During the exciting tour of the ZUSE Institute, the participants were able to take a look at the HLRN-III, a supercomputer of the North German Association for High Performance Computing (HLRN). The HLRN-III has a peak computing power of around 2.6 petaflop/s (2.6 quadrillion operations per second). The HLRN unites seven federal states that operate a distributed supercomputer system in Berlin (ZUSE Institute) and Hanover (Leibniz University) to provide the computing power needed for excellent research. On average, about € 30 million is invested in a new facility every five years. Funders are the participating federal states.
As sponsor of the GDA Net[t]work Lunch in Berlin Andreas Kelch from Honeywell Building Solutions GmbH gave insights into the building management of tomorrow – KI and predictive maintenance are the future here.
Interesting personalitites found their way to Berlin: In a personal conversation with Cate Witt and Stephanie Szczepanski, SMITH & Associates, for example, there was the opportunity to obtain details about their ITAD® program, which aims to ensure the sustainable disposal of used IT equipment. The topic of sustainability primarily affects the area of e-waste. According to a UN report, about 50 million tons of electronic waste accumulate worldwide every year, of which only 20% are recycled in an orderly manner. The IT industry bears the responsibility here. The GDA supports initiatives and concepts, like the program of SMITH & Associates. Many other interesting interlocutors liek Dr. Ralph Hintemann from the Borderstep Institute deepened in lively discussions.
The location and date for the next Net[t]work lunch will be announced as usual. The GERMAN DATACENTER ASSOCIATION is already looking forward to the exchange!
