Computerworld

Although the fastest supercomputers are becoming increasingly faster, midlevel systems are not realizing gains at the same pace, according to the most recent Top500 list of high-performance computers. Half of the total 250 petaflop/s (quadrillions of calculations per second) of supercomputing power on the list is attributed to the top 17 entrants, notes Top500 ranking organizer Erich Strohmaier. "The list has become very top heavy in the last couple of years," Strohmaier says. "In the last five years, we have seen a drastic concentration of performance capabilities in large centers." Governments and industry alike are purchasing fewer midsized systems and focusing on developing fewer, larger systems. This trend could gradually reduce the number of administrators and engineers skilled in running high-performance computers, although this might not be an issue because most of the largest systems are shared across multiple users. To read further, please visit http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244219/Top500_shows_growing_inequality_in_supercomputing_power.