Fastest 500 supercomputers all use Linux, China dominates the list

Posted on Wednesday, November 15 2017 @ 12:48 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck

One of the interesting tidbits about the new TOP500 Supercomputer list that appeared online earlier this week is that for the first time ever, all of these supercomputers use the Linux operating system!

Another interesting observation is that China is now leading in terms of the number of supercomputers as well as the raw aggregate performance. China is home to 202 supercomputers, versus 144 in the US. Furthermore, the Chinese supercomputers account or 35.4 percent of the Top500 list's flops, versus 29.6 percent for the US.

Linux rules supercomputing. This day has been coming since 1998, when Linux first appeared on the TOP500 Supercomputer list. Today, it finally happened: All 500 of the world's fastest supercomputers are running Linux.

The last two non-Linux systems, a pair of Chinese IBM POWER computers running AIX, dropped off the November 2017 TOP500 Supercomputer list.

More details at ZD Net.

About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.

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