CISL Annual Report 2005 > Production cyberinfrastructure accomplishments

Production cyberinfrastructure accomplishments highlight: Bluevista deployment

In June 2005, CISL exercised the final option of the Advanced Research Computer System (ARCS) contract with IBM by acquiring a new supercomputer named bluevista. Based on the IBM POWER5 processor and the High Performance Switch communication technology, bluevista offers the same computing capacity as the IBM POWER4 system (bluesky), effectively doubling the high-end computing resources available at NCAR.

In addition, power and design improvements in the IBM POWER5 architecture will halve the turnaround time of most applications. The deployment of bluevista is consistent with the SCD Strategic Plan to significantly enhance the high-end computational environment at NCAR over the next five years, and further complements the production cyberinfrastructure available to the university, NCAR, and Climate Simulation Laboratory (CSL) communities served by CISL.

The POWER5 architecture of bluevista allows it to occupy much less floor space than bluesky.