This study looks at the existing and expected use of processors within the worldwide HPC server market. Many HPC buyers find x86-based clusters to be an excellent fit for their workloads. Standard x86 processors are the preferred base processors and will remain so for the sites' next HPC purchases. Buyers with communications-intensive jobs may overprovision x86 processors, even turning some off to harvest their memory and I/O capabilities. Other buyers turn to noncluster HPC systems with beefed-up memory and I/O capabilities, whether using x86 or alternative base processors. A growing number of HPC buyers augment their x86-based HPC systems with GPGPUs or other accelerators implemented as coprocessors, with the goal of running suitable jobs faster on the coprocessors than would be possible on the base processors. HPC processor sales are escalating with the global economic recovery. The numbers began climbing again in 2010, as the economic recovery gained momentum.

Researchers predict that processor shipments will grow by 7.0% (CAGR) during the forecast period to reach 3.7 million units in 2014. These figures cover only base processors and do not include coprocessors (accelerators). More than one-quarter of the surveyed HPC sites are using accelerators, but the average number of installed accelerators is still comparatively small. HPC sites plan to make substantial use of GPGPUs in their next HPC systems purchases.

Accelerator adoption could be substantially boosted by addressing one or both of these important demands: improve the software environment surrounding accelerators (especially programming ease of use) and implement the accelerator and the x86 or other 'partner processor' on the same chip for faster end-to-end solution times. Analysts believe that present trends will continue, keeping x86-based clusters as the dominant HPC architecture while expanding the opportunities for accelerators, especially GPGPUs.

Companies Covered:
Bull, Cray, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Intel, Mellanox, Microsoft, NEC, NVidia, QLogic, SGI

Regions Covered:
Worldwide

Categories Covered:
Business Areas, Engineering | R&D | Production, Hardware, High-Performance | Technical Computing

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. IDC Opinion

2. In This Study
    Definitions
    Accelerator
    Core
    Node
    Processor or Processor Socket
    Processor Sockets
    System
    Methodology
    Executive Summary
    Overall HPC End-User Survey Findings
    HPC Systems Key Findings
    HPC Processors Key Findings
    HPC Accelerators Key Findings
    Demographics of the Sites Surveyed
    Site Count by High-Level Segment
    Figure: Site Count Share by Sector
    Site Count by Industry Segment
    Figure: Site Count Share by Industry Segment
    Sample Characteristics
    Sample Characteristics: Summary
    Table: Sample Characteristics
    Sample Characteristics: Per Site Overall Averages
    Table: Sample Characteristics: Per Site Overall Averages
    Sample Characteristics of the 488 Installed HPC Systems
    System Trends and General Survey Results
    Processor, Nodes, and System Unit Shipments
    Table: Worldwide HPC Processor, Nodes, System Unit, and Revenue, 2007–2010
    Number of HPC Systems Installed
    Table: Number of Clusters Installed by Site Sizes
    The Demand-Side Perspective: A Complementary View of the HPC Market
    Why Technical Computing Has Grown So Quickly
    Clusters Are Still Hard to Use and Manage
    Growth Rate of Installed Clusters
    Table: Growth Rate of Installed Clusters
    Processor and Node System Sizes in the Survey Sample
    Number of HPC Nodes Currently Installed
    Number of Processors/Sockets Currently Installed
    Table: Number of HPC/Technical Computing Server Nodes Currently Installed
    Table: Number of HPC/Technical Computing Server Processors/Sockets Currently Installed
    Scaling of HPC Applications Today
    Table: Scaling of Applications on HPC x86 Clusters (% of Respondents)
    Processor Survey Findings
    Processor Preferences for the Next HPC Purchase
    Table: Processor Preference for the Next HPC Purchase
    Processor Mix in the Survey Sample
    Table: Processor Vendor Mix in the Sample
    Mix of Processor Types in the Sample
    Table: Mix of Processor Types in the Sample
    Sites with Hybrid Processors (Accelerators)
    Table: Sites with a Hybrid System in the Most Recent System
    Statistics on Accelerators at the Sites with Hybrid Systems
    Table: Statistics on Accelerators at the Sites with Hybrid Systems
    Mix of Coprocessor Vendors in the Sample
    Table: Mix of Coprocessor Vendors in the Sample
    Accelerators by Sector
    Table: Accelerator Installations by Major Sectors
    HPC Budgets
    Current HPC Budget Mix
    Figure: Current Average Budget Allocation by Segment
    Table: Current Average Budget Allocation by Segment
    Expected Growth in HPC Budgets
    Figure: Planned Average Budget Growth Rate by Segment
    Table: Current and Planned Average Budget Changes by Segment, 2010 and 2011 (%)
    Attributes Users Would Pay a Premium to Obtain
    Attributes Worth a 10–15% Premium
    Table: Attributes of a Server Worth 10–15% Premium
    Attributes Worth a 20% or Higher Premium
    Table: Attributes of a Server Worth 20% or More Premium

