IIT Kanpur Inks MoU with CDAC to Set Up Param Sanganak

New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) and the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to set up a Param Sanganak. 

The MoU was inked in the presence of Shri Sanjay Dhotre, the Honourable Union Minister of State of Education, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology. The purpose of this agreement is to establish a high-performance computing facility called "Param Sanganak" at IIT Kanpur, which will be capable of delivering 1.3 peta FLOPs (floating point operations per second). This initiative falls under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), which has been authorized by the Government of India, has the objective of achieving self-sufficiency in supercomputing and problem-solving across various scientific and technological domains. 

This mission is jointly managed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore have been designated as the implementing agencies for this mission. C-DAC is responsible for the design, deployment, and operation of the Supercomputing systems as part of the mission's building approach.

The initiative aims to create a range of supercomputers with different computing capacities to address national and global challenges. The mission focuses on four key pillars: supercomputing infrastructure, application development, research and development, and human resource development. 

During the event, the MoUs were signed between the Director General of CDAC and the Directors of several IITs, IISc, and an NIT. These agreements were made to establish supercomputers at these institutions. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Dr. Rajendra Kumar, Additional Secretary at MeitY, Government of India, and Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary at DST, Government of India. 

Both officials also expressed their thoughts on the importance of supercomputers in advancing research and development activities within the country.

As part of the National Supercomputing Mission's building approach, IIT Kanpur has established a supercomputer named "PARAM Sanganak" with a peak computing power of 1.3 peta FLOPS. This high-performance computing system has been designed and commissioned by C-DAC to meet the computational requirements of IIT Kanpur and other research and engineering institutes in the region. 

PARAM Sanganak incorporates state-of-the-art hardware and software technologies, and a significant portion of its components are manufactured and assembled within India. This aligns with the Government's Make in India initiative, promoting indigenous production and assembly capabilities. 

In order to maximize computing performance per rack, the cluster is equipped with dense compute nodes featuring the latest Intel® Xeon® Processor Scalable Family CPUs. This configuration ensures optimal computational capabilities. 

The system serves the research requirements of diverse scientific domains, including Weather & Climate, Oil & Gas, Seismic, Life, and Material sciences. The compute nodes are interconnected through a high-speed and low-latency 100 Gbps InfiniBand network, facilitating efficient inter-node communication. 

In addition, a dedicated 1 Gbps network is available for cluster provisioning, management, and administration purposes. The system boasts a storage capacity of 2 petabytes, featuring a high-performance parallel file system and archival subsystem for data storage and retrieval. 

PARAM Sanganak, being a highly reliable supercomputer, offers scalability and enhanced security features, ensuring there is no single point of failure. The facility is connected through the National Knowledge Network and is accessible to the scientific and academic community. Its availability aims to strengthen research and development efforts within the country.

C-DAC has developed an indigenous system software stack that operates on the underlying supercomputing hardware. This stack is designed to enhance efficiency and usability for both users and administrators. 

It is built upon customized open-source tools, supplemented with in-house software, tailored to meet specific requirements. Optimized for High-Performance Computing environments, this software stack encompasses the Linux operating system, cluster provisioning tools, parallel programming modules, scientific libraries, compilers, profilers, and debuggers, providing a comprehensive HPC environment for optimal utilization of computing resources. 

C-DAC CHAKSHU is an essential component of the software stack, offering advanced monitoring and management capabilities for the complex resources within the cluster. It enables real-time monitoring of resources such as CPU, memory, storage, and interconnects. Users can generate historical data on cluster utilization and performance for in-depth analysis. CHAKSHU also features a ticketing system integrated with C-DAC's technical support desk, allowing for efficient problem reporting and resolution. 

Additionally, it provides a three-dimensional visualization that offers live information on resources categorized by rack.

In India, essential elements like server motherboards are produced domestically, while servers themselves are assembled, validated, and tested within the country.

Moreover, the manufacturing of rack power controllers and rack hydraulic controllers also takes place in India. Param Sanganak is an advanced supercomputer that utilizes direct liquid cooling (DLC) technology, with 100% of its cooling achieved through this method. The adiabatic dry coolers, used for warm water cooling of the system, are also manufactured in India as part of the overall setup.

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