# Presentation: 273039

- NERSC 4 Selection Briefing
- April 12, 2002
- NERSC 4 Selection Team

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

**Notes:**
1974	Founded at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory as the Controlled Thermonuclear Research Computer Center late 1970s	Began operating system development, name changed to Magnetic Fusion Energy Computer Center (MFECC)
1980s	Developed the Cray Time Sharing System (CTSS) for Cray 1, S-MP, Y-MP and Cray 2
1980s	Established MFEnet, including satellite uplinks
1985-90	Transition from MFEnet to Energy Science Network (ESnet)
1988	DOE broadened mission of the Center, name changed to National Energy Research Supercomputer Center (NERSC)
1990	Energy Science Network (ESnet) began T1 service
1991	Switch to vendor supplied operating systems
1995-96	DOE recompeted the NERSC Program, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been chosen as the new site		Grand Reopenning at LBNL Oct 22, 1996

## Basis for NERSC Procurements

- Requirements document: Greenbook (2002)
- Establishes user needs for the entire facility as well as specific systems
- NERSC Strategic Plan
- Establishes timelines, approximate budgets, and approximate performance levels

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

## 2002 NUG Greenbook

**User driven: developed by NUG (NERSC User Group)**
**NUGEX representatives developed input for N-4 at NUG Meeting in Feb. 2001**
**Each SC office has at least two representatives on NUG-EX**
**Draft document completed and discussed at NUG meeting in Nov. 2001**
**Release of final version in April 2002**
**Authored by Doug Rotman (LLNL-BER) with input from many others**
**Recommends expansion of HPC resources at NERSC as aggressively as possible**
**Numerous examples of qualitative new computational science enabled by NERSC-4 level capability**

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

##  NERSC Strategic Proposal

- Requested In February, 2001 by the Office of Science as a proposal for the next five years of the NERSC Center and Program
- Proposal and Implementation Plan delivered to OASCR at the end of May, 2001
- Proposal plays from NERSC’s strengths, but anticipates rapid and broad changes in scientific computing.
- Peer reviewed by a panel of 16 external reviewers
- Results of Peer and DOE review received at LBNL Nov. 9, 2001
- LBNL Response mailed December 7, 2001 (letter by Director Shank) and December 22, 2001 (revised proposal)
- Basis of NERSC Operations from 2002 - 2006

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

## NERSC Peak Capability from December 22, 2001 Proposal

- Based in a Funding Profile of
- $32.5M (FY 03), $34.29M (FY04), $36.17M (FY05), $38.16M (FY 06)

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

## NERSC Procurement Strategy

- The NERSC Peer reviewed Proposal documents the need for enhanced computing in order to support a number of disciplines.
- The Proposal laid out a clear plan for computing improvements on a 3 year basis.
- Acquire new computational capability every three years
- At least 2-3 times capability increase over existing systems
- Early delivery – low serial numbers
- Total value of about $27-30M in an LTO
- Use the Computational System as a driver for change
- Balance the entire facility relative to the
- Computational capability
- Independent requirements
- Current and (more importantly) future workloads

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

## Best Value Process

- Method used successful at LBNL for NERSC-3 and other procurements
- Core Competency at NERSC
- Also used by other labs – some after seeing LBNL’s success
- Awards to the supplier(s) who will provide best value
- Allows vendors to propose the best solution they have
- Addresses risks and flexibility in a changing environment
- Qualitative rather than quantitative evaluation
- Evaluates information from multiple sources
- General requirements
- Minimum Requirements
- Performance Features & Supplier Attributes
- Let vendors be creative but holds them to their promises

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

## Total NERSC MPP Utilization

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

## NERSC-3 is Fully Utilized

**NERSC-3 is Fully Utilized**

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

## SciDAC and other Projects will suffer without immediate steps

- SciDAC Projects are just starting this year.  They will continue to expand their computing needs over the next three years and beyond.

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

## NERSC Users Need More Computing Immediately

- NERSC-3 is a big success – utilization and user productivity
- Big Splash and SciDAC users are in the process of producing breakthrough results
- Full impact of SciDAC will happen in 2003 – 2004

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive

## Communications Caution

- Do not talk about Selection prior to Award
- Weakens Bargaining Position
- Losing Vendors may
-  Protest to University
-  Take us to court
- Stops us cold until resolved
- Better to wait at least until DOE has given “go” to award and we have offered debrief to non-selected Vendors
- Zero information is the best

- LBNL Procurement Sensitive