LLE Conesus Supercomputer Ranked One of the World's Most Powerful

Photograph of Erie Supercomputer Storage System.

Intel’s new Conesus Supercomputer system, including storage and processing servers; ethernet and fiber connections in server cabinets, photographed at the University of Rochester Primary Data Center September 5, 2023. The recently-installed system, currently used by the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), was ranked #311 in the world on the Top500 project’s June 2023 list of top performing supercomputers. Conesus gives LLE a nearly four-factor increase in its capability to accelerate innovation in the LLE’s inertial confinement fusion program and high-energy-density science. The Conesus system also represents a ten-fold increase in computing capability since the University last appeared on the TOP500 list (for the Blue Gene/Q in 2012). // photo by J. Adam Fenster / University of Rochester

A new supercomputer housed at the University of Rochester will make it possible for researchers to simulate complex high-energy-density phenomena in inertial confinement fusion in three dimensions with unprecedented details. The supercomputer, dubbed “Conesus” after one of the Finger Lakes, also uses artificial intelligence and machine-learning tools to advance progress in high-energy-density science. Manufactured by Intel and developed in partnership with Dell Technologies and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Conesus is one of the most powerful and energy-efficient computer systems in the world, having already received several impressive distinctions and rankings on the TOP500 and Green500 lists.

The new cluster, funded by NNSA, will be used together with new high-performance computing storage system “Erie” funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and Empire State Development. The University and LLE “are the perfect venue for the new system,” says LLE director Chris Deeney. “Conesus will provide unique educational and research opportunities for students and faculty in the Rochester region and across the nation.”

To read the full press release, please visit the University of Rochester NewsCenter.