DKRZ@ISC'26

For this year’s ISC’26, more than 4,000 scientists and providers of hardware, software, and services gathered again in Hamburg from June 22 to 26, 2026, to discuss current developments and future topics in the fields of High Performance Computing (HPC), artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies.

The ISC is considered one of the most important international HPC conferences and offers an ideal platform for exchange regarding current trends and innovations. The range of topics presented extended from compiler-assisted floating-point error analysis in HPC applications and C++ standard parallelism for improved performance portability to sustainable procurement and the energy-efficient operation of supercomputers.

DKRZ was also represented at the conference. Dr. Georgiana Mania and Dr. Panos Adamidis were part of the jury for the Student Cluster Competition, an international contest where students demonstrate their HPC skills. As a hybrid competition, ten on-site teams build their own supercomputers and compete over three days using benchmarks and HPC applications, while virtual teams access the cluster to solve HPC tasks.

TOP500 and Green500 Lists

Traditionally, the June edition of the TOP500 list is released at the ISC; this list ranks the world’s 500 most powerful supercomputers twice a year based on their computational performance in the HPL benchmark. In the 67th edition, Levante is - even after more than five years of operation - on rank 183.

A special focus of this year’s ISC was on sustainability and energy-efficient computing. Topics such as resource-efficient data centers and sustainable HPC infrastructures were central to numerous presentations and discussions.

In line with this, DKRZ’s Levante GPU extension system once again secured third place among the world’s most energy-efficient supercomputers on the current Green500 list. With an energy efficiency of 69.43 GigaFlops per watt and a computing performance of 6.747 PetaFlops/s in the HPL benchmark, the system maintains its top position.

This distinction holds special significance for DKRZ as a climate computing center. For us, energy efficiency is not merely a benchmark criterion but an integral part of our scientific mission and our responsible approach to resource management.

Further information on the ISC'26 conference website: https://isc-hpc.com/

Versity Software User Group Meeting: DKRZ presents its new HSM 

At the "Versity Software User Group Meeting" held on June 22, 2026, during ISC'26, DKRZ presented its new hierarchical storage management (HSM) system for its climate data archive. The solution is based on NEC hardware and Versity’s ScoutAM software.

Prof. Thomas Ludwig, Managing Director of DKRZ, introduced the center and explained the strategic background behind the archive system's modernization, highlighting the importance of sustainable, future-proof data management for climate research.

Carsten Schmitt, Head of the Systems Department, provided insights into the archive's technical architecture. The discussion focused on challenges, design decisions, and technologies for processing massive volumes of climate data, as well as adapting the infrastructure to meet future scientific requirements.

The talks wer followed by a discussion; representatives from the fields of HPC, data storage, and research explored the challenges and opportunities associated with managing climate data in the Exabyte range.