HALO Report Outlines Challenges Facing HPC

By Amber Ankerholz

The report surveys the current landscape and future direction of HPC and AI technologies.

The HPC-AI Leadership Organization (HALO) has identified key challenges and opportunities within the HPC-AI landscape in a new report, written by Addison Snell, Kevin Jackson, Paul Muzio, and Steve Conway.

Broad challenges faced by the HPC-AI industry, according to the report, include:

Optimal HPC-AI infrastructure design, including the choice between homogenous and heterogeneous systems, integration of diverse processor types, and balancing AI and traditional HPC needs.
Processor suitability, chip supply, and design. Different applications require various processor types, leading to difficulties in system design and procurement. The high demand for AI-optimized GPUs is influencing market dynamics and potentially skewing HPC system designs.
Sustainability and power consumption. The increasing energy demands may necessitate infrastructure upgrades and potentially reshape HPC-AI management strategies.
Data availability, ownership issues, legal restrictions, and cultural implications are other hurdles that AI and large language models must overcome. Developing efficient training methods, managing data transfers, and validating results are ongoing concerns.

The report also cites the “critical shortage of skilled personnel in computational sciences and HPC-AI system management” as a major issue.

Get access to the full report from Intersect360 Research.