Olivia is set to become Norway's most powerful supercomputer ever. She is expected to play a key role in data-driven research, especially in developing artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in advancing and improving Norwegian language models. With her immense technological superpower, she will facilitate progress in health, marine, and climate research.
A national platform for open, sustainable, and innovative research
Like the other national supercomputers, Olivia can be utilised by researchers across Norway, regardless of their institution. This ensures access to her vast computational resources independent of the local infrastructure available at each research institution.
What to expect
Olivia has the potential to impact a variety of sectors and contribute to addressing future challenges with new, innovative solutions.
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise delivers Olivia. The installation will take place during the spring and summer of 2025 and will be opened to Norwegian researchers in the autumn. This will be Sigma2's first supercomputer installed in Lefdal Mine Data Centers (LMD).
Supercomputers are equipped with highly advanced and costly processors called Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). HPE's delivery is a Cray Supercomputing EX system, providing 304 of the most advanced GPUs currently available on the market. These GPUs provide significant computational power and are compatible with a variety of software and programming languages used in data-driven research.
Olivia will have a computational capacity 17 times greater than the current most powerful national supercomputer, Betzy. Despite this, Olivia will weigh only half as much as Betzy, with a footprint of approximately 14 m², a height of 2.30 metres, and a weight of around 15 tonnes. This represents an impressive concentration of computing power per cubic centimetre, with provisions for future expansion and upgrades.
Sustainable innovation
Olivia combines exceptional performance with energy efficiency, reducing its carbon footprint by 30% compared to Betzy, Norway's most powerful supercomputer since 2021. This makes Olivia a sustainable tool that supports Norway's ambitions for advancing green technology.
Olivia will strengthen Norway's national research capacity and reduce dependence on foreign actors. This will enhance national knowledge preparedness and security by ensuring that Norway has the necessary computational power and expertise readily available.
Olivia's technical specifications
- System: HPE Cray Supercomputing EX
- 252 nodes with CPU
- Each equipped with two AMD Turin CPUs
- Each CPU contains 128 cores
- CPUs:
- Total: 64,512 CPU cores
- GPUs:
- Total: 304 GPUs
- Interconnection: HPE Slingshot Interconnect
- Storage system:
- HPE Cray ClusterStor E1000
- Storage Capacity: 5.3 petabytes (PB).
- Cabinets:
- 2 HPE Cray Supercomputing EX4000 DLC cabinets
- 1 CDU (Cooling Distribution Unit)
- 1 DLC cabinet (dedicated HPC test system)
- 1 data storage cabinet (air-cooled, located in POD)
- 1 River cabinet (air-cooled, located in POD)
- 1 TDS River cabinet for test system (air-cooled, located in POD)
Roadmap to launch
Behind the scenes: Setting up a supercomputer
Preparations to ensure Olivia is fully ready for seamless research use by autumn next year are well underway.
Curious about what it takes to install and prepare a supercomputer? Follow us on LinkedIn for a glimpse behind the scenes and fresh updates.
News and updates about Olivia
