NICEST2 - D4.5: First report on the identified bottlenecks for an efficient usage of Nordic ESMs on EuroHPC

Report on the bottlenecks that would hinder the efficient usage of Nordic ESMs on EuroHPC and possible remediation actions (I/Os, adding GPU support, etc.) with clear information on costs in terms of manpower.

Task leader: Alok Gupta

Project manager: Anne Fouilloux

Work Package leader: Jean Iaquinta

Internal reviewer: Oskar Landgren

Summary and outcomes:

• ESMs used in the Nordic countries are clearly not ready for EuroHPC and very little dedicated funding from the scientific community is used for porting existing codes to future architectures. Providers have hired several specialists to support the scientific community but the commitment from the scientific community is not there.
• Exchange of knowledge of involved staff (scientists, RSEs, technical support) would be very helpful. For instance, being able to organize meetings/hackathons (online or face to face) with both experts from NorESM and EC-EARTH has been highlighted as an important requirements by those involved in the GPU hackathon.
• Code refactoring and best software practices are the most important component for efficient usage of new architecture, including EuroHPC.