Country’s first supercomputer installed at IT Park

BANEPA, Dec 30: Kathmandu University (KU) has installed a supercomputer at Information Technology (IT) Park. This is the first time the country got a supercomputer, which is expected to contribute significantly in the sector of research and handling of databases.

“General or ordinary computers use a serial processing method: receive data input, store, process, and produce output. But supercomputers work very differently,” said Dr Rajendra Prasad Adhikari, assistant professor of Physics at the KU. “Now we don’t need to depend on others for data processing. Dependency had shrunk our studies and research abilities. With our own supercomputer at the IT Park, we have entered a new era of technology.”

The supercomputer in the IT Park has 184 computer servers, 16 storage servers, and 12 high-speed switches. Kathmandu University official said that it is the fastest supercomputer in South Asia after that of India’s.

According to Adhikari, a supercomputer’s ability to process data is much higher than that of ordinary ones. Depending on the size and capacity of the supercomputer, it can perform calculations from a few thousand to several hundred thousand times faster than an ordinary personal computer.

A supercomputer is said to be very useful in analyzing data of earthquake modeling, climate change, control of H1N1 virus, genetic diseases, among other subjects. In lack of supercomputer, Nepal was lagging behind in conducting proper studies on these issues, according to Adhikari. “This is a leap forward in the sector of research; we now have access to the facility.”