ACADEMIA

ARMONK, N.Y.--The National Weather Service activated its most powerful weather-forecasting supercomputer ever -- a massive machine with IBM eServer and storage systems that will extend the government's ability to forecast hurricanes from three days to five days in advance. Making its debut as hurricane season 2003 begins, the machine is expected to give businesses, government agencies and citizens crucial extra time to prepare for the violent storms. This announcement marks the first phase of a contract that is expected to generate more than $200 million for IBM during the next nine years. When fully deployed, the system will be about four times faster than the most powerful supercomputer in the world today. In addition to its sheer size, the machine is notable for pioneering a new way of supplying deep computing power. The system is located at IBM's e-business Hosting Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with processing power and storage capability delivered to the government via an ultra-fast network. The weather forecasts produced by the National Weather Service's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) form the basis of television and newspaper forecasts across the country. The forecasts are also used in aviation, agriculture, disaster response and a host of other important areas. "This is an outstanding example of government and private industry working together to provide a truly valuable service to the nation," said Sam Bodman, deputy secretary of commerce. "Thanks to this computer's capabilities NOAA will continue to make advancements with new and improved weather and climate models well into the next decade." " Today's announcement marries IBM's powerful supercomputing technology with the ever-increasing sophistication of the National Weather Service's prediction tools," said Dave Turek, vice president, IBM Deep Computing. "The resulting improvement in forecasting capability illustrates the true power and benefit of deep computing where technology, deep expertise and insight come together." IBM eServer p690 and FAStT500 Storage Server The supercomputer will be delivered in stages. The first phase -- a cluster of 44 IBM eServer p690 servers supported by 42 terabytes of IBM TotalStorage FAStT500 Storage Server disk storage -- doubles the current computing power for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. IBM will expand the system to reach a peak speed well in excess of 100 teraflops by 2009. It would take one person with a calculator more than 80 million years to tabulate the number of calculations a 100 teraflop supercomputer can handle in a single second. Supercomputers -- large machines that sometimes require more floor space than a basketball court -- have traditionally been located at customer sites. IBM's flexible hosting service enables customers to reap the benefits of powerful supercomputers via a high speed connection, without having to provide the physical space to house the computer.