Simulation for All

The Politics of Supercomputing in Stuttgart

David Gugerli, Ricky Wichum (Autoren)

Buch | Hardcover

156 Seiten

2021
Chronos (Verlag)
978-3-0340-1621-6 (ISBN)

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Supercomputing refers to exclusive processing at the outer limit of computability - controversial, politically attractive, and very expensive.David Gugerli and Ricky Wichum explore the development of supercomputing in Stuttgart since 1970, and the surprising twists, operational crises, and new technologies it entailed. For example, who would have expected that expansion of Stuttgart's computing center in the 1970s would be capped off with the installation of an outdated supercomputer? Or that the spectacular acquisition of the world's fastest computer in the 1980s would be followed by a years-long quest for users and suitable forms of operation? When, in the 1990s, the Internet made global connectivity possible, Stuttgart was at the forefront, flaunting its dominance in a display of transatlantic experiments. Yet the practical question of what to do with supercomputing was ultimately decided at home, in Germany. The proper management of "users" and extending services to Europe occupied much of the 2000s. By then, previously unanticipated limits to growth had become apparent in the hardware.Told from a history of technology perspective, this study shows that productive supercomputing requires the constant reconfiguring of computers, science, industry, and policy.

David Gugerli was born in 1961. He is a professor of history of technology at ETH Zurich. His research focuses on the question of how the world got into the computer.

Ricky Wichum was born in 1982. He is teaching the history of technology at ETH Zurich. His research focuses on the historical sociology of computer-based information systems in public administration.

User’s guide

The centrality issue (1972–1987)
Gaining dominance
Planning crisis and a flood of proposals
Attempted resuscitation
Shaping policy and organizational structure
A diversity of machines
Shielding users from complexity
Communicating to the public

The performance gambit (1988–1996)
Simulation for all
The cost of visualizing computing output
The false security of benchmarks
Autonomy through regional cooperation
Stuttgart’s two-pronged solution

Network to the rescue (1997–2005)
Feasibility study for a national
high-performance computing network
Metacomputing – a transatlantic experiment
Does the university really need an HLRS?
Grid computing extends a lifeline

Users at work (2006–2016)
Taking it easy
With Gauss to Europe
Virtual users, and users in virtual reality
Limits to growth

A history of reconfiguration

Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
List of figures

Erscheinungsdatum	31.03.2021
Verlagsort	Zürich
Sprache	englisch
Maße	125 x 210 mm
Gewicht	333 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik ► Allgemeines / Lexika
	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik
	Naturwissenschaften
Schlagworte	Computer • Computerdesign • Computerentwicklung • computing center • Configuration • Hochleistungsrechner • Metacomputing • Multiprocessor Systems • Netzwerke • Technikgeschichte • Technikhistorie
ISBN-10	3-0340-1621-2 / 3034016212
ISBN-13	978-3-0340-1621-6 / 9783034016216
Zustand	Neuware