Orion is a high-performance compute cluster from Sun Microsystems. It was the fastest computer in Australia when it was installed in June 2000, with a peak speed of 144 Gflops. It ranked #188 in the November 2000 list of the Top 500 supercomputers in the world, with a Linpack benchmark result of 110 GFlops.
Officially known as the National Computing Facility for Lattice Gauge Theory (NCFLGT), it is used to study quantum field theories (also known as gauge theories) of the fundamental forces of nature and the basic structure of matter (quarks, gluons, leptons, etc), by running computationally intensive simulations that use a discretized four-dimensional grid (or lattice) to represent space-time.
The cluster is used by physicists at the Special Research Centre for the Subatomic Structure of Matter (CSSM) based at the University of Adelaide, as well as NCFLGT partners at the University of New South Wales and University of Melbourne.
The NCFLGT was funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities (RIEF) Program Grant and contributions from Sun Microsystems and the Universities of Adelaide, Melbourne and New South Wales.
The DHPC group was closely
involved in the initial grant proposal for the machine,
and in the analysis and benchmarking of potential systems
during the procurement process. DHPC is currently working with CSSM
on porting and optimisation of lattice gauge theory programs on the
cluster.
For more information, contact Paul Coddington (paulc@cs.adelaide.edu.au) in the Computer Science Department or Tony Williams (awilliam@physics.adelaide.edu.au) in the Physics Department.