HPE launches GX5000 supercomputers to power next-gen AI research
Hewlett Packard Enterprise has expanded its HPE Cray supercomputing portfolio, introducing new compute blades, unified management software and enhanced networking technology aimed at supporting artificial intelligence and high-performance computing at scale.
Expanded compute options
Three new compute blades are launching as part of the HPE Cray Supercomputing GX5000 platform, which can be configured for a variety of AI and scientific workloads. The blades support both GPU-accelerated and CPU-only environments, with compatibility for upcoming NVIDIA and AMD silicon platforms.
Each blade is available with either four or eight HPE Slingshot 400 Gbps endpoints, supporting demanding data transfer requirements. Users can mix and match the three blade types within a single compute rack, customising systems to suit specific research, enterprise or government workloads.
Adoption by research centres
The High-Performance Computing Centre of the University of Stuttgart (HLRS) and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) are among the first to select the GX5000 platform for their upcoming flagship supercomputers-Herder and Blue Lion, respectively. These institutions plan to use the new platform to drive advanced scientific research and enhance energy efficiency.
"As the builder of HLRS's Hawk and Hunter supercomputers, HPE has for years been an excellent partner for HLRS. HPE's supercomputer systems and expert support have directly enhanced the ability of our scientific and industrial user communities to make novel scientific discoveries and design better technologies. As we look forward to the arrival of Herder, we are excited to begin the next stage of this cooperation with HPE. The GX5000 platform will offer our users a major leap in performance for simulation and artificial intelligence, as well as improved energy efficiency - a primary concern at our HPC centre," said Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Resch, Director, HLRS.
Prof. Dr. Dieter Kranzlmüller, Chairman of the Board of Directors at LRZ, highlighted the use of direct liquid cooling and the expected performance boosts of up to 30 times over the current system, enabling new research possibilities.
Management and energy use
The new HPE Supercomputing Management Software introduces a unified approach to managing large-scale AI and high-performance computing environments. It supports multi-tenant, virtualised and containerised workloads, and provides tools for system provisioning, monitoring and scaling, as well as improved security and energy usage reporting. This allows operators to optimise workloads, monitor power consumption and integrate with energy-aware scheduling systems to improve efficiency and cost visibility.
Enhanced network and storage
The HPE Slingshot 400 interconnect, designed for dense compute environments, is now available for the GX5000 platform. The switch supports configurations of up to 2,048 ports with 400 Gbps bandwidth and is optimised for the heavy data movement required by converged AI and scientific workloads. The new switch chassis employs 100 percent direct liquid cooling for thermal efficiency.
On the storage front, the HPE Cray Supercomputing Storage Systems K3000 features factory-integrated Distributed Asynchronous Object Storage (DAOS) on the HPE ProLiant Compute platform. The system offers scalable storage configurations, high memory density and support for demanding AI workloads, with multiple connectivity options including HPE Slingshot 400 and InfiniBand NDR.
Industry partnerships
Travis Karr, Corporate Vice President, HPC and Sovereign AI at AMD, commented on the collaboration in developing high-density compute solutions.
"The latest HPE Cray supercomputing platform reflects the deep collaboration between AMD and HPE to develop leadership technologies at the convergence of HPC and AI. By bringing together high-density compute blades powered by AMD EPYC CPUs and AMD Instinct GPUs, we're helping customers tackle some of the world's most complex scientific and AI challenges with scalable, energy-efficient solutions," said Karr.
Dion Harris, Senior Director, HPC, Cloud and AI Infrastructure at NVIDIA, noted the impact on scientific research.
"HPE's next-generation AI supercomputers with NVIDIA Vera Rubin are designed to supercharge scientific discovery. Powered by NVIDIA, these HPE GX5000 systems will boost simulation, analytics and AI, providing essential infrastructure to accelerate the AI industrial revolution," said Harris.
Dr. Earl Joseph, Chief Executive at Hyperion Research, added, "High performance computing and AI have become very high growth sectors. HPE's next generation of GX5000 supercomputers will help researchers and companies dramatically develop better products and new scientific discoveries, as well as help transform society by addressing critical societal goals."
