SiPearl delivers Rhea1 CPU samples to Bull for JUPITER integration

SiPearl delivered initial samples of its Rhea1 CPUs to Bull for integration into BullSequana XH3000, which provides the CPU blade for JUPITER. The update matters because it places a European processor design into a European-built exascale supercomputer deployment.

The work connects to JUPITER, an exascale supercomputer procured by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and hosted at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. SiPearl’s equipment for JUPITER represented its first order for Rhea1.

Rhea1 is described as a server CPU with 80 Arm Neoverse V1 cores packaged together, along with 4 stacks of HBM and 4 DDR5 interfaces. SiPearl said Rhea1 incorporates a scalable vector extension and includes “back-door free and kill switch free security, energy-efficiency and flexibility.” The company also said early benchmarking results were strong, with performance figures still to be consolidated for publication this autumn.

Bull began integration of Rhea1 onto its BullSequana XH3000 platform for JUPITER, with the CPU-based cluster architecture positioned to complement the GPU-based Booster. EuroHPC JU supported the development of a European processor through the European Processor Initiative, while JUPITER’s CPU blade was described as part of a modular cluster module. “The delivery of the first Rhea1 CPUs marks an important milestone for Europe’s supercomputing sovereignty. Through the European Processor Initiative, EuroHPC JU has supported the development of a European processor that is now moving from innovation to deployment in JUPITER, Europe’s first exascale supercomputer. This achievement demonstrates what Europe can accomplish by bringing together research, industry and world-class infrastructure to build a stronger European HPC ecosystem,” said Anders Dam Jensen, Executive Director of EuroHPC JU. “Rhea1 plays an important role in JUPITER’s Cluster Module, complementing the GPU-based Booster with a CPU-based architecture designed for a broad range of complex and data-intensive workloads. Its high memory bandwidth is particularly well suited to applications that benefit from efficient access to large amounts of data. Bringing this European processor technology into JUPITER is an important step in making these capabilities available to the scientific community,” said Prof. Dr. Thomas Lippert, Director of the Jülich Supercomputing Centre at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

“This key milestone is the result of a long-term and strategic collaboration between two European tech players, federating a stronger HPC and AI ecosystem. With the arrival of the first Rhea1 CPUs and their integration into our BullSequana XH supercomputing platform, our ambition is becoming reality. Integrating a European processor onto a European platform for Europe's flagship exascale system is a milestone we can all be proud of, and a powerful demonstration of what we can achieve together when vision is matched with execution. Thank you EuroHPC JU and Forschungszentrum Jülich for trusting us,” highlighted Bruno Lecointe, Head of HPC, AI and Quantum at Bull. “Together with Bull, our long-standing partner, we are taking a major step towards Europe’s digital sovereignty by equipping the CPU cluster of the European exascale supercomputer JUPITER with European hardware. This will be a first in Europe. I am very proud of this, as it is also a wonderful human endeavour in which teams from SiPearl, Bull, Forschungszentrum Jülich and all our European partners have worked together to ensure the success of this ambitious project, with the unwavering support of EuroHPC JU and the European authorities,” concluded Philippe Notton, CEO and Founder of SiPearl. Rhea1 performance figures were expected to be published this autumn.

Press release, provided by Globe Newswire on behalf of SiPearl. Read the original.