HPC in Europe Taskforce

Welcome to the HET website. The High Performance Computing in Europe Taskforce was formed by representatives of European countries interested in shaping the European High Performance Computing Infrastructure. HET has set the framework of a European policy in the area of High Performance Computing. HET reports to the countries represented in the present Taskforce and to the e-IRG. The Taskforce is chaired by Kimmo Koski from CSC (Finland). HPC in Europe was founded in Vienna, Austria, on June 7th 2006 in a meeting initiated by prof. dr. Dieter Kranzlmüller, acting as chair of e-IRG.

The final documents produced by HET are now available online! These include a scientific case, a proposal for the peer review process and a document about the HPC ecosystem.

Go to the download page.

HPC is part of the domain of structural basic infrastructures covered by the e-IRG. The e-IRG also has presented a formal roadmap for these infrastructures. One key element in the whole of basic infrastructures is formed by the HPC-infrastructure. HET will sketch a sustainable HPC-ecosystem as part of a sustainable European Science Grid infrastructure. Use will be made of the experiences of DEISA, as well as of knowledge gained from individual HPC-centres and national HPC-policies.

Please find the terms of reference for HET here.

The HPC-world in Europe and beyond has matured over the past two decades. Firstly Computational Science has been established as the so called third methodology (next to theory and experiment). Secondly, architectures are developing continuously, but the industry as such has matured long time ago already. Vendors may change names, be taken over or be re-established, there seems to be an overall line of technology developments supporting ever higher computer performances - the technology is constantly moving towards ever higher levels of performance. And as long as there are still significant changes at the top of the computer market, special support will be needed to let the research world adapt to new technologies or evenand modelling paradigms.

HET is there to demonstrate the maturity of the visions towards a European Europe-wide HPC-infrastructure, including access, security, system selection, sustainability and science support. One of the considerations for HET is also to see whether special support for a European HPC-industry is required and to what extent.

HET has finished its working on four action lines:

1. The sustainable HPC-ecosystem
2. Science case for increased HPC investments in Europe
3. The cost/funding models
4. Access/Peer review/Role of Research councils
5. Reach-out and visibility

The work of HET has finished. The final documents were handed over to Mario Campolargo (EC) in Barcelona on the 18th January 2007. Any comments to the documents and our visions are still welcomed. The final results will be communicated to the e-IRG and other stakeholders.