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The new TOP500 supercomputer list - Europe loosing ground again
Mannheim, 18 June 98
At the Mannheim Supercomputer Seminar, the new June 1998 version of the TOP500 list of the world's most powerful supercomputers was presented. Europe is loosing more and more ground to the USA. Only 114 out of 500 machines are installed here, as opposed to 286 in USA/Canada. Japan went down to 92 systems. Analysis shows further that Americans buy only American supercomputers. Japanese have a relative preference for Japanese machines. Percentage wise, Europeans buy as many Japanese and American supercomputers as holds for the whole world. The list shows that the USA have effectively banned non-USA supercomputers from their market.
In the USA there are 248 supercomputers installed. Nearly all, 247, are made in the USA. In Japan the situation is different: 51 of the supercomputers are Nippon made, and 32 of the 83 are USA made. In Europe 110 machines come from the West (USA) and 14 from the East (Japan). Do not look for a label made in Europe on a supercomputer; you will not find any. There is no supercomputer industry left here in Europe. The biggest supercomputing countries in Europe are Germany, with 46 machines, the United Kingdom (25) and France with 10 machines. Sweden (6), Switzerland (5) and the Netherlands (4) are not doing bad in the group of small countries. Or should we compare these with Korea (8) and Australia (4)? Italy has a dissapointing 4 supercomputers within its borders, one less than Spain (5). The only record Europe holds is that it has the country with the largest number of supercomputers per inhabitants: no big deal, Liechtenstein with each 30.000 inhabitants has one machine in the TOP500. The TOP500 now has its own Internet domain. The web site has been completely redesigned with support from HPCnet. You can find the list at the new www.top500.org address.
Ad Emmen |