3. Future Outlook
    HPC Forecast Assumptions
    HPC Server, Processor, and Accelerator Forecasts
    Worldwide HPC Server Revenue Forecast by Competitive Segment
    Table: Worldwide HPC Server Revenue by Competitive Segment, 2009–2014 ($M)
    Worldwide HPC Processor Forecast, 2009–2014
    Table: Worldwide HPC Processor Forecast, 2009–2014
    Processor Shipments by Competitive Segment, 2009–2014
    Table: Worldwide Processor Shipments by Competitive Segment, 2009–2014
    Processor Shipments in HPC by Application Area, 2009–2014
    Table: Worldwide HPC Processor Shipments by Application Area, 2009–2014
    Highest-Growth Application Areas
    Largest Application Areas
    Worldwide HPC Accelerator Revenue, 2009–2014
    Table: Worldwide HPC Accelerator Revenue, 2009–2014 ($M)
    Accelerators Share of the Overall HPC Server Market
    Table: Worldwide HPC Accelerator Revenue Share with Overall HPC Server Market, 2009–2014 (%)
    The Broader HPC Market
    Table: Worldwide Broader HPC Ecosystem Revenue by Category, 2009–2014 ($M)

4. Essential Guidance
    Guidance for HPC Buyers/Users
    Guidance for HPC Vendors

5. Learn More
    Related Research
    Synopsis

LIST OF TABLES

Sample Characteristics
 
Sample Characteristics: Per Site Overall Averages
 
Worldwide HPC Processor, Nodes, System Unit, and Revenue, 2007–2010
 
Number of Clusters Installed by Site Sizes
 
Growth Rate of Installed Clusters
 
Number of HPC/Technical Computing Server Nodes Currently Installed
 
Number of HPC/Technical Computing Server Processors/Sockets Currently Installed
 
Scaling of Applications on HPC x86 Clusters (% of Respondents)
 
Processor Preference for the Next HPC Purchase
 
Processor Vendor Mix in the Sample
 
Mix of Processor Types in the Sample
 
Sites with a Hybrid System in the Most Recent System
 
Statistics on Accelerators at the Sites with Hybrid Systems
 
Mix of Coprocessor Vendors in the Sample
 
Accelerator Installations by Major Sectors
 
Current Average Budget Allocation by Segment
 
Current and Planned Average Budget Changes by Segment, 2010 and 2011 (%)
 
Attributes of a Server Worth 10–15% Premium
 
Attributes of a Server Worth 20% or More Premium
 
Worldwide HPC Server Revenue by Competitive Segment, 2009–2014 ($M)
 
Worldwide HPC Processor Forecast, 2009–2014
 
Worldwide Processor Shipments by Competitive Segment, 2009–2014
 
Worldwide HPC Processor Shipments by Application Area, 2009–2014
 
Worldwide HPC Accelerator Revenue, 2009–2014 ($M)
 
Worldwide HPC Accelerator Revenue Share with Overall HPC Server Market, 2009–2014 (%)
 
Worldwide Broader HPC Ecosystem Revenue by Category, 2009–2014 ($M)

LIST OF FIGURES

Site Count Share by Sector
 
Site Count Share by Industry Segment
 
Current Average Budget Allocation by Segment
 
Planned Average Budget Growth Rate by Segment