As research becomes more complicated and expensive, the value proposition of open technologies is becoming more alluring. However, there is still a belief that the performance capabilities of open technologies cannot match the needs of leading-edge energy researchers, with their complex simulation and analysis needs. This presentation describes how open source, specifically Linux and Open Compute Project (OCP) technologies can be carefully – and cost-effectively – designed to meet even the rigorous goals of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) as it helps secure the nuclear stockpile in accord with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union using simulation-based confidence (versus test-based confidence). The performance of these commodity-based supercomputers was so high that nine were ranked in the November 2018 Top500 list of most powerful computers on Earth. Yet the technology used was a turn-key OCP solution that is available to non-government clients, underscoring the performance to value that OCP solutions can provide other organizations.
