Ookami: Deployment and Initial Experiences

TL;DR

Ookami is a testbed providing access to Fujitsu's A64FX processor, enabling researchers to explore exascale computing architectures and evaluate their performance on various applications.

Contribution

This paper introduces the Ookami testbed and shares initial experiences with hardware and software, focusing on performance and integration of A64FX-based systems.

Findings

Successful deployment of A64FX hardware in a research environment

Initial performance insights for micro-benchmarks and applications

Assessment of A64FX's role in NSF's exascale computing ecosystem

Abstract

Ookami is a computer technology testbed supported by the United States National Science Foundation. It provides researchers with access to the A64FX processor developed by Fujitsu in collaboration with RIK{\Xi}N for the Japanese path to exascale computing, as deployed in Fugaku, the fastest computer in the world. By focusing on crucial architectural details, the ARM-based, multi-core, 512-bit SIMD-vector processor with ultrahigh-bandwidth memory promises to retain familiar and successful programming models while achieving very high performance for a wide range of applications. We review relevant technology and system details, and the main body of the paper focuses on initial experiences with the hardware and software ecosystem for micro-benchmarks, mini-apps, and full applications, and starts to answer questions about where such technologies fit into the NSF ecosystem.