
• In CSC's Kajaani data center, LUMI's waste heat is going to contribute to the local municipal household heating (TRUE)
• Supercomputers are measured, evaluated and ranked also by their energy efficiency (TRUE)
Buying a supercomputer
Kysymys osion loppuun
Buying a supercomputer: select the true statements from the options below
• Buying a supercomputer differs only mildly from buying a normal computer, only the scale and the price are different (FALSE)
• In supercomputer procurements the technology that is being bought is usually already available on the market (FALSE)
• Benchmark commitments, price, operating costs of the system and compliance are considered when making a final decision of purchasing a supercomputer (TRUE)
• Acquiring a supercomputer requires multidisciplinary teamwork (TRUE)
Accessing Supercomputers and Running Jobs
Kysymys osion loppuun
Accessing supercomputer and running jobs on HPC environment is different to normal personal computer. Which of the following statements are true?
• Usually, supercomputers are used via graphical user interface (FALSE)
• A supercomputer may serve hundreds or thousands of users (TRUE)
• The batch system takes care of scheduling the distribution of the resources in a fair way and enables jobs to be run on supercomputer 24/7 throughout
the whole year. (TRUE)
• CSC provides free access to supercomputer resources for Finnish researchers, state research institutes (if the results are made public), and even for
students of Finnish Universities/Universities of Applied Sciences (TRUE)
• Command line interface is like a Formula One car, only few have possibility to try it and even fewer can learn to use it (FALSE)
Operating systems
Kysymykset osion loppuun
Most used operating system in supercomputers is
= Linux
~ Windows
~ macOS
~ Android
Which advantages Linux has over other operating systems in supercomputer environments? Select all that apply.
• Modularity (TRUE)
• Open source, thus it is possible to customize the operating system (TRUE)
• Performance can be optimized (TRUE)
• Stable (TRUE)
• Free (TRUE)
Chapter 3 – lopputentti
1. When you buy a new phone or a computer, perhaps you consider whether to buy something now or wait for a little while for a newer model. Supercomputer vendors
must know the current situation but sell future promises. For the money invested, the buyer wants to have state-of-the-art hardware which does not exist yet at
the time of purchase. Which of the following are tools for a successful deal?
= Performance commitments that the vendor will propose
= Request for information (RFI) then proposal (RFP) to initiate negotiations with potential sellers.
= Teamwork of multiple people from both - buyer's and seller's - sides.
~ A Well-functioning online store for selecting the right supercomputer parts and real time price updates.
~ Specifications of an old supercomputer which will be updated by adding more memory and CPUs.
2. Using a supercomputer is
= like visiting a post office or a bank. You take a queuing number and wait for your turn. With supercomputers this is done with a batch queuing system. Note
that a batch queue is not implemented sequentially, and several variables effect how the queue is unloaded.
= possible over the internet by using a text-based user interface or in some cases a web browser.
~ free of charge only for researchers. Other have to pay for the usage.
= like learning to drive a formula car: great power may come with more difficult usage thus requiring specific skills
3. Running a modern supercomputing service is a complicated endeavor requiring teamwork. Connect job titles and tasks of a typical computing center.
Data center engineer = operate and maintain the power and cooling infrastructure and the network connections and replace faulty components.
System administrator = monitor hardware (HW) status and load, make necessary operating system adjustments and updatedsystem software to fix
problems and maintain system security.
Scientific software support staff = procure, install, and maintain the software packages based on the users' needs. Help customers in using the packages, write
user guides and instructions, and provide training.
HPC programming support staff = helps users in porting, parallelizing, and optimizing their codes for the supercomputers.
4. Energy consumption is one of the biggest challenges when designing and building more efficient supercomputers, and a large proportion of the energy used by a
computer is converted to heat. Which of the following statements about energy consumption and cooling are true?
• Energy consumption was a main reason for moving into massively parallel computing instead of making single CPUs more efficient. (TRUE)
• As far as climate issues are concerned, supercomputers are somewhat contradictory machines: they help in understanding and fighting climate change, but they
use large amounts of energy. (TRUE)
• Air cooling is more complex and efficient method than liquid cooling (FALSE)
• Supercomputers are measured, evaluated and ranked also by their energy efficiency (TRUE)
5. Which advantages Linux has over other operating systems in supercomputer environments? Select all that apply.
• Modularity (TRUE)
• Open source, thus it is possible to customize the operating system (TRUE)
• Performance can be optimized (TRUE)
• Stable (TRUE)
• Free (TRUE)
6. The most popular operating system in supercomputers is Windows
FALSE
7. True or false: The forthcoming LUMI supercomputer is funded solely by a Finnish government. All the resources of LUMI are allocated to Finnish researcher via a
special application process.
FALSE
8. The Japanese Fugaku supercomputer is within the ten most energy efficient computers in the world. Still its energy consumption equals that of 10 000 average
Finnish households.
(TRUE)