Oh goodness.

I usually hit HN in the am as I scan for news feeds and such. Didn’t expect to see my tweet here.

This was written for my followers on Twitter, most of whom are in supercomputing. I understand how it might seem a bit over the top to anyone outside of HPC, but let me explain why I wrote it (not expecting it would have more mainstream views).

People in supercomputing already know what I’m talking about so I didn’t give context.

I’m glad some of the respondents here provided good background on the extended delays and the impact.

The thread was written because a few months ago after a researcher let me know her work would not be completed since it hinged on Aurora’s completion. With Frontier (at Oak Ridge National Lab) oversubscribed, she can’t finish her work and her immigration status is in jeopardy.

I felt badly for her but figured it was a one-off. Then I started to talking to more and more people. I never really connected the employment/post-doc/early career HPC researcher with problems with a machine.

The employment and research and academic ‘economy’ around big systems like this is real. Even though by 2021 everyone figured the system wouldn’t be ready by target, it still created a mess. I talked to more, then more people about what the delay meant for their careers.

They were all terrified to say anything publicly. Argonne’s under strict NDA and so is everyone else. Further, everyone was worried about losing funding or “being problematic”

Since I’m not beholden to NDAs and have the freedom to say tough things about big companies and institutions I did. I did it so the people in the same boat as the people I talked to know that their career-jerking issues have been publicly noted. I considered a more formal article for TNP but it didn’t feel like a fit.

What really pushed me to write the thread was all the hype around Intel Innovation this week. They dropped the ball over and over again in HPC since 2017. They hurt people’s careers with these delays. Yet to see them celebrate shipping of a processor that is so far behind (as were the promised ones before it that were to comprise Aurora) and to talk about zettascale ambitions when they have struggled to get a single machine out four years late. It just needed to be called out.

I wanted people to see also that processor delays affect far more than server roadmaps.

And yes, I understand semiconductor delivery and how difficult and unpredictable it is. It was the lack of transparency and the painfully awkward way NO ONE talked about it. Except most journalists who mentioned it offhand but didn't fully express what was at stake in terms of people costs.

So while I’m kind of horrified the tweet for HPC people took off, the positive side of it is that people might think about it this more deeply when they hear “processor X has been delayed” because for comp sci and application domain scientists, the career disruption can be (and should be communicated as) dramatic.

I have a pretty packed workday but can check in and answer/give more context as I have time/can.

Thanks

N