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The world's second best energy-saving supercomputer for deep learning developed by Yahoo! JAPAN

Data Center where "kukai" is in operation

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Yahoo! JAPAN's supercomputer "kukai", running with the liquid immersion cooling system and 160 GPUs

At IDCF's Fukushima Shirakawa Data Center, Yahoo! Japan's supercomputer "kukai" is in operation.

Kukai is ranked as the world's second best energy-saving supoercomputer by "GREEN500." The arithmetic processing performance is approximately 225 times as high as that of a conventional internal GPU environment, enabling large-scale deep learning processing to be done quickly and inexpensively. Yahoo! JAPAN's supercomputer specialized for deep learning has been attracting attention.

Photo of kukai

What is GREEN500?
Supercomputer Developed by Yahoo: Impact of World No2.

"GREEN500" is the world ranking for the energy-saving performance of supercomputers. In June last year, Chinese supercomputers accounted for half of the top 10, but in the GREEN500 held in June this year, Japanese supercomputers including kukai dominated the 1st to 4th places, recovering from the setback. (As at September 2017)

1st: TSUBAME 3.0, 2nd: Kukai, 3rd: AIST AI Cloud, 4th: RAIDEN

What is the liquid immersion cooling, the world's most advanced technology to cool down the massive heat generated by deep learning?

Deep learning processing using GPUs generates a large amount of heat.

While there are various methods of heat treatment such as air cooling and water cooling, kukai has succeeded in improving cooling efficiency by adopting the liquid immersion technology, in which hardware is directly immersed in a special fluid (fluorine inert fluid) that does not conduct electricity.

Kukai selected IDCF Data Center

Exterior photo of the Fukushima Shirakawa Data Center

Kukai is operated in IDCF's Fukushima Shirakawa Data Center, which is physically close to the Tokyo metropolitan area. Installation of liquid immersion cooling systems and supercomputers require large-scale measures against heavy load, liquid leakage, and dedicated piping for air conditioning, which could be difficult for general Data Centers. IDCF has flexibly coped with such measures to achieve the installation of kukai.

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Custom-made Data Center that allows you to design facilities

Fukushima Shirakawa Data Center and Fukuoka Kitakyushu Data Center, large-scale bases of IDC Frontier, use a modular approach to respond quickly and flexibly to changing demands, and each module has its unique shapes and facilities. They are the next-generation Data Centers that enable us to take on new challenges with an eye toward the future, such as planning dedicated AI/deep learning modules.

Data Center image

The largest bases in eastern and western Japan with overwhelming expandability and high integration

Fukuoka Kitakyushu Data Center

Fukushima Shirakawa Data Center

We support Japanese AI/deep learning businesses

When "kukai" was installed in the Data Center, the facilities were totally designed and customized including power supplies, air conditioning, and the module, in a short construction period.

In order to support the new era of AI and deep learning in Japan, we are planning Data Centers designed for specific applications, such as a module for the liquid immersion systems. We are also planning the predictive control of electricity and air conditioning by machine learning. Look forward to what IDCF Data Centers will evolve into.

Photo of Satoshi Sasaki, Director of the Fukushima Shirakawa Data Center
Satoshi Sasaki, Director of the Fukushima Shirakawa Data Center
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