A Chinese military-developed supercomputer has once again ranked first in an international test of AI computing efficiency. Tianhe, created by the National University of Defense Technology, tops the latest list of the world’s most power-efficient big data processing systems, achieving its second win since 2021.
The advanced computing power of supercomputers can be applied to simulations for studying climate change, conducting materials research, exploring space, and developing treatments for various diseases.
Energy-efficient big data computing
The Green Graph500 list measures performance-per-watt for processing large graphs, comparing the energy efficiency of the fastest supercomputers tackling data-intensive tasks. First released in 2010, it is the leading international ranking for assessing the performance of supercomputers in graph computation.
China’s indigenous supercomputer, the Tianhe Exa-node Prototype, reached 6,320 MTEPS/W, securing the top position in the Green Graph500 ranking for big data. This performance metric, measured in million traversed edges per second per watt, evaluates a system’s efficiency in internal data communication, the South China Morning Post reports.
It surpassed the previous Tianhe Exa-node Prototype, which achieved 4,385 MTEPS/W and placed first runner-up, as well as Eniad, a supercomputer developed by the University of Pennsylvania, which ranked third with 2,057 MTEPS/W. Tianhe last topped the list in July 2021.
Graph analysis is a growing field in AI computing that focuses on identifying connections within graph structures. It is a valuable tool for studying complex networks, patterns, and structured data. For instance, it can be used to analyze social media relationship maps or transaction histories across multiple accounts.
Energy-efficient big data computing is also becoming increasingly essential, as energy consumption is expected to be a limiting factor. As the need for large-scale data analysis grows, graph computing is becoming an important aspect of big data and artificial intelligence, attracting increasing research interest worldwide.
Major breakthrough in data analysis
According to Meng Xiangfei, the chief scientist at the National Supercomputer Centre in Tianjin, which hosts the Tianhe supercomputer, the top ranking reflects significant international breakthroughs in the system’s ability to handle complex data analysis, as reported by state news agency Xinhua. The Chinese researcher added that it would play a crucial role in advancing the development of next-generation intelligent technologies.
Tianhe has also contributed to the center’s significant achievements in research areas like numerical simulation technology, materials computation, and environmental meteorology, according to a post on the Chinese social media platform WeChat.
Furthermore, the system has also achieved major breakthroughs in industrial areas such as superintelligent integration, large generative models, and supercomputing internet.
Last year, the Chinese National Supercomputing Center (NSC) in Guangzhou also introduced the domestically developed supercomputer, Tianhe Xingyi. While no specifications had been disclosed, officials have claimed that it surpasses the capabilities of the renowned Tianhe-2 supercomputer.
